"Glittering" here, in Deut. 1. c., and in Nahum iii. 3, falls short of the Hebrew "lightning."

12. Thou didst march] Rather, Thou dost tread the earth. Habakkuk has the present and future before his mind, and in this and the following verses he states fully and plainly the immediate and final objects of God's judgments.

didst thresh] Or, dost. Cp. Isai. xxi. 10. Scrivener, in his most valuable edition of the English Bible, refers to Jer. 1. 11; but the reading and sense there are doubtful, see critical Note, Vol. v. p. 562.

66

13. Thou ventest forth] Here the prophet reverts to the past, as a pledge and assurance of the future; the word here used is specially applied to the going forth of Jehovah to war on behalf of His people, Judg. v. 4; Isai. xlii. 13," Reinke.

with thine anointed] Some commentators take this as an appellation of Israel, called "a royal priesthood;" but the term "anointed" is not distinctly applied to Israel in any passage; not in Ps. xxviii. 8, to which Rosenmüller refers. Here it may possibly denote the Davidic king, not as an individual, but as head of the Theocracy, and as a type of the One Anoint

ed; but more probably it points directly to the expected Messiah, and secondarily only to His representative on the throne of David. The Messianic hope was too vivid in the age of Habakkuk to have been absent from his spirit dwelling on the theme of salvation. The expression "with" is specially applicable to the work accomplished in and by the Anointed Son. The construction is open to question, and the generality of modern commentators make the "thine anointed" the object of the verbal noun "salvation," the phrase being then equivalent to, " for the salvation of thine anointed." But the A.V. is probably correct. In the Hebrew there is a variation of grammatical structure between the two clauses for the salvation of thy people" and "for salvation with thine anointed," and this latter rendering is in accordance with Hebrew usage: see Gen. iv. I and note on Hosea vii. 5.

66

thou awoundedst the head] Cp. Ps. lxviii. 21, cx. 6. "The head out of the house of the wicked" refers, probably, to the Babylonian

king, see ch. ii. 9, &c.; not without allusion to the permament head of ungodly powers, and to the primeval sentence, Gen. iii. 15. This is in harmony with the rendering of the preceding clause. Some, however, take it in combination with the following clause, and explain it as the summit or roof; the blow falls on the roof, and the house is laid bare from the foundation to the neck, i.e. the upper part of the wall adjoining the crushed roof. The substantial meaning is not affected, since the whole house represents the family or dominion, and the summit its head.

14. the head of his villages] Rather, the chief of his warriors; the rendering "villages cannot stand; the Vulg. bellatorum, "of warriors," gives a good sense, and has a probable etymology. Thus Targ., Rashi, Kimchi, Reinke; modern commentators take it to mean either troops or chieftains. The expression "with his staves," i.e. with his own weapons, implies that the captains of the Babylonians were beaten by troops from nations which had previously been subject to their king. Thus the Medo-Persian army defeated Nabopolassar II., and afterwards captured Babylon.

they came out as a whirlwind] I.e. the chieftains whom God smote. The Hebrew word graphically describes the stormy onslaught of the Chaldæan invaders, see i. 6—9. Cp. Zech. vii. 14.

to scatter me] Habakkuk speaks as a representative of his people, and as a servant of God. The word "scatter" points back to v. 6, where the retributive judgment is described.

their rejoicing, &c.] Like robbers exulting in the success of an attack by night upon the house of one unable to defend himself.

innocent and defenceless. Compare Ps. x. the poor] A formal designation of the 8-11; this psalm has other points of strong resemblance to Habakkuk.

15. Thou didst walk through the sea] This clause, which winds up the lyrical episode, refers to the crowning triumph over Egypt, as illustrating the advance of God's avenging forces. It will be remembered that the destruction of Babylon was effected by the

entrance of the enemy through the bed of the Euphrates; but what the prophet sees is the general or ideal course of God's judgment.

with thine horses] Or, omitting "with," thine horses, in apposition to "Thou;" Thou, Thy horses, the horses which Thou hast directed. For the construction compare Ps, xvii. 13.

the heap of great waters] Referring evidently to Exod. xv. 8, "the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap;' see also Ps. lxxviii. 13, where, however, a different word is used. The word here employed is applied to heaps of frogs in Exod. viii. 10 (14, A. V.). The marginal rendering is not correct.

great waters] Cp. Ps. lxxvii, 19.

16. When I heard, &c.] The prophet thus refers to the words with which he began the hymn, but in stronger terms. The contemplation of the Divine judgments, and the vivid realization of a Theophany, has here, and elsewhere (cp. Dan. x. 8; Job'xlii. 5, 6), as its immediate effect, an overpowering feeling of awe, dismay, terror. The man feels how

near he must be to the destruction due to all sinners, and inflicted on the reprobate.

trembled ] The fear, which the announcement of God's purposes had already produced, see v. 2, is developed into terror. The word "trembling" describes a violent perturbation; it is the same which in v. 2 (where see note) is rendered "wrath." The whole system undergoes a terrific shock; the belly (regarded by the Hebrew as the principal seat of physical emotion) is torn by spasms, cp. Jer. iv. 19; the lips quiver, a word elsewhere used of the "ringing" of the ears in terror, see I S. iii. 11; Jer. xix. 3; the bones, seat of intensest pain (see note on Ps. vi. 2), are smitten with decay, sudden as by a stroke of lightning; the whole man is convulsed by terror.

I trembled in myself] Lit. under myself,

shaken in all my limbs.

that I might rest] Yet this sudden and complete prostration, subduing all movements of the will, serves to prepare the prophet for rest, a still, passive state of acquiescence or patient waiting (see ch. ii. 3) in the day of trouble, when the enemy, commissioned by God to chastise His people, "cometh up;"

the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield + Heb. lie. no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

19 The LORD God is my strength,

see Ps. xciv. 13, "that thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity." Bp Wordsworth adopts the construction proposed, but not adopted, by Keil, “I who shall rest;" but the other seems preferable; it yields a still stronger sense, and it is supported by most commentators.

invade them with his troops] One word only in the Hebrew, used specially of incursions by hostile troops, see Gen. xlix. 19. The allusion is evidently to the bands of Chaldæans, Syrians, &c., sent against Jehoiakim after his rebellion, see 2 K. xxiv. 2.

describes the utter desolation which will usher 17. Although the fig tree, &c.] This verse in, or follow, that day of trouble. Many commentators have "for" instead of "although," thus making this verse a part of the clause preceding it; but the rendering "although appears more suitable, pointing to the "yet I" The prophet sees in in the following verse. spirit the advance of the Chaldæans into Palestine; fruit-trees cut down, corn-fields trampled upon, flocks and herds carried off by the spoilers, a complete devastation; but his soul recovers at once from the shock; it rests; and reverting to the keynote of Divine emotions, the prophet bursts out in an exclamation unsurpassed for beauty and power, though not without parallels in every age of faith.

the fig tree, &c.] The fig, vine, and olive, are everywhere spoken of as the noblest products

of Palestine.

the labour of the olive] Or, the "produce;" the Hebrew word is specially used of bearing fruit. Cp. Exod. xxiii. 16.

shall fail] Lit. deceive or frustrate, sc. the hope of the possessor, cp. Ïsai. lviii. 11; Hos. ix. 2.

fields] Properly "cornfields." The whole of this verse corresponds very remarkably with two predictions of Jeremiah: one in ch. xiv. 2-6, where he describes a terrible famine,

occurring probably in the early part of Jehoia

kim's reign; the other in ch. v. 17, where he speaks of the ravages of the Chaldæans, “They shall eat up thy harvest, and thy bread: they shall eat up thy flocks and thy herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees."

18. Yet I will rejoice] A great word, with many an echo in the N. T., as, “ Rejoice in the

Lord alway, and again I say, Rejoice." The two words chosen by Habakkuk imply exultation and strong emotion, the outcome of the faith which gives life and fulness of joy.

of my salvation] A word expressing most fully the ground of the prophet's rejoicing; it refers specially to vv. 8, 13; and shews also how thoroughly Habakkuk realized the promise of ii. 4.

19. my strength, &c.] The words in this concluding verse are evidently chosen as recalling the 18th Psalm, the great Davidic hymn of triumph; "my strength or might" expresses the purport of the first verse; in that psalm the word itself occurs in v. 32.

he will make my feet like hinds' feet] See marg. ref.

be will make me to walk upon mine bigb places] Ps. xviii. 33, "He setteth me upon my high places," cp. Deut. xxxiii. 29. The reference to the 18th Psaim has a peculiar fitness, since the hopes of the prophet were specially founded upon the promises of God, which assured "great deliverance and mercy to His anointed, to David, and to his seed for ever. more," Ps. xviii. 50.

my stringed instruments] The word "my" strongly confirms the inference drawn from other notices, that Habakkuk was a member of the Levitical choir,

The meaning of each word is contested; the old Versions are hopelessly at variance. nya might mean (1) "sevens" (Ewald after Herder renders it "siebenfache"), or (2) "weeks;" but the more common meaning is (3)" oaths." The choice lies between 1 and 3. no may mean tribes, or staves, specially in the sense of chastisements; for instances see Ges.'Th.'s.v. D, a poetic word, undoubtedly means "word" in the sense of promise, command, or decree. Hence the combinations (1) "sevens of chastisements are the decree,"

i.e. a sevenfold or complete series of blows is ordained; (2) "oaths of tribes such is the promise;" à construction which, if grammatically defensible, is harsh, and scarcely intelligible; (3) "oaths of chastisements," or "chastisements sworn according to promise or decree," a rendering which has the advantage of keeping the very probable reference to Deut. xxxii. 40-42, and is well adapted to the context. After all, the ablest critics admit that no very satisfactory explanation of the text, as it stands, is given.

i. The Prophet, his name and descent ii. His date.

i.TH

HE name is not peculiar to the prophet. It is borne also by three other persons mentioned in the Old Testament. Its meaning is one whom Fehovah hides or guards (cf. Ps. xxvii. 5), not the Watchman of Jehovah, as Jerome and others have explained it.

It is customary with the Hebrew Prophets to mention only the name of their fathers. It is remarkable, therefore, that Zephaniah carries back his pedigree for four generations, calling himself the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah. In the Hebrew the name of the last ancestor is the same as that of the Jewish king Hezekiah. Although he is not here styled king, and no son of his named Amariah is mentioned elsewhere, it has been thought probable by many that the prophet was of royal descent. This fact might account for his tracing his descent from Hezekiah and stopping there.

Of his history we know nothing beyond what may be gathered from his brief prophecy, which is addressed to Judah and Jerusalem (i. 1, 4, iii. 1).

ii. He tells us that this was delivered in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Fudah. This king reigned from 642 to 610. Have we any means of determining to which part of his reign the prophecy is to be assigned? to the earlier or the later portion? Two epochs in the reign of Josiah are especially mentioned; the twelfth year in which he began to purge the land of idolatry (2 Chro. xxxiv. 3), and the eighteenth in

PAGE

678

which the book of the law was found during the repair of the temple, and he began a great Reformation (2 Chro. xxxiv. 8-xxxv. 19). Some place the delivery of the prophecy in the former, others in the latter period. The advocates of either view appeal to certain words employed by the prophet.

1. In i. 8, the king's children or sons are mentioned as those that should be punished. If the phrase is taken to mean the sons of the king then reigning, a very late date must be assigned to the prophecy, as Josiah mounted the throne when he was only eight years old. But there is no solid reason for thus explaining the words. They may well be understood of any princes of the royal line.

2. The remnant of Baal (i. 4). These words have been taken as implying that Baal and his worshippers had already received some heavy blow, and were almost exterminated, that only a small remnant remained. On the other hand, it has been urged with much force, that such a view is hardly consistent with the context, in which the worship of Baal is spoken of as still flourishing. Besides this, it greatly weakens the prophet's words. After a magnificent exordium, he would merely say that what remained of Baal worship, after an almost total extinction, should disappear. Does it not suit better the majesty of the prophet's language, to suppose that he means, that so complete should be the overthrow of this form of idolatry, that not even a

remnant should survive, as he adds that the very name of the Chemarim should perish?

Another indication of time is supplied by the prediction of Nineveh's destruction (ii. 13). As, however, it is not yet determined whether this event is to be placed, with Clinton (Fasti Hellen, 1. 269) B.C. 606, or, with others, twenty years earlier, it does not help us to fix exactly the age of the prophecy. On the whole, it would appear to be probable that the prophecy was delivered between the twelfth and eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah. For a review of the events of contemporary history see Introd. to Habakkuk, § iii.

It has also been thought by some in recent times that the occasion of the prophecy was the great invasion of the Scythians, who overran Asia towards the close of the seventh century before our era. Herodotus, to whom we are indebted for our knowledge of this inroad (1. 103 foll.), asserts the Scythians were masters of Upper Asia (Iv. 1) for 28 years, and that having reached Palestine, they were induced to abstain from invading Egypt by rich gifts from Psammetichus. There is, however, nothing in Zephaniah that can be shewn to refer to them. The prophet does not name or describe those who were to be used by God as the instruments for accomplishing His will. This, however, is not surprising, as Habakkuk had already mentioned the Chaldæans by name, as those who were to chastise the people of Israel. Those, too, who find the Scythians here, maintain that they are the invaders of Palestine foretold by Jeremiah, but there is nothing in his language which makes it necessary to forsake the commonly accepted view that he describes the Chaldæans. (See Introd. to Jeremiah, p. 314).

Besides, it must be remembered that the exact date of the Scythian invasion has not been agreed upon by chronologists, and that the writers of the Old Testament say nothing about the subject. Josephus is equally silent; and from the statement of Herodotus it appears that the Scythians passed along the sea coast, and committed no ravages on their way.

But in truth, to seek for the occasion of the prophecy in any great commotion of that age is quite unnecessary. Such an inquiry is hardly consistent with a true conception of the prophet's office. He was not one who carefully observed the events of his day, and guessed what was likely to happen. He claimed to be specially taught of God to reprove the people for their sins, and to warn them of the dangers that threatened them. And an adequate occasion for the words of Zephaniah is found in the idolatry and depravity of the nation, which he rebukes. (i. 4, 5, 6, ii. 1, iii. 1—4).

iii. In "the goodly fellowship of the prophets," Zephaniah is conspicuous for the comprehensiveness of his words. He does not confine himself to the destiny of his own people. When he mentions other nations, he seems to single out from west and east, south and north (ii. 4-15), such as would serve as examples of his great subject—the universal government of God as Judge of all. His far-reaching gaze takes in the judgments and mercies of God as extending over all the earth (i. 1—3, ii. 11, iii. 8, 9). He has indeed no prediction of the Messiah himself, but he foresees the time when all nations shall unite in the worship of the true God (iii. 9).

Hence his short book has been well described by Bucer as "a compendium of all prophecy." And this peculiarity agrees well with the frequent use he makes of the earlier Scriptures. In his own language, if not in a translation, his familiarity with the words of Deuteronomy and Isaiah is constantly seen, as is pointed out in the Notes. A good single example of his manner is supplied by i. 7, where he evidently had in his mind Hab. ii. 20, Joel i. 15, Isai. xxxiv. 6, xiii. 3, 6. And in doing this, he is no mere imitator or copyist. He simply shews that he is not isolated, that he is one of a series of Divine messengers, and that he links his message on to theirs. And in the same manner Jeremiah and Ezekiel incorporate his expressions with their own'.

1 For examples see notes on i. 3, 18, iii. 2, 3, 4, 5.