Habakkuk, or Habacuc, who was active around 612 BC, was a prophet whose oracles and prayer are recorded in the Book of Habakkuk, the eighth of the collected twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible. He is revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
Almost all information about Habakkuk is drawn from the book of the Bible bearing his name, with no biographical details provided other than his title, "the prophet". He is mentioned in the deuterocanonical Additions to Daniel, and outside the Bible, he is mentioned over the centuries in the forms of Christian and Rabbinic tradition.
The name Habakkuk, or Habacuc, appears in the Hebrew Bible only in Habakkuk 1:1 and 3:1. In the Masoretic Text, it is written in Hebrew: חֲבַקּוּק (Standard Ḥavaqquq Tiberian Ḥăḇaqqûq). This name does not occur elsewhere. The Septuagint transcribes his name into Greek as Ἀμβακοὺμ (Ambakoum), and the Vulgate transcribes it into Latin as Abacuc.
The etymology of the name is not clear, and its form has no parallel in Hebrew. The name is possibly related to the Akkadian khambbaququ (Akkadian: 𒄩𒄠𒁀𒄣𒄣, ḫâmbaququ), the name of a fragrant plant, or the Hebrew root Hebrew: חבק, meaning "embrace".
Almost nothing is known about Habakkuk, aside from what is stated within the book of the Bible bearing his name, or those inferences that may be drawn from that book. No biographical details are provided other than his title "the prophet".
For almost every other prophet, more information is given, such as the name of the prophet's hometown, his occupation, or information concerning his parentage or tribe. For Habakkuk, however, there is no reliable account of any of these. Although his home is not identified, scholars conclude that Habakkuk lived in Jerusalem at the time he wrote his prophecy. Further analysis has provided an approximate date for his prophecy and possibilities concerning his activities and background.
Beyond the Bible, considerable conjecture has been put forward over the centuries in the form of Christian and Rabbinic tradition, but such accounts are dismissed by modern scholars as speculative and apocryphal.
The Septuagint translation of Daniel in the Codex Chisianus refers to him as "the son of Jesus of the tribe of Levi".
Because the book of Habakkuk consists of five oracles about the Chaldeans (Babylonians), and the Chaldean rise to power is dated circa 612 BC, it is assumed he was active about that time, making him an early contemporary of Jeremiah and Zephaniah. Jewish sources, however, do not group him with those two prophets, who are often placed together, so it is possible that he was slightly earlier than these prophets.
Because the final chapter of his book is a song, it is sometimes assumed that he was a member of the Tribe of Levi, who served as musicians in Solomon's Temple.
A reference to "the prophet Habakkuk" appears in Bel and the Dragon, which is part of the deuterocanonical Additions to Daniel. Verses 33–39 place Habakkuk in Judea; after making some stew, he is instructed by an angel of the Lord to take the stew to Daniel, who is in the lion's den in Babylon. After Habakkuk proclaims that he is unaware of either the den or Babylon, the angel transports Habakkuk to the lion's den. Habakkuk gives Daniel the food to sustain him, and he is immediately taken back to "his place" or "his own country".
Habakkuk is also mentioned in the Lives of the Prophets, which also mentions his time in Babylon.
According to the Zohar (Volume 1, page 8b), Habakkuk is the boy born to the Shunamite woman through Elisha's blessing:
And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace (חֹבֶקֶת – ḥōḇeqeṯ) a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, [thou] man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.
The only work attributed to Habakkuk is the short biblical text which bears his name. The Book of Habakkuk consists of the taunting riddle, which are five woes about the Chaldeans (Babylonians) in chapter 2, and a song of praise to God in chapter 3.
The style of the book has been praised by many scholars, suggesting that its author was a man of great literary talent. The entire book follows the structure of a chiasmus in which parallelism of thought is used to bracket sections of the text.
Habakkuk is unusual among the prophets in that he openly questions the working of God. In the first part of the first chapter, the prophet sees the injustice among his people and asks why God does not take action: "O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save?"
The final resting place of Habakkuk has been claimed at multiple locations. The fifth-century Christian historian Sozomen claimed that the relics of Habakkuk were found at Cela near Bayt Jibrin, when God revealed their location to Zebennus, bishop of Eleutheropolis, in a dream. Currently, one location in Israel and one in Iran lay claim to being the burial site of the prophet.