Habakkuk
An 18th century Russian icon of the prophet Habakkuk (Iconostasis of Transfiguration Church, Kizhi monastery, Karelia, Russia).
Prophet
Honored in	Judaism Christianity
Major shrine	Toyserkan, Iran Kadarim, Israel
Feast	January 15 (Roman, Greek) December 2 (Orthodox)
Attributes	Prophet
Major work(s)	Book of Habakkuk

Habakkuk ( /həˈbækək/ or /ˈhæbəkʊk/; Hebrew: חֲבַקּוּק‎; also spelled Habacuc), was a prophet in the Hebrew Bible. He is the author of the Book of Habakkuk, the eighth of the collected twelve minor prophets.^[1]

Life[link]

Almost nothing is known about Habakkuk, aside from what few facts are stated within the book of the Bible bearing his name, or those inferences that may be drawn from that book.^[2] His name appears in the Bible only in Habakkuk 1:1 and 3:1, with no biographical details provided other than his title "the prophet."^[3] Even the origin of his name is uncertain.^[1]

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.^[4] For Habakkuk, however, there is no reliable account of any of these.^[5] Although his home is not identified, scholars conclude that Habakkuk lived in Jerusalem at the time he wrote his prophecy.^[6] 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.^[7][8]

Statue of Habakkuk by Donatello, in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo of Florence.

Biblical account[link]

Because the book of Habbakuk consists of five oracles about the Chaldeans (Babylonians), and the Chaldean rise to power is dated circa 612 BCE, 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 they.

Because the final chapter of his book is a song, it is sometimes assumed that he was a member of the tribe of Levi, which served as musicians in Solomon's Temple.

Name[link]

The name Habakkuk, or Habacuc,^[a] appears in the Hebrew Bible only in Habakkuk 1:1 and 3:1.^[3] In the Masoretic Text, it is written in Hebrew: חֲבַקּוּק‎ (Standard Ḥavaqquq Tiberian Ḥăḇaqqûq).^[10] This name does not occur elsewhere.^[11] The Septuagint transcribes his name into Greek as Ἁμβακούμ (Hambakoum),^[12] and the Vulgate transcribes it into Latin as Abacuc.^[13]

The etymology of the name is not clear,^[1] and its form has no parallel in Hebrew.^[14] The name is possibly related to the Akkadian khabbaququ, the name of a fragrant plant,^[1] or the Hebrew root חבק‎, meaning "embrace".

Tradition[link]

Habakkuk does appear in Bel and the Dragon, which is part of the Additions to Daniel found in the Biblical apocrypha. Verses 33-39 state that Habakkuk is in Judea and after making some stew, he’s told by an angel to take the stew to Daniel, who is in Babylon in the lion’s den. After proclaiming he is unaware of both the den and Babylon, Habbakuk is transported to the den with Daniel via the angel. Habakkuk gives Daniel the food to sustain him, and is immediately taken back to “his own place.”

Habakkuk is also mentioned in Lives of the Prophets, which also notes his time in Babylon.^[15] According to the Zohar (Volume 1, page 8b) Habakkuk is the boy born to the Shunamite woman through Elisha's blessing.

Works[link]

The only work attributed to Habakkuk is the short book of the Bible that bears his name. The book of Habbakuk consists of five oracles about the Chaldeans (Babylonians) and a song of praise to God.

The style of the book has been praised by many scholars,^[16] 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.^[17]

Habakkuk is unique among the prophets in that he openly questions the wisdom of God (1:3a, 1:13b). In the first part of the second chapter, the Prophet sees the injustice among his people and asks why God does not take action: "1:2 Yahweh, how long will I cry, and you will not hear? I cry out to you 'Violence!' and will you not save?" - (World English Bible).

Tombs[link]

Tomb of Habakkuk in Kadarim, Israel.

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, when God revealed their location to Zebennus, bishop of Eleutheropolis, in a dream.^[18] Currently, two locations in Israel and one in Iran all lay claim to being the burial site of the prophet.

Tombs in Israel[link]

Two separate locations in Israel claim to be the burial place of Habakkuk. Both locations are in Upper Galilee in northern Israel. The first is a hillside at Kadarim, where stands a small stone building containing a tomb.^[19]

The second location is at Hukok, a village six miles southwest of Safed and twelve miles north of Mount Tabor.^[20] Tradition holds that Habakkuk was buried here,^[21] but the site may actually be the tomb of a local sheikh of Yaquq, whose name was misunderstood to sound like "Habakkuk".^[22]

Persian shrine[link]

Shrine of Habakkuk in Toyserkan, Iran.

A mausoleum southeast of the city of Toyserkan in the west of Iran is believed to be Habakkuk's burial place.^[23] It is protected by Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization. The Organization's guide to the Hamedan Province states that Habakkuk was believed to be a guardian to the Temple of Solomon, and that he was captured by the Babylonians and remained in their prison for some years. After being freed by Cyrus the Great, he went to Ecbatana and remained there until he died, and was buried somewhere nearby, in what is today Toyserkan. Habakkuk is called both Habaghugh and Hayaghugh by the locals.

The surrounding shrine may date to the period of the Great Seljuq Empire (11-12th century); it consists of an octagonal wall and conical dome. Underneath the shrine is a hidden basement with three floors. In the center of the shrine's courtyard is the grave where Habakkuk is said to be buried. A stone upon the grave is inscribed in both Hebrew and Farsi (Persian) stating that the prophet's father was Shioua Lovit, and his mother was Lesho Namit.^[24]

Christian commemoration[link]

On the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, his feast day is December 2.^[25] In the Roman Catholic Church, the twelve minor prophets are read in the Breviary during the fourth and fifth weeks of November,^[26] which are the last two weeks of the liturgical year, and his feast day is January 15.^[27] This day is also celebrated as his feast by the Greek Orthodox Church.^[5] In 2011, he was commemorated with the other Minor prophets in the Calendar of saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on February 8.^[28]

Habakkuk has also been commemorated in sculpture. In 1435,^[29] the Florentine artist Donatello created a sculpture of the prophet for the bell tower of Florence.^[30] This statue, nicknamed Il Zuccone ("pumpkin") because of the shape of the head, now resides in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. The church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome contains a Baroque sculpture of Habakkuk by the 17th-century artist Bernini.^[31] Between 1800 and 1805, the Brazilian sculptor Aleijadinho completed a soapstone sculpture of Habakkuk as part of his Twelve Prophets.^[32] The figures are arranged around the forecourt and monumental stairway in front of the Santuário do Bom Jesus do Matosinhos at Congonhas.^[33]

See also[link]

• Persian Jews

Notes[link]

Citations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up Habakkuk in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Media related to Habakkuk at Wikimedia Commons
• The Prophet Habakkuk at Chabad.org

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David Pawson
Born	1930
Occupation	International Bible Expositor, theologist, Pastor, previously Chaplain
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Durham University & Cambridge University
Genres	Christian apologetics, Evangelist
Subjects	Bible study (Christian)

J. David Pawson (born 1930) is a prominent Bible teacher based in Great Britain. He is the author of more than thirty books.

Biography[link]

According to his autobiography,^[1] Pawson's immediate ancestors were all farmers, Methodist preachers or both - dating back to John Pawson, a friend and follower of John Wesley. His father, H. Cecil Pawson, was head of Agriculture at Durham University and also Vice President of the Methodist conference.^[2] From his childhood in the north of England David Pawson had wanted to be a farmer, but by the time he had completed his studies for a B.Sc. in Agriculture at Durham University, he felt God was calling him into full-time Christian ministry. He then studied for an M.A. in theology at Wesley House, Cambridge University, and subsequently joined the Royal Air Force as a chaplain, serving in Aden.

After leaving the RAF he served as a Methodist minister, but became increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of infant baptism. After appearing before a doctrinal committee of the Methodist church, he volunteered to leave the denomination, and did so. Shortly thereafter he accepted an invitation to become the pastor of Gold Hill Baptist Church in Buckinghamshire.

Later, as pastor of Guildford Baptist Church ('Millmead', which he helped to design), he established a reputation among both evangelicals and charismatics as a Bible teacher. From here his teaching tapes - originally made for the church's sick and elderly members - became popular worldwide. Under his ministry, Millmead became one of the largest Baptist churches in the United Kingdom.

Pawson left Millmead in 1979 and engaged in an itinerant worldwide Bible teaching ministry. As of 2010, Pawson, aged 80, is still preaching at events across the globe.

Teachings[link]

In The Normal Christian Birth, Pawson argued that a biblical initiation into Christianity should involve more than a simple 'sinners prayer'. Whilst accepting the fundamental basis of salvation by faith, he argued that the Biblical model of a person's "birth" into God's kingdom included aspects which are frequently ignored or forgotten today. He proposed four principal steps: repentance towards God; believing in Jesus, baptism in water and receiving the Holy Spirit. This, according to Pawson, is the biblical pattern for a "normal Christian birth". According to the book itself, "David Pawson advocates a synthesis of the 'liberal' emphasis on repentance, the 'evangelical' on faith, the 'sacramental' on baptism and the 'pentecostal' on the Spirit." This work of Pawson has been influential and is taught at a number of theological seminaries and mission stations.

In Leadership is Male, he teaches that leadership is a role given by God to men. In so doing, he criticizes men for not taking proper responsibility in important aspects of family and church life. He argues that modern men too often neglect their social obligations and should return to the Biblical model of manhood. This book's foreword was written by a woman, Elisabeth Elliot.

In The Road to Hell, Pawson is critical of Annihilationism, the teaching that the punishment of hell is not eternal. He teaches that people who go to hell experience eternal suffering. According to the book itself, by "challenging the modern alternatives of liberal 'universalism' and evangelical 'annihilationism', David Pawson presents the traditional concept of endless torment as soundly biblical."

In Unlocking the Bible, Pawson presents a book by book study of the whole Bible. The book is based on Pawson's belief that the Bible should be studied, as it was written, "a book at a time" (certainly not a verse, or even a chapter at a time); and that each book is best understood by discovering why and for whom it was written. It is based on an arranged series of talks in which he set out the background, purpose, meaning and relevance of each book of the Bible, and was transcribed into written form by Andy Peck. The groundwork for this study was laid in the 1960s and '70s, when Pawson took his congregation through nearly half of the Old Testament and all of the New Testament line by line (recordings of those studies are still distributed).

In When Jesus Returns, he critically considers in the light of scripture the major views on eschatology popular in the church today, specifically the preterist, historicist, futurist and idealist schools of interpreting the Book of Revelation. He rejects postmillennialism in favour of a premillennial understanding of the Second Coming, so that Jesus will return bodily in power immediately before his reign over the world for a millennium from Jerusalem. He asserts that the supernatural taking up of believers alive at this time (following the 'tribulation' period of persecution), so as to join the returning Christ, fulfils the Rapture prophecies; he argues against a pre-tribulation timing of the rapture. He further argues that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land is a fulfilment of scriptural prophecy, and that prophecies spoken about Israel relate specifically to Israel (not to the church), so that the outstanding prophecies about Israel will be fulfilled before the end of the age.

In Jesus Baptises in One Holy Spirit, Pawson discusses the evidence for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit as a separate event from believing, repentance and water baptism. He argues that a believer does not receive the indwelling Holy Spirit until s/he is baptized in the Spirit, a distinct experience evidenced by charismatic gifts such as prophecy or tongues. This differs from the evangelical view that the Spirit is automatically received when a person believes, and the Pentecostal view that receiving the indwelling Spirit (at conversion) and receiving the Baptism in the Spirit are two experiences with different purposes.

In The Challenge of Islam to Christians, Pawson documents the present rapid rise of Islam in the West. He explains what Islam is, arguing that its rejection of Jesus Christ's divinity mean the two faiths cannot be reconciled, and he proposes a Christian response, based on the church purifying itself. The book details Pawson's testing of his premonition that Britain would become Islamic. In comparing the situation to that portrayed by the Hebrew prophet Habakkuk, Pawson implies that the rise of Islam could be impending judgement for the immorality into which Western churches and secular humanist society has sunk.

In Once Saved, Always Saved?, Pawson uses scripture to question the frequent evangelical claim that someone who has once believed in Jesus Christ will end up with Christ in heaven whatever that person subsequently believes or does. (Twelve years earlier, another evangelical, RT Kendall, summed up this claim in a book having the same title without a question mark.) Pawson points to the need to persevere in faith, and to the repeated exhortations in scripture to do so.

In Word and Spirit Together: Uniting Charismatics and Evangelicals (a revision of Fourth Wave), Pawson calls for an end to the division between charismatic and Evangelical Christians over the issue of Spiritual Baptism and charismatic gifts. He argues that the charismatic gifts are for the church today but that their practice should be built on a solid scriptural basis. He therefore argues that the two groups should learn from each other, to the benefit of both.

In Defending Christian Zionism, Pawson puts the case that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land is a fulfilment of scriptural prophecy, and that Christians should support the existence of the Jewish State (although not unconditionally its actions) on theological grounds. He also argues that prophecies spoken about Israel relate specifically to Israel (not to the church, as in "replacement theology"). However he criticises Dispensationalism, a largely American movement holding similar views about Israel. Pawson was spurred to write this book by the work of Stephen Sizer, an evangelical Anglican who rejects Christian Zionism. A debate can be heard between the two at Pawson/Sizer debate. Pawson's book Israel in the New Testament continues the Christian Zionist theme.

In the Come with me through series, Pawson goes through an entire book of the Bible. This series is also based on the preaching of David Pawson to his congregation back in the 60's and 70's. There are currently just a few titles released in this series with more to come.

Books[link]

• Christianity Explained, 2006, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 1-901949-46-X
• Explaining Water Baptism, 2000, David Pawson, Sovereign World Ltd, ISBN 1-85240-083-8
• Explaining the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, 2004, David Pawson, Joyce Huggett, Sovereign World, ISBN 1-85240-383-7
• Explaining the Resurrection, 2000, David Pawson, Sovereign World, Ltd, ISBN 1-85240-089-7
• Explaining the Second Coming, 2000, David Pawson, Renew, ISBN 1-85240-118-4
• Hope for the Millennium, 1999, David Pawson, Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-73559-7
• Head in the Clouds, 1999, David Pawson, Hodder & Stoughton Religious, ISBN 0-340-60812-9
• Is John 3:16 the Gospel?, 2007, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications International Ltd, ISBN 1-901949-55-9
• Infant Baptism Under Cross-examination, 1976, David Pawson, Colin Buchanan, Grove Books Ltd, ISBN 0-901710-89-X
• Is the Blessing Biblical?, 1996, David Pawson, Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-66147-X
• Jesus Baptises in One Holy Spirit: When?, How?, Why?, Who?, 1997, David Pawson, Hodder&Stoughton Religious, ISBN 0-340-69398-3
• Jesus Baptises In One Holy Spirit, 2006, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 1-901949-44-3
• Leadership Is Male, 1990, David Pawson, Thomas Nelson Inc, ISBN 0-8407-9023-6
• Loose Leaves From My Bible, 1994, David Pawson, North Bank Graphics, ISBN 0-9522985-0-3
• Not as Bad as the Truth: Memoirs of an Unorthodox Evangelical, 2006, David Pawson, Hodder Headline, ISBN 0-340-86427-3
• Once Saved, Always Saved?: A Study in Perseverance and Inheritance, David Pawson, Roger Forster, Hodder Headline, 1996, ISBN 0-340-61066-2
• Tell me the truth!, 1977, David Pawson, Harold Shaw, ISBN 0-87788-837-X
• The Road to Hell: Everlasting Torment or Annihilation? 1996, David Pawson, Hodder Headline 1996 and Terra Nova Publications International Ltd 2007, ISBN 0-340-53964-X
• The Normal Christian Birth: How to Give New Believers a Proper Start in Life, David Pawson, Hodder & Stoughton 1989 and Hodder Headline 1991, ISBN 0-340-48972-3
• The Challenge of Islam to Christians, 2003, David Pawson, Hodder Headline, ISBN 0-340-86189-4
• Unlocking the Bible Omnibus: A Unique Overview of the Whole Bible, 2003, David Pawson, HarperCollins UK, ISBN 0-00-716666-4
• When Jesus Returns, 1995, David Pawson, Hodder & Stoughton Religious, ISBN 0-340-61211-8
• Word And Spirit Together, 2007, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 1-901949-53-2
• Where is Jesus now?, 2001, David Pawson, Kingsway Publications, ISBN 0-85476-930-7
• Why Does God Allow Natural Disasters?, 2007, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, 2007, ISBN 1-901949-56-7
• Defending Christian Zionism, 2008, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, 2008, ISBN 978-1-901949-62-9
• Practising the Principles of Prayer, 2008, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 978-1-901949-58-2
• Living in Hope, 2008, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 978-1-901949-60-5
• The God and the Gospel of Righteousness, 2008, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 978-1-901949-59-9
• Come with me through Revelation, 2008, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 978-1-901949-61-2
• Israel in the New Testament, 2009, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 978-1-901949-64-3
• Come with me through Mark, 2009, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 978-1-901949-66-7

References[link]

External links[link]

• David Pawson website
• A brief history of Guildford Baptist Church