Habakuk 3:5-6
Konteks3:5 Plague goes before him;
pestilence 1 marches right behind him. 2
3:6 He takes his battle position 3 and shakes 4 the earth;
with a mere look he frightens 5 the nations.
The ancient mountains disintegrate; 6
the primeval hills are flattened.
He travels on the ancient roads. 7
[3:5] 1 tn Because of parallelism with the previous line, the meaning “pestilence” is favored for רֶשֶׁף (reshef) here, but usage elsewhere suggests a destructive bolt of fire may be in view. See BDB 958 s.v.
[3:5] sn There are mythological echoes here, for in Canaanite literature the god Resheph aids Baal in his battles. See J. Day, “New Light on the Mythological Background of the Allusion to Resheph in Habakkuk III 5,” VT 29 (1979): 353-55.
[3:5] 2 tn Heb “goes out at his feet.”
[3:6] 4 tn This verb has been traditionally understood as “measure” (from מוּד, mud), but the immediately following context (vv. 6b-7) favors the meaning “shake” from מָוד (mavd; see HALOT 555 s.v.).
[3:6] 5 tn Heb “makes [the nations] jump [in fear].”
[3:6] 6 tn Or “crumbled,” broke into pieces.”
[3:6] 7 tn Heb “ancient ways [or, “doings”] are his.” The meaning of this line is unclear. Traditionally it has been translated, “his ways are eternal.” However, in this context (see vv. 3, 7) it is more likely that the line speaks of the
