Life for the righteous, doom for the wicked: reading Habakkuk from a wisdom perspective

Abstract

In many ways, the book of Habakkuk is unique in the Book of the Twelve Prophets. One of the reasons is that the Gattungen normally associated with prophetic literature are either absent or occur in unique forms. On the other hand, it has long since been recognised that wisdom motifs had a definite influence upon the book. This can be seen in the vocabulary, in many of the themes, in the dialogic character of the book, and even in the overall structure of the book. The purpose of this article is to illuminate the intertextual relations between Habakkuk and wisdom texts in the Old Testament, especially the so called sceptical wisdom. The importance of these motifs in determining the theological thrust of the book is discussed. It is shown that the recognition of these motifs has implications for the date of the book in its final form as well.