Habakkuk rests at the end of the seventh century BCE, and, with the imminent invasion of Babylon, "mobilizes a rich variety of extant liturgical traditions... that feature cries of needs that are ultimately resolved in a hymn of triumph*1*." Our aim is to examine this hymn and our question approaching it shall be How does the author convey images grammatically and syntactically in Habakkuk 3? We will approach the issues of grammar and syntax a verse at a time*2*.
????????? ????????????? ??????????? ??? ??????????? A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, on a dirge
The superscription of Habakkuk's prayer, versified as 1, establishes authorial attribution, by way of an allative *3*?, and offers to hearers/readers some specific information in the form of a metaphorically locative prepositional phrase. This prayer is on a dirge. ??? ??????????? however, is quite an elusive term. Koehler-Baumgartner suggest that the form could have referred to an Akkadian dirge*4*, specifically one performed as a prayer. This certainly fits the serious, even sad context of Habakkuk's prayer.
?????? ?????????? ?????????? ???????? ?????? ???????????? Yahweh, I have heard your news Yahweh, I have feared your work
?????????? ?????? ???????????? ??????????? ??????? ?????????? In midst of years make it realised In midst of years make it known
??????????? ?????? ??????????? In anger, you remember mercy
The songwriter begins where most writers begin, with himself. While the object in play is God, the statement is actually about Habakkuk. The prayer will begin and end this way. Here, before the core content is explicated, the author establishes his relationship to Yahweh, like a disclaimer. The second ...