6
for a righteous one, by his
28
faithfulness he will live.
By way of summary, these verses express Habakkuk's strong resolve to give special
attention to the divine answer that he expected would be forthcoming, indeed a reply that would
serve as a corrective to his own thinking. YHWH's response itself is introduced by a narrative
frame, a feature that did not figure in the mechanics of Habakkuk chapter one! The divine
answer is framed as an imperative to the prophet. He is to write the vision in such a way that it
could be read. And the essence of the vision
29
suggests a major contrast between two classes of
people. One, because he is puffed up or proud, will not give any attention to the vision. The
other, characterized as a righteous individual, will quite obviously relate to the vision in a
positive way. But before this positive way of relating to the vision can be discussed further, it is
necessary to present a brief study of the significance of the key OT word, emunah.
The OT Usage of the Word emunah. First, some preliminary matters must be considered.
The word emunah, derived from the verbal root 'mn, occurs 49 times in the OT. There are two
basic ways in which the word is used: a physical sense, and a non-physical sense. The physical
usage is found only in Exod. 17:12. In that passage Moses' hands were said to be firm (literally,
[the essence of] firmness) when they were supported by Aaron and Hur. This firmness was in
contrast with weakness when Moses was trying to hold up his hands by himself. The context
indicates that Israel would prevail when Moses' hands were stretched out with the rod of God in
them, but when he became tired and relaxed his hands, Israel would suffer defeat. Therefore
28
This pronoun also may be taken in at least two ways. It may refer back to the vision, thus
yielding a translation "but a righteous one will live by its faithfulness." Or it may refer to the
righteous one. I have analyzed the syntax as a casus pendens, and this inclines me to the latter
view.
29
R. M. Moody, "The Habakkuk Quotation in Romans 1
17
," Expository Times 92 (1981):208,