Habakkuk: Habakkuk 3:1-The Superscription of Habakkuk’s Psalm-Prayer

Habakkuk 3:1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth. (NIV)

Habakkuk 3:1 The prophet Habakkuk’s prayer in accordance with Shigionoth. (Pastor’s translation)

Habakkuk 3:1 is the superscription of the prophet Habakkuk’s prayer he offered up to the Lord God of Israel on behalf of himself and the faithful remnant of Judah, which he directed to be sung in the temple as part of the worship of the Lord God of Israel.

The figure of asyndeton in this verse indicates that it marks a transition to the fifth major section of the book of Habakkuk.

By way of review, the first major section was contained in Habakkuk 1:2-4 which presented Habakkuk’s complaint to the Lord God of Israel that He had not yet disciplined the apostate citizens in the southern kingdom of Judah in his day.

The second major section appeared in Habakkuk 1:5-11, which presents the Lord’s response to Habakkuk’s complaint that He has chosen the Babylonians to discipline them.

The third major section is found in Habakkuk 1:12-17, which records Habakkuk’s complaint regarding the Lord’s choice of the Babylonians to discipline his fellow citizens who like him were in a covenant relationship with the Lord.

The fourth major section of the book is contained in Habakkuk chapter two which records the Lord’s response to Habakkuk’s second complaint regarding His choice the Babylonians to discipline the apostate citizenry in the southern kingdom of Judah in 605 B.C.

In this section, the Lord asserts that He will judge the Babylonians for their unrepentant sinful behavior towards their fellow human beings and toward Him since they were idolators.

Now, the fifth major section of Habakkuk appears in chapter three, which can be divided into five sections.

The first contains the superscription here in Habakkuk 3:1 while the second is in Habakkuk 3:2, which contains the prophet’s petition to the Lord.

The third appears in Habakkuk 3:3-7, which presents a theophany, while the fourth is found in Habakkuk 3:8-15, which records the Lord’s exploits as a warrior.

Lastly, the fifth is found in Habakkuk 3:16-19, which records Habakkuk’s response of faith to the revelation He received from the Lord which is recorded in this book that bears his name.

Therefore, Habakkuk 3:1 parallels Habakkuk 1:1 since both verses identify the author as the prophet Habakkuk.

Habakkuk chapters one and two contain the revelatory vision the prophet received from the Lord regarding His choice to not only discipline the apostate citizens of the southern kingdom of Judah at the end of the seventh century B.C for their unrepentant sinful behavior but also to judge the Babylonians for their unrepentant sinful behavior.

On the other hand, Habakkuk chapter 3 contains Habakkuk’s prayer to the Lord in response to this revelatory vision.

This prayer not only contains the prophet’s intercessory prayer to the Lord on behalf of himself and the faithful remnant of Judah (cf. 3:2), but also the prophet’s worship of the Lord in response to the vision of the Lord victorious in battle (cf. 3:3-15) as well as an expression of the prophet’s faith (cf. 3:16-19).

The noun tep̄il∙lā(h)(תְּפִלָּה) (tef-il-law´), “a prayer” pertains to the contents of Habakkuk’s prayer which appears in Habakkuk 3:2.

The contents of this verse indicate that the word is more than just a petition but an intercessory prayer on behalf of the faithful remnant of Judah to which the prophet Habakkuk belonged.

This prayer requests that the Lord would repeat the awesome deeds He had performed in the past for the nation of Israel by manifesting these deeds again in his day and age by demonstrating mercy to this faithful remnant while the Lord disciplined the apostate citizens in his nation.

The noun šig·gāy·wōn (שִׁגָּיוֹן) means “shiggaion” which occurs only twice in the Old Testament.

In Psalm 7:1, the word was used in a superscription as it is here in Habakkuk 3:1 and describes the Psalm in a way that indicates that it is a psalm of supplication.

Here in Habakkuk 3:1 it is also used in a superscription of Habakkuk’s intercessory prayer request for the faithful remnant of Judah.

In both instances, the word probably describes the type of Psalm or it is a musical notation of some kind.

There is great conjecture among biblical scholars as to the meaning of this word here in Habakkuk 3:1.

Kenneth Barker writes “The title verse also contains the curious expression ‘shigionoth,’ a transliteration from the Hebrew. Though the meaning of the word is unknown, scholars agree that it is most likely a musical notation.[1] The final sentence of the chapter supports this supposition. Many similar terms in titles to the psalms are now thought to be names identifying hymn tunes or instructions concerning the playing of the music which apparently accompanied the psalm.”[2]

I am of the opinion that the noun šig·gāy·wōn (שִׁגָּיוֹן), “shiggaion” here in Habakkuk 3:1 is a type of musical notation indicating the arrangement or the style of the music to be performed accompanying Habakkuk’s prayer recorded in Habakkuk 3:2-19.

The style of music is unknown and lost to history.

However, the contents of Habakkuk 3:2-19 indicate that Habakkuk’s prayer contains intercession for the faithful remnant of Judah (3:2), worship of the Lord in the form of a vision of the Lord being victorious in battle with His enemies (3:3-15) and an expression of Habakkuk’s faith in the Lord (3:16-19).

The noun šig·gāy·wōn (שִׁגָּיוֹן) is the object of the preposition ʿal (עַל), which means “according to, in accordance with” since the word functions here as a marker of norm indicating the standard or norm to which something is compared and with which it is judged to be in accordance with.

Therefore, this preposition indicates that this noun šig·gāy·wōn (שִׁגָּיוֹן) is the musical standard or norm to which Habakkuk’s prayer to the Lord is compared and with which this prayer is judged to be in accordance with.

Consequently, this prepositional phrase indicates that Habakkuk’s prayer to the Lord requesting that He would be merciful to the faithful remnant of Judah while He disciplines the apostate citizens in the nation was to be in accordance with the stye or arrangement of music called, “shigionoth.”

In other words, “shigionoth” was to be the musical standard or norm to which Habakkuk’s offered this prayer to the Lord.

Therefore, Habakkuk 3:2-19 appears to be a prayer offered up to the Lord God of Israel by Habakkuk on behalf of himself and the faithful remnant of Judah at the end of the seventh century B.C. which was set to music.

Thus, this prayer was a psalm or lyrics for music and which music has been lost to history or in other words, Habakkuk 3:1 marks the contents of Habakkuk 3:2-19 as a psalm-prayer.

The latter is a prayer of Habakkuk which the prophet directed to be set to a particular musical arrangement, which has since been lost to history.

In fact, Habakkuk 3:2 serves as the refrain to this psalm or song and would have been sung after Habakkuk 3:8 and 15.

Habakkuk chapter 3 was an expression of faith in the Lord God of Israel by not only the prophet Habakkuk but also the faithful remnant in Judah and it expressed their faith that the Lord would protect and preserve them while He disciplined the apostate citizens in Judah by means of the Babylonian army.

It is also an expression of this remnant’s faith that the Lord will administer justice to not only these apostate citizens of Judah for their unrepentant sinful behavior, but also would administer justice to the Babylonians for their unrepentant sinful behavior.

Thus, Habakkuk chapter three is an expression of the prophet Habakkuk and this faithful remnant’s submission to the Lord’s justice and sovereignty over them.

[1] Robertson (Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, 215) follows Keil and says it could refer to a kind of performance that would reflect the excitement that should accompany the celebration of a psalm with such a disturbing topic. HALAT 4:1314, list attempts to understand the term: (1) a lament as found in titles of prayers in Akk.; (2) an ecstatic poem or a song of an ecstatic, a meaning derived from שׁגה, “reel, stagger”; (3) to set something in great agitation or excitement, based on Arabic. [2] Barker, K. L. (1999). Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (Vol. 20, p. 354). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.