The Prophet Habakkuk and the Hope of Justice among the Peoples

Abstract

In this article we study the book of the prophet Habakkuk, focusing on the five imprecations, which are contained in chapter 2, between verses 6 and 20. In the first topic, we present a brief description of the history of Israelite prophecy, from its origins up to the prophet in question. In the following topic, we deal with the historical context of Habakkuk and proceed with an analysis of the biblical text of the prophet’s book. In the third part, we debate what concerns directly to our objet of study, i.e., the five “woes”, studying the original material and researchers who dedicated themselves s to this subject. From this analysis of the writings, we observe the prophet’s Universalist view of suffering, of resistance of the just in the face of evil and the fidelity of God, who intercedes for his salvation.