Habakkuk

Habakkuk (meaning he that embraces or a wrestler) was the eighth of the twelve minor prophets. Of his personal history little is reliably known; he was likely a member of the Levitical choir and a contemporary of Jeremiah and Zephaniah, placing his ministry around the late seventh century B.C., during the rise of the Babylonian empire under Nebuchadnezzar.

His prophecy is remarkable for its dialogic structure: Habakkuk dares to bring a complaint directly to God about the apparent triumph of wickedness in Judah, and then about God's choice of the violent Chaldeans as an instrument of judgment. The divine answer—the just shall live by his faith (Hab. 2:4)—became foundational to New Testament theology, quoted in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38. The book closes with a magnificent psalm of theophany and trust.