Habakkuk 3 3

Habakkuk 3:3 kjv

God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.

Habakkuk 3:3 nkjv

God came from Teman, The Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His glory covered the heavens, And the earth was full of His praise.

Habakkuk 3:3 niv

God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth.

Habakkuk 3:3 esv

God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His splendor covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.

Habakkuk 3:3 nlt

I see God moving across the deserts from Edom,
the Holy One coming from Mount Paran.
His brilliant splendor fills the heavens,
and the earth is filled with his praise.

Habakkuk 3 verses

Habakkuk 3 3 Meaning

Habakkuk 3:3 heralds a majestic and awe-inspiring manifestation of God, a divine advent of unparalleled power and glory. It depicts God, the Holy One, originating from ancient, wilderness regions associated with His historical acts of salvation, particularly the giving of the Law at Sinai and the Israelites' wilderness journey. This grand appearance fills the cosmos with His splendor and the entirety of creation with His praise, signifying His universal sovereignty and ultimate worthiness of adoration. The interlude "Selah" invites pause and profound reflection on this magnificent vision.

Habakkuk 3 3 Context

Habakkuk 3:3 opens a profound and poetic prayer of Habakkuk, a psalm (Habakkuk 3:1), which describes a dramatic theophany—God's awe-inspiring appearance. The preceding verses (Habakkuk 1-2) deal with the prophet's complaints about injustice, God's surprising response concerning the impending Chaldean invasion, and the declaration that "the righteous shall live by his faith." Chapter 3 serves as a response of faith and anticipation, portraying God not merely as a sovereign ruler but as a mighty warrior, a deliverer, who has acted powerfully in the past and will do so again. This specific verse sets the scene for God's majestic and formidable arrival, evoking the Exodus and Sinai experiences to assure the prophet and the people of God's enduring power to deliver them from the Chaldeans and other adversaries. It places the specific struggles of Judah within a cosmic divine narrative, reinforcing trust in God's ultimate plan and sovereignty.

Habakkuk 3 3 Word analysis

• God (אֱלוֹהַּ, Eloah): This Hebrew term emphasizes God's mighty, transcendent, and singular divine nature, often used in poetic and exalted contexts to denote God's awesome power. Its usage here underlines the solemnity and majesty of the divine manifestation.
• came (ba’): Signifies a literal movement and a powerful, intentional approach, emphasizing the dynamic and active presence of God. It's not a static deity but one who intervenes directly in human history.
• from Teman (מִתֵּימָן, miTeyman): Teman was a region and significant city in Edom, located southeast of Judah. Its inclusion points to the southern desert regions, specifically associating God's coming with the direction from which the Israelites migrated and where divine manifestations like Sinai (often conflated with Seir, Edom, Paran in poetic texts) occurred. It evokes historical covenantal beginnings and divine deliverance.
• and the Holy One (וְקָדוֹשׁ, wəQadosh): This title emphasizes God's absolute separateness, moral purity, and incomparable transcendence. He is utterly distinct from all creation and from all false gods. Its parallelism with "God" underscores His unique divine character.
• from Mount Paran (מֵהַר פָּארָן, mehar Pa'ran): Paran refers to a large wilderness region in the Sinai Peninsula, south of Canaan. It's the same region associated with Israel's wilderness wanderings and often linked biblically with Mount Sinai (e.g., Deut 33:2). This reinforces the connection to the Exodus and the giving of the Law, serving as a powerful reminder of God's covenant faithfulness and redemptive power displayed in the nation's formative history.
• Selah (סֶלָה, Selah): A common musical or liturgical term found predominantly in the Psalms. It indicates a pause for reflection, perhaps a musical interlude or crescendo, encouraging deep meditation on the preceding words. It signals a moment to absorb the profound truth of God's majestic arrival.
• His splendor (הוֹדוֹ, Hodo): "Splendor" (Hod) denotes majestic glory, radiant beauty, honor, and awesome dignity. It refers to the visible, manifest expression of God's inherent greatness and divine attributes.
• covered (kissa): Implies an extensive, overwhelming, and comprehensive diffusion. It speaks of God's glory spreading out completely, not merely appearing, but actively filling.
• the heavens (שָׁמָיִם, shamayim): Refers to the sky and beyond, representing the celestial realm, God's dwelling place. This signifies the cosmic scale of God's manifestation; His glory emanates from His very being and encompasses all celestial spheres.
• and the earth (וָאֶרֶץ, wa'aretz): The physical world, the habitable globe. This highlights the universal reach of God's manifestation. Not just heavens, but the entire world is impacted and responds to His glory.
• was full of (מָלְאָה, male'ah): Denotes complete saturation, overflow, or being thoroughly permeated. It's an active filling, not just a partial presence.
• His praise (תְּהִלָּתוֹ, tehillato): "Praise" (tehillah) encompasses adoration, songs of praise, and renown. It speaks to the recognition and declaration of God's inherent worth and wondrous deeds. The "earth full of His praise" signifies creation itself or its inhabitants offering spontaneous, widespread worship in response to God's glory.

Words-Group Analysis:

• "God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran.": This double-barreled parallelism underscores the source and direction of God's anticipated majestic arrival. It links God's powerful advent directly to the historical acts of salvation, especially the Exodus and the covenant at Sinai. It establishes the trajectory of His power and presence. This phrase serves as a polemic against the idea of local deities tied to specific shrines, affirming the God of Israel's transcendence and His historical interventions across various terrains. His glory isn't confined; He comes forth from a place associated with powerful past deeds to demonstrate future power.
• "Selah.": Positioned here, "Selah" functions as a vital call for profound contemplation on the gravity of God's revelation. It forces the reader or worshiper to pause, absorb the full weight of God's glory, and internalize its implications before proceeding with the subsequent dramatic descriptions.
• "His splendor covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.": This cosmic parallelism depicts the universal scope of God's manifest glory. "Splendor covered the heavens" refers to a visible, radiating glory emanating from God himself, filling the vast celestial realm. "The earth was full of his praise" denotes the natural and necessary response of creation and its inhabitants to such an overwhelming display—universal adoration. Together, they signify God's sovereign presence extending over all creation, inspiring worship from the cosmos itself.

Habakkuk 3 3 Bonus section

Habakkuk 3 is structurally a "visionary psalm" (Hebrew: shigyon), reflecting ancient Near Eastern theophanic traditions of divine warrior deities. However, here, it's exclusively YHWH, the God of Israel, Who demonstrates this power. The description of God "coming" from these wilderness areas evokes not just the Sinai covenant, but also His continued guidance of His people during their wanderings. The mention of specific geographical points (Teman, Mount Paran) may also hint at the pathways taken by powerful storms, which in ancient Near Eastern cosmology were often associated with divine movement and battle. This imagery effectively conveys both His cosmic dominion and His imminent, unstoppable action. The Hebrew Eloah used for "God" in this verse, while synonymous with other divine names, often carries a more archaic and formal feel, further amplifying the solemnity and antiquity of this divine appearance. This verse is thus not just a description but an assertion of God's immutable character and an invitation to unwavering trust in His majestic power.

Habakkuk 3 3 Commentary

Habakkuk 3:3 sets the stage for a dramatic theophany, God's awesome self-revelation. It vividly recalls historical manifestations of God’s power, particularly His appearance at Sinai (recalled by the geographic markers Teman and Mount Paran), to instill faith for a future deliverance. The description is of a glorious advent, not limited to a specific locale, but one whose brilliance (splendor) pervades the heavens and whose universal worthiness (praise) permeates the earth. This majestic entrance, emphasized by the pause (Selah), assures the prophet that the same powerful God who delivered Israel from Egypt and gave the law, will surely intervene against their present enemies, the Chaldeans. The verse anticipates the fulfillment of God’s promise to fill the earth with His glory (Hab 2:14), inviting the faithful to recognize God's sovereignty over creation and history.