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Habakkuk or Habacuc is the main figure described in the Book of Habakkuk, the eighth of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Hebrew Bible. He is traditionally regarded as a prophet active around 612 BCE.
Almost all information about Habakkuk is drawn from the book of the Bible bearing his name, with no biographical details provided other than his title, "the prophet". The name “Habakkuk” appears only in Habakkuk 1:1 and 3:1 in the Hebrew Bible, has uncertain etymology, and may derive from an Akkadian word for a fragrant plant or the Biblical Hebrew root meaning “embrace.” He is mentioned in the deuterocanonical Additions to Daniel, and outside the Bible, he is mentioned over the centuries in the forms of Christian and Rabbinic tradition.
Habakkuk’s tomb is claimed by multiple sites, notably a traditional hillside location in northern Israel near Kadarim and a mausoleum in Tuyserkan, Iran.
Habakkuk is commemorated in Christianity with feast days and celebrated through notable religious artworks by artists like Donatello and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. In Islam, he is recognized as a prophet whose writings are interpreted as foretelling the coming of Muhammad and the revelation of the Quran.
The etymology of the name is not clear, and its form has no parallel in Hebrew. The name is possibly related to the Akkadian khambbaququ (, ḫâmbaququ), the name of a fragrant plant, or the Hebrew root , meaning "embrace".
For almost every other prophet, more information is given, such as the name of the prophet's hometown, his occupation, or information concerning his parentage or tribe. For Habakkuk, however, there is no reliable account of any of these. Although his home is not identified, scholars conclude that Habakkuk lived in Jerusalem at the time he wrote his prophecy. Further analysis has provided an approximate date for his prophecy and possibilities concerning his activities and background.
Beyond the Bible, considerable conjecture has been put forward over the centuries in the form of Christian and Rabbinic tradition, but such accounts are dismissed by modern scholars as speculative and apocryphal.
The Septuagint translation of Daniel in the Codex Chisianus refers to him as "the son of Jesus of the tribe of Levi".
Because the final chapter of his book is a song, it is sometimes assumed that he was a member of the Tribe of Levi, who served as musicians in Solomon's Temple.
Habakkuk is also mentioned in the Lives of the Prophets, which also mentions his time in Babylon.
According to the Zohar (Volume 1, page 8b), Habakkuk is the boy born to the Shunamite woman through Elisha's blessing:
Habakkuk is unusual among the prophets in that he openly questions the working of God. Bible, Habakkuk 1:3a, 1:13b In the first part of the first chapter, the prophet sees the injustice among his people and asks why God does not take action: "O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save?" Bible, Habakkuk 1:2, ESV
The surrounding shrine may date to the period of the Seljuq Empire (11–12th century); it consists of an octagonal wall and conical dome. Underneath the shrine is a hidden basement with three floors. In the center of the shrine's courtyard is the grave where Habakkuk is said to be buried. A stone upon the grave is inscribed in both Hebrew and Persian language stating that the prophet's father was Shioua Lovit, and his mother was Lesho Namit. Both Muslims and Jews visit it to pay their respects.
Habakkuk has also been commemorated in sculpture. In 1435, the Florence artist Donatello created a sculpture of the prophet for the bell tower of Florence. This statue, nicknamed Zuccone ("Big Head") because of the shape of the head, now resides in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. The Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome contains a Baroque sculpture of Habakkuk by the 17th-century artist Bernini. Between 1800 and 1805, the sculptor Aleijadinho completed a soapstone sculpture of Habakkuk as part of his Twelve Prophets. The figures are arranged around the forecourt and monumental stairway in front of the Santuário do Bom Jesus do Matosinhos at Congonhas.
In the court of Al-Ma'mun, Imam Ali al-Ridha, a descendant of Muhammad and chief Islamic scholar in the time of the Abbasid Caliphs, was asked by the Exilarch to prove that Muhammad was a prophet through the Torah. Imam Ridha asks "Do you know the prophet Habakkuk?" He said, "Yes. I know of him." al-Ridha said, "and this is narrated in your book, 'Allah brought down speech on Mount Faran, and the heavens were filled with the glorification of Muhammad and his community. His horse carries him over water as it carries him over land. He will bring a new book to us after the ruin of the holy house the.' What is meant by this book is the Qur'an. Do you know this and believe in it?" The Exilarch said, "Habakkuk the prophet has said this and we do not deny what he said." (2025). 9781879402140, Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an. ISBN 9781879402140
Some medieval Muslim scholars even provided commentaries on the biblical Book of Habakkuk, with the primary purpose of showing that the prophet had predicted the coming of Muhammad in Habakkuk 3:2–6, in a manner akin to the earlier Christian tradition of seeing in the book's prophecies allusions to the advent of Christ.Lejla Demiri, Muslim Exegesis of the Bible in Medieval Cairo (Leiden: Brill, 2013), p. 47 For example, the medieval exegete Najm al-Dīn al-Ṭūfī (d. 716 AH/1316 CE) provided a commentary on select verses from the Book of Habakkuk, saying the prophet's words "for his rays become light" (Habakkuk 3:4) alluded to the spread of Islam; that his words "his glory comes to town, his power appears in his courts" (Habakkuk 3:4) referred to Muhammad's stay in the town of Yathrib and the help he received there from the ansar; and that his words "death goes before him" (Habakkuk 3:5).Najm al-Dīn al-Ṭūfī, al-Ta‘līq 'alā al-Anājīl al-arba‘a wa-al-ta‘līq 'alā al-Tawrāh wa-'alā ghayrihā min kutub al-anbiyā', 381, tr. Demiri, Muslim Exegesis of the Bible in Medieval Cairo, p. 391 Likewise, Habakkuk 3:5–6 also received similar commentaries from medieval Islamic thinkers.
The famous and revered Persian people Islamic scholar and polymath Ibn Qutaybah, who served as a qadi during the Abbasid Caliphate, said of the prophet Habakkuk: "Among the words of Habakkuk, who prophesied in the days of Daniel, Habakkuk says: 'God came from Teman, and the holy one from the mountains of Paran and the earth was filled with the sanctification of the praiseworthy one ( aḥmad, which is a name of Muhammad in Islam), and with his right hand he exercised power over the earth and the necks of the nations,Ibn Qutaybah, Dalā'il al-Nubuwwa, XLVII-XLVIIII, cited in Camilla Adang, Muslim Writers on Judaism and the Hebrew Bible (Leiden: Brill, 1996), p. 269 which has been interpreted by scholars to be a clear allusion to Habakkuk 3:3-4.Camilla Adang, Muslim Writers on Judaism and the Hebrew Bible (Leiden: Brill, 1996), p. 269 Elsewhere, the same scholar glossed Habakkuk 3:4, 15 as follows: "The earth shines with his light, and his horses launched into the sea",Ibn Qutaybah, Dalā'il al-Nubuwwa, XLVIII, cited in Camilla Adang, Muslim Writers on Judaism and the Hebrew Bible (Leiden: Brill, 1996), p. 269 again interpreting the prophecy to be an allusion to the coming of Muhammad.Camilla Adang, Muslim Writers on Judaism and the Hebrew Bible (Leiden: Brill, 1996), p. 264 One further prophecy of Habakkuk which Ibn Qutaybah cited, from extra-canonical Hebraic literature, was "You shall be exceedingly filled in your bows ... O Praised One (Muhammad)." This final prophecy attributed to Habakkuk was also referred to by later scholars like Ibn al-Jawzi and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah.Camilla Adang, Muslim Writers on Judaism and the Hebrew Bible (Leiden: Brill, 1996), p. 269, note 4A. Mingana (tr.) of Ali Tabari's The Book of Religion and Empire (London: Bernard Quaritch Limited, 1922), p. 119.
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