We might be able to identify with the prophet Habakkuk. Here is a unique dialogue—a conversation—between the prophet and God, marked by questions, confusion, and ultimately a shift toward trust and worship. In just three chapters, Habakkuk's journey moves from bewilderment about divine justice to a powerful prayer of praise, culminating in a recognition of God’s majesty and sovereignty.

One of the subtle but profound features of Habakkuk is the wordplay between two similar Hebrew words: tāmāh (תָּמָה) in 1:5 and Tāymôn (תַּיִּמוֹן) in 3:3. This wordplay not only connects the thematic elements of the first two chapters to the climactic prayer in chapter 3, but it also underscores the theological journey Habakkuk undergoes—from confusion (actually being gut punched into astonishment) by God’s actions, to awe-filled worship of God’s strength and power.

A Journey from Confusion to Worship

In Hab 1:5, God commands the prophet to “Look among the nations and see; wonder and be astounded.” The verb tāmāh (תָּמָה) here conveys a strong sense of bewilderment, perplexity, and awe—but this is not a pleasant kind of amazement. Rather, it’s the astonishment of someone struggling to understand God’s actions. Habakkuk is confused and frustrated by God’s use of the Babylonian empire, a wicked nation, to bring judgment upon Judah. The prophet’s marveling is filled with discomfort and questions—why would God allow such a thing?

As we move into chapter 2, the prophet takes God to court—“I will take my stand till you answer my complaint!” God’s response is not subtle or mild.

First, he charges: “Get this through your head—make it so clear a runner can urgently deliver it far and wide:  “The righteous will live by his faith(fulness)!” That’s it! Stand up, be resolute. Faithlessness, fear, timidity, doubt—they won’t help against oppressors.

Then five woe’s make it equally clear that those who come as oppressors will come to an inglorious end. These woes make it clear:  divine retribution is a dreadful thing! Woe to the greedy, the violent, the oppressive, the drunkard, the idolatrous—all aimed directly at the Chaldeans. What goes around comes around. Those who come with this type of destruction in 1:9 will get this type of destruction when God himself comes with payback.

God’s defense in this courtroom scene is resounding! To this there is—there can be—no reply, except that given in 2:20—Habakkuk’s full transformation from confusion, astonishment, and even off-base, self-righteous complaint to utter awe, wonder, and “overwhelm.”

“YHWH is in his holy temple,
let all the earth keep silence before him.”

From Astonishment to Awe

Gone, now, are the questions. Now, a profound prayer of praise, celebrating the power, justice, and majesty of God. Habakkuk has “snapped out of” his delirium, feeling wronged, abandoned, and misjudged. He has now surrendered to God as sovereign over all, recognizing that God’s actions—though sometimes counterintuitive—are ultimately just and right.

Whereas the text at 1:5 shouts, “Be amazed, wonder, be astonished!” (tāmāh, תָּמָה) at what YHWH is about to do with the Chaldeans, the text at 3:3 now proclaims that God comes from Tāymôn (תַּיִּמוֹן)—a place traditionally associated with awe and power. Other Hebrew texts will also use this word in this way: Job 9:9; Job 39:26; Ps 78:26; Isa 43:6; Hab 3:3; Zech 9:14. These texts specifically highlight God’s power in different contexts, from creation to divine provision to judgment. (You often can't see this word in English translations—it gets absorbed by the translation.)

So, back here in Hab 3:3, the term is technically a geographical location—in the southern areas—but that really is not the point. Strength, majesty, and divine authority—that’s the point!  And by pairing Tāymôn with the mount of Paran (echoing Dt 33:2 and elsewhere) emphasizing universal power and acts of divine deliverance. So when God comes from Tāymôn, he not only comes with power, he himself —not the Chaldeans—is the very source of awe!

The wordplay between tāmāh (תָּמָה) in 1:5 and Tāymôn (תַּיִּמוֹן) in 3:3 is missed in English translations. But it’s both subtle and profound in the Hebrew text. What Habakkuk once wondered at in confusion in 1:5, he now recognizes in 3:3 as the very source of divine power and majesty.

The Cause of Marvel

It's not nations, tyrants, world leaders, or even circumstances; nor is it the frivolous "heroes" of our own age—not Iron Man, not Captain America, not Thor's hammer—that cause marvel. Despite all that seems to deny it or stop it or replace it, awe is brought by the faithfulness of YHWH God! Whatever it is that he is doing—he knows what he is doing.

This shift mirrors Habakkuk’s transformation from confusion about God's justice to a full, theologically rich recognition of God’s sovereignty—both for Habakkuk’s nation, and for Habakkuk himself.

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