A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.
Habakkuk 3:1
We have finally arrived at the third chapter of Habakkuk’s short book! A quick bit of review is in order to set the context for what’s ahead.
Habakkuk begins by complaining about the injustice and violence around him. How can the world be so messed up and God does nothing about it? God answers him saying he was going to act by sending the Chaldeans (Babylonians) to punish Israel and the nations. Habakkuk then responds with another question: how could God use a nation even more wicked than Israel to punish them? God, unphased by Habakkuk’s questions, replies that the Babylonians will also eventually get their fair share of the judgment. He then launches into pronouncing five woes against these arrogant, violent, greedy, idolatrous people.
How would you respond to this?
Habakkuk’s Prayer
Chapter three is Habakkuk’s response: a prayer. What would you pray about in Habakkuk’s situation? How have you been taught to pray? Perhaps there’s a model you follow. Perhaps you use set liturgy. Or you can say whatever random thoughts comes to mind.
Before his prayer is a heading in verse 1, much like the titles of various Psalms. The first thing we see is that it is a prayer. A small handful of Psalms say they are a prayer (e.g. Psalm 17).
Habakkuk’s prayer describes how great and powerful God is. Looking towards the impending destruction, he ends by praising God for being his strength and salvation.
Habakkuk’s Straying Song
The heading of his prayer also says it is “according to Shigionoth.” What is “Shigionoth”? The short answer is that no one knows. Presumably some musical or liturgical term. The only other place it appears is in the title of Psalm 7: “A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite”. It’s in the singular in the Psalm and plural in Habakkuk.
It may be rooted in the verb שָׁגָה (shaga), which means to stray, go astray, or wander (both physically and metaphorically). Shaga describes sheep wandering without a shepherd (Ezekiel 34:6) or leading a blind man astray (Deuteronomy 27:18). People can also stray from knowledge (Proverbs 19:27) and be led astray by an adulteress (Proverbs 5:23). They can also reel/stagger with wine (Isaiah 28:7).
Perhaps it describes this as a wandering prayer, jumping from thought to thought. Perhaps the rhythm is sporadic. This title makes his prayer feel more like a song.
Keep the Music Playing
To further cement the idea that this should be sung, the chapter concludes in verse 19 using words similar to the titles of Psalms: “To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.”
Way back in Habakkuk 1:4, we saw him complain about how justice did not endure (netzach). The verb form means to supervise. A foreman oversees work (2 Chronicles 2:2) to make sure it progresses. Another related word is “choirmaster” (m’natzeach) used here. If you flip through the Psalms, 55 of them (over a third!) have “To the choirmaster” in the title (e.g. Psalm 4). A “choirmaster” is one supervising music. Why does a choirmaster supervise music and a foreman supervises his laborers? They want to see the work progress and endure.
What’s more, this song is on stringed instruments (Hebrew n’ginah). A handful of Psalms include this in their title (e.g. Psalm 4 again). However, it may be a style of music instead. We find it translated differently here: “I have become the laughingstock of all peoples, / the object of their taunts (n’ginah) all day long” (Lamentations 3:14), paralleling laughingstock. “I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, / and the drunkards make songs (n’ginah) about me” (Psalm 69:12). This word specific to taunts or it could broadly include taunting songs.
To Ponder…
How often when you pray do you simply praise God for who he is?
Why are so many prayers in the Bible also songs? Is there anything we can do to improve our prayers or our songs?
What would it look like to pray Habakkuk’s prayer?