For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,
Habakkuk 1:6
that bitter and hasty nation,
who march through the breadth of the earth,
to seize dwellings not their own.
God told Habakkuk something unbelievable was going to happen. He was going to answer the prophet’s petitions by dealing with the evils in Israel. They were going to be conquered by foreign invaders: the Chaldeans!
Introducing the Chaldeans
Who were the Chaldeans (Hebrew Chasdim; also translated “Babylonians” from their capital city of Babylon)?
They are first mentioned outside the Bible in Assyrian sources around 878 BC living by the Persian Gulf in what is today southeast Iraq. The land is first mentioned in the Bible as the origin of Abraham: “Ur of the Chaldeans” (Genesis 11:31), although the Chaldeans didn’t live there at the time. This was probably added later to clarify Ur from other cities of the same name.
Babylon had been under the control of the Assyrians. There were multiple failed uprisings throughout their history. One of its kings, Merodach-Baladan, visited King Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:12-15).
The Chaldeans conquered Babylon and gained their independence around 625 BC. From there, they began to grow, gobbling up chunks of Assyria’s holdings. With the fall of Nineveh (Assyria’s capital) in 612, their fate was sealed. When the Chaldeans defeated Egypt and the remnant of Assyria at the city of Carchemish (see Jeremiah 46:2 and note) in 605, they became the new masters of the Middle East. Realize: it only took 20 years from their independence before they were the dominant power in the region. It would be like the United States achieving the power it had after World War II before the year 1800. The Chaldeans rose quickly to dominance but only held it for a couple of generations before the Persians “liberated” Babylon from them in 539 BC. The Chaldeans quickly rose to power and fell even faster.
Reinterpreting Babylon
Babylon represents the city with its own agenda, fighting against God and oppressing his people. The city is first introduced by the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9; Babylon and Babel are the same in Hebrew).
The authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls wrote a commentary on the book of Habakkuk. They reinterpreted this passage in light of the events around them. They substituted the Romans for the Chaldeans (1QpHab 2:12). Just as the Chaldeans swooped in and conquered the land, so did the Romans.
The New Testament uses similar allusions, using the name Babylon to refer to Rome. We see this one of Peter’s epistles (1 Peter 5:13) and, most prominently, in Revelation: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great” (Revelation 14:8, 18:2, quoting Isaiah 21:9).
To Ponder…
Think of the power players in the world today. These could be nations, companies, or groups, individuals. Has the world reached this state without God’s knowledge or permission? While we may not understand why he allows nations to rise and fall, do you at least trust that he knows what he’s doing and will make things right?
Does singing “Fallen is Babylon” sound like good news to you? It depends on where you lie in the system. Do you identify more with the kingdoms of this world or the Kingdom of God?
And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning. They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,
“Alas! Alas! You great city,
Revelation 18:9-10
you mighty city, Babylon!
For in a single hour your judgment has come.”