Chapter 2 from verse 2 onwards is framed as The Lord's Answer to Habakkuk.
I have read various commentaries but am still confused by this passage. Does it refer to Babylon or Jerusalem? The commentaries all to seem to casually assumed that it is Babylon that is being referred to. The words of the Lord begin by referring to Babylon in the third person. Then from verse 7 the second person is used.
Given that the Lord has just explained in the previous chapter that he going to raise up Babylon as a weapon against Jerusalem - it would make sense that 2:7-17 is an explanation of why and that therefore it is Jeruasalem that is going to receive a drubbing. And indeed that turns out to be the case:
Habakkuk prophesied in the southern kingdom of Judah at some time around the battle of Carchemish (605 BC). This battle, which resulted in the total defeat of the Egyptian armies, marked the end of any serious resistance to the Babylonian advances in the region. It was not long before Judah found herself under threat from Babylon - a threat that would lead to an attack on Jerusalem and partial deportation of its inhabitants in 597 BC, and a final onslaught in 588, eventually leading to the fall of the city and deportation of most of its population in 586 BC. The text of the book itself does not allow us to date the prophecy with any great precision.
In more detail:
Chapter 2 from verse 2 onwards is framed as The Lord's Answer to Habakkuk.
I have read various commentaries but am still confused by this passage. Does it refer to Babylon or Jerusalem? The commentaries all to seem to casually assumed that it is Babylon that is being referred to. The words of the Lord begin by referring to Babylon in the third person. Then from verse 7 the second person is used.
Given that the Lord has just explained in the previous chapter that he going to raise up Babylon as a weapon against Jerusalem - it would make sense that 2:7-17 is an explanation of why and that therefore it is Jeruasalem that is going to receive a drubbing. And indeed that turns out to be the case:
Habakkuk prophesied in the southern kingdom of Judah at some time around the battle of Carchemish (605 BC). This battle, which resulted in the total defeat of the Egyptian armies, marked the end of any serious resistance to the Babylonian advances in the region. It was not long before Judah found herself under threat from Babylon - a threat that would lead to an attack on Jerusalem and partial deportation of its inhabitants in 597 BC, and a final onslaught in 588, eventually leading to the fall of the city and deportation of most of its population in 586 BC. The text of the book itself does not allow us to date the prophecy with any great precision.
McGrath, Alister. NIV Bible Handbook . John Murray Press. Kindle Edition.
So why the assumption that the Lord was referring to Babylon in 2:7-17?
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