TEXT [Commentary]
2. The first taunt: the plundering Babylonians will be despoiled (2:5-8)
and the arrogant are never at rest.
They open their mouths as wide as the grave,[*]
and like death, they are never satisfied.
In their greed they have gathered up many nations
and swallowed many peoples.
6 “But soon their captives will taunt them.
They will mock them, saying,
‘What sorrow awaits you thieves!
Now you will get what you deserve!
You’ve become rich by extortion,
but how much longer can this go on?’
7 Suddenly, your debtors will take action.
They will turn on you and take all you have,
while you stand trembling and helpless.
8 Because you have plundered many nations,
now all the survivors will plunder you.
You committed murder throughout the countryside
and filled the towns with violence.
NOTES
2:5 Wealth. The NLT follows 1QpHab 8:3 in reading “wealth” (hon [TH1952, ZH2104]) rather than the MT’s “wine” (hayyayin [TH3196, ZH3516]). Although wine and wealth may be symptoms of an arrogant lifestyle, it is difficult to see how either of these was a precipitating cause of the Babylonians’ demise. Another possibility is to follow the suggestion of M. T. Houtsma (1885:180-183) that the form should be read as hawwan or hayyan and understood as “proud/presumptuous one.” Houtsma’s idea is attractive in that (1) as a rare form it would explain the shift to the more familiar words “wine” and “wealth” and (2) its usage here after a form of the word ‘apal (proud) in 2:4 mirrors the usage of the two roots in parallel texts in the Torah: ‘apal [TH6075/6075A, ZH6752/6753] in Num 14:44 (cf. Hab 2:4); and hun [TH1951, ZH2103] in Deut 1:41 (cf. Hab 2:5). Indeed, the probability of the reflection of these two rare roots drawn from parallel Pentateuchal passages in one context is so unlikely that their appearance here is striking. Accordingly, while “wine” or “wealth” are translational possibilities here, a good case can also be made for “presumption”: “Presumption betrays an arrogant man, and he is never at rest.”
arrogant. This adjective (yahir [TH3093, ZH3400]) occurs elsewhere only in Prov 21:24, where it is parallel to zed [TH2086, ZH2294] (proud/insolent). It is rendered by the LXX as kataphronētēs [cf. TG2707, ZG2970] (contemptuous) and by the Peshitta as maraha’ (willful, presumptuous, headstrong). Coupled with geber [TH1397, ZH1505] (man) and the following phrases, it yields a picture of a strong-willed man whose presumption knows no rest, so that in his greed he enslaves all who come in contact with him.
never at rest. This verbal hapax legomenon has been variously rendered. Thus the NASB (cf. KJV, NKJV) reads, “He does not stay at home”; the NJB reads, “He is forever on the move”; and Smith favors, “He shall not survive.”
grave. Cf. NLT mg, “Sheol.” The word has been variously translated as either “grave” (NIV), “death” (KJV), “hell” (NKJV), or “underworld” (LXX, Vulgate). The variations reflect the wide differences of opinion among scholars as to the concept of the afterlife in OT times and the semantic range of this word. At the very least, the meaning “grave” (cf. Gen 37:35; Ps 16:10; Hos 13:14) and “place of the (wicked) dead” (cf. Pss 49:14; 55:15) are established in the OT (see note on Hos 13:14).
2:6 their captives. The Hebrew text reads simply “these, all of them.” The lack of an antecedent for these words has occasioned a great deal of disagreement among commentators as to the referent in these taunt songs. R. L. Smith (1984) appears to favor the thought that the woes are the expression of Habakkuk himself (so also Craigie 1985) or perhaps of everyone (reading kulloh [TH3605/1886.4, ZH3972/2024] for kullam [TH3605/3963.1, ZH3972/4392]). F. C. Eiselen opts for Habakkuk, who is putting his words into the mouths of the nations. Keil (1954) decides it is the true believers among the oppressed peoples, and many (e.g., Feinberg 1976, Hailey 1972, Laetsch 1956, von Orelli 1897) favor the nations as such. Perhaps the whole matter is somewhat academic—the problem arising chiefly due to the literary demands of the section. Pronounced by God and communicated by his prophet, these words and those that follow will also be on the lips of the nations and the peoples who will suffer at the hands of the Babylonians. The NLT decides the reference is to the captive peoples.
taunt. The taunts of the captives begin with the words “what sorrow” (cf. 2:9, 12, 15, 19), an invective that customarily forms the first of three elements (invective, threat, criticism) in a woe oracle. The brevity of the individual “sorrows,” however, has led most commentators to see instead a series of taunts here.
The word translated “taunt” (mashal) is usually translated “proverb.” This noun is used in cases where the intended teaching is accomplished by drawing a comparison between matters that must be comprehended if their full implications are to be grasped. The presence of taunt songs in the literature of the ancient Near East, as well as in the OT (e.g., Isa 14:4-23, a taunt song against the Babylonian king), makes it clear that these verses are intended to be so understood. The original text goes on to say that the taunt songs will be accompanied by ridicule and riddles. The former designates a mocking poem or satire designed to heap scorn on its object by means of allusive discourse. The latter gives instructions through enigma (cf. Ezek 17:2-10; see Torczyner 1924:125-149). All three terms occur together in Prov 1:6 in a neutral setting.
extortion. The noun (‘abtit [TH5671, ZH6294]) is a hapax legomenon from the root ‘abat [TH5670, ZH6292] (to give a pledge), itself usually considered to be denominative from ‘abot [TH5667, ZH6287] (“pledge”; cf. Akkadian ebuttu, “loan”). Roberts (1991:119) remarks, “The possessions [the nation] has obtained by conquest are thus seen, not as Babylon’s own, but as simply on loan, as a burden of debt too heavy to pay back or to secure with pledges.”
2:7 your debtors. Like the NIV, the NLT views the image as one of debtors who rise up against their creditors. Alternatively, these verses may reflect a turn in the thought, the trope being that of a debtor who, because he has been unjustly taken advantage of, has been accumulating an obligation from his creditor. Hence, he now becomes the creditor, one who will violently press his claims through his collectors, despoiling his former creditors.
For procedures relative to loans in the ancient Near East, see Roberts 1991:119. Roberts adds that the understanding of creditors here rather than debtors “also fits the context better, since the threat of creditors arising to collect what was owed them was a constant fear of debtors, and many debtors found themselves as an object of plunder to their creditors.”
2:8 plundered. The verb shalal [TH7997A, ZH8964] (draw out, extort) is translated in accordance with the needs of the context: Since the emphasis of 2:7 is on despoiling the Babylonians, “plundering” makes an apt synonym. Robertson (1990:186-188) calls attention to the theme of retribution here as a deliberate literary device. He also notes the high literary quality of the whole taunt song, pointing out such devices as assonance and alliteration, double meaning in words, appeal to proverbial truth, and rhyming of phrases.
COMMENTARY [Text]
Utilizing the divine pronouncement and building on its principles, God’s answer takes the form of an argument a fortiori: If it is true that the arrogant have ungodly desires and so, unlike the righteous, never come to enjoy the blessings of God, how much more certain is it that the qualities that accompany such an attitude will ultimately betray them!
In their sinful arrogance, the wicked are betrayed by presumption. In their impetuousness they are ever restless, so that their selfish ambitions foster an unholy desire toward everyone and everything. So insatiable is their greed that it can be compared to the uncontrollable appetite of death, here personified as a voracious monster. As death and the grave continue their never-ending quest to swallow up life, so the Babylonians would swallow up all that was before them. In their aggression and expansion, they would gather all nations and peoples under their control. Nevertheless, the underlying implication is clear: The Babylonians’ selfishness and success will prove to be their undoing. The Scriptures reveal, however, that although death and the grave continue their never-ending quest to swallow up life, ultimately they will be conquered by the Life-giver (Hos 13:14; 1 Cor 15:55-57).
The first taunt song is a reminder of the principle of retributive justice. As the Babylonians have done to others, so it will be done to them (cf. Obad 1:15-16). Neither nation nor individual can go on taking advantage of others endlessly, for a day will come when the oppressed will say “Enough!” and turn on their oppressor. Further, God can send yet another, stronger oppressor to deal in kind with those who have so cruelly treated others.
This sudden calling-in of the debt came to pass as predicted. Although the Persian king Cyrus the Great spent the early days of his reign securing the subservience of neighboring peoples, he would one day be ready to move swiftly. His conquest of the Medes in 550 BC opened a claim to all the former Median territory, an area that composed the northern portion of the former Assyrian empire. After Lydia fell to Cyrus in 546 BC, Cyrus quickly subdued all of mainland Asia Minor and the adjacent Greek islands. Within a few short years, then, Cyrus found himself ruler of a territory that included all of the Iranian plateau westward across the northern Fertile Crescent and on to the Greek islands off the coast of Asia Minor. The next strike would take him against the Chaldeans, who capitulated rapidly after the loss of Babylon on October 13, 539 BC. (For details, see Olmstead 1948:34-58; Yamauchi 1990:72-74, 85-89.) So great was the relief felt by all in that day that Cyrus entered Babylon not as a conqueror but as a liberator. The temples were not profaned and the safety of the city was guaranteed. Cyrus took as his title “King of Babylon, Sumer and Akkad, and the four corners of the world.” He went further and claimed to have been chosen by Marduk, as is shown in a Babylonian text: “Marduk gave thought to all the lands, he saw them and sought a righteous king, a king after his own heart whom he would lead by the hand. He called his name Cyrus, king of Anshan, and appointed him to be king over all things” (see Parrot 1956:121).
A further charge against the Babylonian conquerors was their reckless disregard of all that lay in their path, whether human life or country or city. This is an affront to the God who is concerned for the ecology of the whole world, human and nonhuman. It is a sober reminder to all that mankind is charged with the proper care, use, and development of all that makes up life on Planet Earth.
This taunt song reminds the believers that they must guard against the temptation to enhance themselves at the expense of others (cf. Gal 4:10-12; 5:13-15). Greed too often accompanies selfishness and can also easily mar one’s spiritual fiber. The Lord Jesus cautioned, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own” (Luke 12:15), to which Paul added, “Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people” (Eph 5:3). How much better for Christian leaders (and worshipers) to not “lord it over the people assigned to [their] care, but lead them by [their] own good example” (1 Pet 5:3) and to heed James’s warning against selfish ambition (Jas 3:16), while following his wise counsel: “For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom” (Jas 3:15). If, then, individuals commit to reproducing the principles of spiritual living laid down in the Scriptures, they lay for themselves a foundation for freedom from greed and selfish ambition (cf. Ps 119:36-37).