Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Habakkuk 2:17
For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, [which] made them afraid, because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
17. violence of Lebanon ] i.e. done to Lebanon. Lebanon is not a figure for the holy land, but used literally. Both Assyrians and Babylonians transported wood from Lebanon for their temples and other edifices. It is possible that their cutting down of wood may have been wanton, and perhaps the use of the cedars by the Chaldean in any form may have been considered desecration. Comp. Isa 14:8.
shall cover thee ] Oba 1:10; Jer 3:25. In Oba 1:10 shame covers the Edomites because of the violence; here the violence itself covers. The violence carries shame, its recompense, in itself.
spoil made them afraid ] and the destruction of the beasts shall terrify thee (or, break thee). The ancient versions read thee for them, no doubt rightly. The Chaldeans may have made Lebanon their hunting-ground, and possibly they carried the chase to excess, though “spoil” or destruction does not mean extermination but violent treatment. The earth, the woods and the beasts no less than man have rights; there is nothing that exists which is not moral; wanton excess on anything recoils on the head of the perpetrator. The ravage and terror carried into the world of creatures shall come back in terror and destruction on the Chaldean. The refrain is as in Hab 2:11.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For the violence of Lebanon – i. e., done to Lebanon, whether the land of Israel of which it was the entrance and the beauty (See Isa 37:24, and, as a symbol, Jer 22:6, Jer 22:23; Eze 17:3; but it is used as a symbol of Sennacheribs army, Isa 10:34, and the king of Asshur is not indeed spoken of under the name as a symbol (in Eze 21:3,) but is compared to it), or the temple (See the note at Zec 12:1), both of which Nebuchadnezzar laid waste; or, more widely, it may be a symbol of all the majesty of the world and its empires, which he subdues, as Isaiah uses it, when speaking of the judgment on the world, Isa 2:13, It shall cover thee, and the spoil (i. e., spoiling, destruction) of beasts (the inhabitants of Lebanon) which made them afraid, or more simply, the wasting of wild beasts shall crush , Pro 10:14; Pro 13:3; Pro 14:14; Pro 18:7) them (selves), i. e., as it is in irrational nature, that the frequency of the incursions of very mischievous animals becomes the cause that people assemble against them and kill them, so their (the Chaldaeans) frequent injustice is the cause that they haste to be avenged on thee .
Having become beasts, they shared their history. They spoiled, scared, laid waste, were destroyed. Whoso seeketh to hurt another, hurteth himself. The Chaldaeans laid waste Judea, scared and wasted its inhabitants; the end of its plunder should be, not to adorn, but to cover them, overwhelm them as in ruins, so that they should not lift up their heads again. Violence returns upon the head of him who did it; they seem to raise a lofty fabric, but are buried under it. He sums up their past experience, what God had warned them beforehand, what they had found.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 17. For the violence of Lebanon] Or, the violence done to Lebanon; to men, to cattle, to Judea, and to Jerusalem. See the note on the parallel place, Hab 2:8. This may be a threatening against Egypt, as the former was against Chaldea.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The violence of Lebanon shall cover thee: this is added to all the rest, that Gods people might know this was the time of recompences for Zion, that the violence by Babylon done to Judea and its inhabitants should be avenged and no longer deferred, but now should overwhelm Babylon, in which should be made as great devastations as ever she made in the fruitful and beautiful mountain Lebanon, supposed, in Deu 3:25, to express the land of Canaan; or else by Lebanon may be meant the temple, and house of the sanctuary, (as the Chaldee paraphrast,) because it was built of the cedars of Lebanon.
Thee; Babylon.
The spoil of beasts; such spoil as by hunters is made among wild beasts, when they endeavour to destroy the whole kind of them, such havoc, and by all the ways and methods that art and subtlety can invent to extirpate them, such wastes shalt thou suffer; for thou art to be destroyed: Or else thus, such desolations shall thine enemies make in thee as wild, ravenous, and insatiable beasts make where they prevail, they shall tear and devour all they seize, and seize all that peep abroad, and this shall make all men afraid continually.
Because of mens blood, & c.: see Hab 2:8.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. the violence of Lebanonthy”violence” against “Lebanon,” that is, Jerusalem(Isa 37:24; Jer 22:23;Eze 17:3; Eze 17:12;for Lebanon’s cedars were used in building the temple and houses ofJerusalem; and its beauty made it a fit type of the metropolis),shall fall on thine own head.
coverthat is,completely overwhelm.
the spoil of beasts, whichmade them afraidMAURERexplains, “the spoiling inflicted on the beasts ofLebanon (that is, on the people of Jerusalem, of which city ‘Lebanon’is the type), which made them afraid (shall cover thee).”But it seems inappropriate to compare the elect people to “beasts.”I therefore prefer explaining, “the spoiling of beasts,”that is, such as is inflicted on beasts caught in a net, and “whichmakes them afraid (shall cover thee).” Thus the Babylonians arecompared to wild beasts terrified at being caught suddenly in a net.In cruel rapacity they resembled wild beasts. The ancients read, “thespoiling of wild beasts shall make THEEafraid.” Or else explain, “the spoiling of beasts(the Medes and Persians) which (inflicted by thee) made themafraid (shall in turn cover thyselfrevert on thyself from them).”This accords better with the parallel clause, “the violence ofLebanon,” that is, inflicted by thee on Lebanon. As thou didsthunt men as wild beasts, so shalt thou be hunted thyself as a wildbeast, which thou resemblest in cruelty.
because of men’s bloodshedby thee; repeated from Hab 2:8.But here the “land” and “city” are used of Judeaand Jerusalem: not of the earth and cities generally,as in Hab 2:8.
the violence of the land,&c.that is, inflicted on the land by thee.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee,…. Lebanon was a mountain on the borders of the land of Israel, from whence cedar wood was brought, of which the temple was built, and for that reason is sometimes so called, as in Zec 11:1 and so the Targum and Jarchi interpret it,
“the violence of the house of the sanctuary shall cover thee;”
and this was a type of the church of Christ, the violence of which is that which is offered to it, and which it suffers; and designs all the injuries, oppressions, and persecutions of it by the Papists; who shall be surrounded with the judgments of God, and covered with his wrath and vengeance for the violence done to his people, as a man is covered with a garment: or else the sense is, that the same, or a like judgment, should come upon them, as did on Lebanon, or the material temple of Jerusalem, which with great force and violence destroyed it; as that was consumed by fire for the sins of the Jews in rejecting Christ and persecuting his people, so shall Rome be burnt with fire for the opposition of the inhabitants of it to Christ, and the injuries they have done to his church and people:
and the spoil of beasts, [which] made them afraid; or, “the spoil of the beasts” shall cover thee, which “made them afraid”; we read of two beasts, one rising out of the sea, and the other out of the earth; and both design the pope of Rome in different capacities, as considered in his secular and ecclesiastical power; and the spoil he has made of those that oppose him, the calamities of fire and sword he has brought upon them, are what have greatly terrified the sheep of Christ; but for all the spoil and havoc he has made, the judgments of God shall come upon him on all sides, and utterly destroy him; the beast and false prophet shall be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone; see
Re 13:1:
because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein; the same that is said in Hab 2:8 and here repeated, as respecting another body of men, guilty of the same or like crimes: there Rome Pagan, concerned in the crucifixion of Christ, the desolation of the land of Judea, and city of Jerusalem, and their inhabitants, as well as in persecuting the saints, the citizens of the church of God; here Rome Papal, where our Lord has been crucified again, and his blood, and the efficacy of it, set at nought; the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus shed in great abundance, and violent persecutions of the churches of Christ, and the members of them; for all which the above judgments shall come upon them; see Re 11:8.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
We may hence easily learn, that the Prophet has not been speaking of drunkenness, but that his discourse, as we have explained, was metaphorical; for here follows a reason, why he had denounced such a punishment on the king of Babylon, and that was, because he had exercised violence, not only against all nations indiscriminately, but also against the chosen people of God. He had before only set forth in general the cruelty with which the king of Babylon had destroyed many nations; but he now speaks distinctly of the Jews, in order to show that God would in a peculiar manner be the avenger of that cruelty which the Chaldeans had employed towards the Jews, because the Lord had taken that people under his own protection. Since then the king of Babylon had assailed the children of God, who had been adopted by him, and whose defender he was, he denounces upon him here a special punishment. We thus see that this discourse is properly addressed to the Jews; for he intended to bring them some consolation in their extreme evils, so that they might strengthen their patience; for they were thereby made to see that the wrongs done to them were come to a reckoning before God.
By Libanus then we are to understand either Judea or the temple; for Libanus, as it is well known, was not far from the temple; and it is elsewhere found in the same sense. But if any extends this to the land of Judea, the meaning will be the same; there will be but little or no difference as to the subject that is handled. Because the violence then of Libanus shall overwhelm thee
Then come the words, the pillaging of beasts. Interpreters think that the Chaldeans and Assyrians are here called בהמות, bemutt, beasts, as they had been savage and cruel, like wild beasts, in laying waste Judea; but I rather understand by the beasts of Libanus those which inhabited that forest. The Prophet exaggerates the cruelty of the king of Babylon by this consideration, that he had been an enemy to brute beasts; and I consider the pronoun relative אשר, asher, which, to be understood before the verb יחיתן, ichiten, which may be taken to mean, to tear, or to frighten, Some give this rendering, “The plundering of beasts shall tear them;” as though he had said, “The Babylonians are indeed like savage beasts, but they shall be torn by their own plundering:” but another sense will be more suitable that the plundering of beasts, which terrified them, shall overwhelm thee; for the same verb, יבס, icas, shall cover or overwhelm the king of Babylon, is to be repeated here. He adds at last the clause, which was explained yesterday. We now perceive the meaning of the Prophet to be—that the king of Babylon would be justly plundered, because he had destroyed the holy land and iniquitously attacked God’s chosen people, and had also carried on his depredations through almost the whole of the Eastern world. (45) It now follows—
(45) It is commonly agreed, that Libanus here means either the temple or the land of Judah; most probably the last, according to the opinion of Jerome, Drusius, and others. The “violence,” or outrage, of Libanus, means the violence done to it, as Newcome and others render the clause. The next line is more difficult: if the verb be retained as it is, we must either adopt what Calvin has proposed, and after him Drusius, or take the [ ו ] at the beginning as a particle of comparison, according to what is done by Henderson, “As the destruction of beasts terrifieth them.” But to preserve the parallelism of the two lines, it would be better to adopt the correction of all the early versions, Sept. Arab. Syr. and also of the Chald. par.; which substitute [ ד ] for [ ז ] and make the verb to be [ יחיתד ]: and there are two MSS. which have [ יחת ]. In this case the rendering would be the following—
Because the violence done to Libanus shall overwhelm thee; And the depredation done to the beasts shall rend thee; On account of the blood of men, and of violence to the land, To the city, and to all who dwelt in it.
The reason men are called “beasts” is because Libanus is mentioned which was inhabited by beasts; and in the two following lines the statement is more clear, and according to the order usually observed, “the depredation done to beasts” is “the blood of men;” and “the violence to Libanus” is “violence to the land.” And then, as it is often the case in the Prophets, there is an addition made to the two last lines, “To the city,” etc.— Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(17) For the violence of Lebanon. . . .Better, For the violence done to Lebanon shall overwhelm thee, and the destruction of the beasts which it frightened away. The rest of the verse is a refrain taken from the first woe, that of Hab. 2:8. The destruction of beasts points, we think, to a raid on the cattle feeding on the sides of Lebanon. But more than this is probably included in the phrase the violence done to Lebanon. Habakkuk probably foresees how the invader will cut down the cedar forests in Lebanon to adorn the palaces of Babylon. (Comp. Isa. 14:7-8.) All these outrages shall in due time be Avenged on himself. Some commentators, however, explain the expression as a bold synecdoche, Lebanon representing the Holy Land (of which it was the beauty), or even the Temple, both of which Nebuchadnezzar laid waste.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Hab 2:17. For the violence of Lebanon For upon thee shall be returned the violences done in Lebanon, and the spoil of cattle, and whatever shall remain of human blood, and of the spoils of the land, &c. Houbigant. See Hab 2:8.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Hab 2:17 For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, [which] made them afraid, because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
Ver. 17. For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee ] Here, for the comfort of God’s people (which is the main scope of this prophecy), he repeateth the chief causes of Babylon’s calamity; viz. her cruelty to Lebanon, that is, to all Judaea (a part being put for the whole). Or else he speaketh of the violence done to the temple, which was built of the cedars of Lebanon; as was likewise the temple of Diana at Ephesus made of cedar wood. The devil loves to be God’s ape. This violence in firing the temple and desolating the country shall cover thee all over as a garment doth the body; yea, it shall be as the shirt, made for the murdering of Agamemnon, where the head had no issue out.
And the spoil of beasts which made them afraid
Because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein] See Trapp on “ Hab 2:8 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
violence of Lebanon: i.e. violence [done to] Lebanon by felling its trees.
which made them afraid: or, shall make thee afraid.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the violence: Zec 11:1
because: Hab 2:8, Psa 55:23, Psa 137:8, Pro 28:17, Rev 18:20-24
of the city: Jer 50:28, Jer 50:33, Jer 50:34, Jer 51:24, Jer 51:34-37
Reciprocal: Gen 6:11 – filled Pro 13:2 – the soul Isa 14:4 – How Isa 17:14 – the portion Jer 50:14 – for she Jer 51:11 – the vengeance Eze 28:16 – filled Eze 31:16 – and all Hab 1:17 – and Zep 3:15 – he hath Zec 2:8 – the nations Zec 2:9 – and they Zec 12:3 – in that
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Hab 2:17. Violence of Lebanon. The violence of Lebanon or the city of Jerusalem means that which was intended against the holy territory. But such violence was to rebound and cover the wicked nation or king who designed such drastic actions.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Hab 2:17. For the violence of Lebanon [that is, the violence done to Lebanon] shall cover thee That is, says Grotius, thou shalt suffer the punishment of having destroyed the temple, which is here called Lebanon, because it was built, in a great measure, with the cedars of Lebanon. And the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid The relative which, added by our translators, obscures the text, which might be more plainly rendered, The spoil of (or, made by) beasts shall make them afraid, or make thee afraid, as the LXX. and Chaldee, with very little alteration, read the text. As thou hast spoiled other, without any sense of common humanity, so the army of the conqueror shall deal by thee, and shall tear thee in pieces as wild beasts do their prey. See Isa 13:15-18. Because of mens blood See note on Hab 2:8.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2:17 For the {o} violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, [which] made them afraid, because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell in it.
(o) Because the Babylonians were cruel not only against other nations, but also against the people of God, which is meant by Lebanon and the beast in it, he shows that the same cruelly will be executed against them.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Babylon’s violence (ethical and moral injustice) would come back to cover him because he had rapaciously stripped Lebanon of its vegetation and animals. However bloodshed in Lebanon’s main town and the slaughter of its inhabitants was an even more serious crime. "Lebanon" is probably a synecdoche for Israel, as it is elsewhere (cf. 2Ki 14:9; Jer 22:6; Jer 22:23), and "the town" most likely refers to Jerusalem.
"The Creator of the world has a concern for what is nowadays called ecology; the cultural mandate that he has given to the human race includes the responsible stewardship of plant and animal life." [Note: Bruce, p. 872.]