Habakkuk: A New Translation With Introduction and Commentary (Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries) [Hardcover]

Francis I. Andersen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 14, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0385083963 | ISBN-13: 978-0385083966 | Edition: 1st

The book of Habakkuk (one of the twelve Minor Prophets) is an intensely personal testimony
played out against a highly political backdrop. Writing as his land and his fellow Israelites were being invaded and plundered by the Chaldeans, Habakkuk questions God’s actions with a passion equal to Job’s. Habakkuk wonders, how can a God who is just and compassionate allow his people to be slaughtered? In trying to punish the Israelites and right the wrongs of his people, why did God choose the savage, infinitely more wicked Chaldeans as his instrument? The puzzles Habakkuk contemplates will stir the hearts and minds of anyone who has ever wrestled with the evils of existence. Francis I. Andersen, a well-known authority on the Minor Prophets and acclaimed for his pioneering work in the study of biblical Hebrew, examines Habakkuk both as a work of sophisticated theological inquiry and as an artistic creation. The result is a book that illuminates the nuances of the text and brings to life the culture and values of the ancient Israelites through a compelling portrait of one the Bible’s most fascinating and most elusive prophets.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The book of Habakkuk (one of the twelve Minor Prophets) is an intensely personal testimony
played out against a highly political backdrop. Writing as his land and his fellow Israelites were being invaded and plundered by the Chaldeans, Habakkuk questions God's actions with a passion equal to Job's. Habakkuk wonders, how can a God who is just and compassionate allow his people to be slaughtered? In trying to punish the Israelites and right the wrongs of his people, why did God choose the savage, infinitely more wicked Chaldeans as his instrument? The puzzles Habakkuk contemplates will stir the hearts and minds of anyone who has ever wrestled with the evils of existence. Francis I. Andersen, a well-known authority on the Minor Prophets and acclaimed for his pioneering work in the study of biblical Hebrew, examines Habakkuk both as a work of sophisticated theological inquiry and as an artistic creation. The result is a book that illuminates the nuances of the text and brings to life the culture and values of the ancient Israelites through a compelling portrait of one the Bible's most fascinating and most elusive prophets.

About the Author

Francis I. Andersen taught Bible studies in the United States and other countries, and was David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary before retiring. He is currently Professorial Fellow in the Department of Classics and Archaeology at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Anchor Bible; 1st edition (August 14, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385083963
• ISBN-13: 978-0385083966
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,173,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Welcome, but could be better, October 4, 2001

By 

Michael Baxter (LONDON United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Habakkuk: A New Translation With Introduction and Commentary (Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries) (Hardcover)

Habakkuk is probably the most neglected book in the Bible. It is very hard to find any decent full-length commentary on it. Thus this book fills a gap in the market. However, it cannot be given an unqualified welcome. Most of the information you might hope to find is here, but the organisation is poor and the writing diffuse, making it very hard to find anything. This is particularly true of textual criticism, where a concise display of the evidence similar to that in the Word Bible Commentary series, would be welcome. Anyone interested in the Minor Prophets will have to buy this book, but may still feel unsatisfied.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Comprehensive Treatment of Habakkuk, May 23, 2011

By 

R. Michael Fox (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Habakkuk (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries) (Hardcover)

This commentary is truly monumental. Dr. Andersen provides a comprehensive examination and interpretation of Habakkuk. It discusses (in depth) all the literary concerns, textual issues, interpretive issues, structural issues, translation issues, and many more critical issues in the book. It really deserves 5 Stars in content alone. I give it 4 Stars, however, because there's a certain inaccessibility to this book. What I mean is that discussions sometimes lack clarity and have to be reread. Also, the Anchor Bible format isn't very inviting. This may be unfair to the author, but I'm rating the book itself, which happens to be in the Anchor Bible series.

If you're preaching or teaching from Habakkuk in a confessional setting (e.g. church), this is probably not the most helpful commentary. For the academic study of Habakkuk, however, it is absolutely essential. It's a solid work from a solid reader of biblical texts.