Habakkuk 3:3

God came from Teman,.... Or, "may God come from Teman" (t); since it is part of the prayer of Habakkuk: or, as "from Teman" (u); as he of old came from thence, a city in the land of Edom, Jeremiah

God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.

God, the God of our fathers, our God, came; appeared, discovered himself, for that is his coming, who, since he fills all places at all times, cannot be said to come by any change of place. Teman; either appellatively, the south, or else as a proper name of a mountain or country. so called from Teman, son of Eliphaz, and grandson of Esau. It is also called Seir, or is one particular hill among those many which make up Mount Seir. It was not far from Mount Sinai, where the law was given, and the prophet hath respect to that , where God appeared in a manner equally glorious and terrible, The Holy One of Israel. Mount Paran; which was a name to wilderness, plains, and a mountain, of which the prophet here speaketh, and in it is said God shined thence. This the prophet mentions as a support of his faith, as an encouragement to others, as a motive why God should renew his work among them, since he so gloriously appeared among their fathers, and made a covenant with them. Selah: to the argument he addeth this to awaken us to attention. His glory; lightnings and thunders, and fire and smoke, tokens of the power, majesty, and greatness of God, at the sight whereof Moses himself trembled. Covered, overspread, intercepted, and obscured, the heavens; that part of the visible heavens under which Israel then encamped. The earth, that part of the earth where this was done, was full of his praise; of works which deserved then, and still do deserve, to be had in remembrance, with praise to God who did them.

Habakkuk 3:3 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.Ver. 3. God came from Teman] The prophet alludeth to that of Moses in his swan-like song, Deuteronomy 33:2, and allegeth God’ s benefits of old, for his own and their present confirmation of faith; without which prayer would be to no purpose; hence effectual prayer is called the "prayer of faith," James 5:15. Whatsoever ye ask believing ye shall receive, saith our Saviour, Mark 11:24. "Cast thy burden" (or thy request) "upon the Lord," saith David, Psalms 55:22. To help us so to do it is of singular use to consider what God hath done heretofore; for thou hast, thou wilt, is an ordinary medium of Scriptural logic, see Psalms 85:1-4. There be six hast’ s drawing in the next, Turn us again, &c., Psalms 85:4; see also 2 Corinthians 1:10. God’ s majesty and might when he gave the law in Sinai is here set forth, to show how easily he can, if he please, turn again the captivity of his people, as the streams in the south, Psalms 126:4. And the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah] He that is holiness itself (a title far too good for that man of sin, that Merum Scelus pure wickedness, the Pope, Philip the Fair of France did him right in writing to him thus, Sciat tua maxima Fatuitas, &c., Be it known to your foolishness, not to your holiness), and that must be sanctified in righteousness, Isaiah 5:16. Mount Paran was contiguous to the mountains Sinai and Teman, otherwise called Seir for its roughness, Deuteronomy 33:2. Selah. This the Seventy make to be a musical notion, rendering it Diapsalma. a pause in music. It seemeth to import an asseveration of a thing so to be, and an admiration thereat. The Jews to this day use it in their prayers for Legnolam, i.e. For ever, or Amen. It is probable, that when the singers of the temple came to a Selah (which word is used ninety-two times in Scripture, and only in Psalms and Songs) they made a pause, that the hearers might stay their thoughts awhile upon the preceding matter, worthy of more than ordinary observation. Hence Tremellius and Junius express Selah by the adverbs Summe, Maxime, Vehementissime, Excellenter. It was doubtless a singular mercy of God to his people of Israel, that be came from Teman, &c., to speak with them from heaven; and there to give them "right judgments and true laws, good statutes and commandments," Nehemiah 9:13-14.

III. (1-15) A hymn describing a future self-manifestation of Jehovah on Israel’s behalf, accompanied by the signs and wonders of the early history. It is impossible to give the English reader an idea of the rhythmical structure of this beautiful composition. We will only observe that it is independent of the arrangement in verses, and that the poem (except in Habakkuk 3:7-8; Habakkuk 3:13, fin.) consists of lines each containing exactly three words.

Verse 3. God came from Teman] Bp. Lowth observes: "This is a sudden burst of poetry, in the true spirit of the ode; the concealed connection being that God, who had formerly displayed such power in delivering the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, might succour their posterity in a like wonderful manner." Hence the prophet selects the most striking facts of that first deliverance; and to decorate and render them impressive, brings forth all the powers of his genius, in all the strength and elegance of his language. "What crowns the sublimity of this piece," says Bp. Lowth, "is the singular elegance of the close; and were it not that antiquity has here and there thrown its veil of obscurity over it, there could not be conceived a more perfect and masterly poem of its kind." See, for more particulars, his twenty-eighth Prelection. I shall endeavour to show the facts in the deliverance from Egypt, to which the prophet refers. Teman] This was a city, the capital of a province of Idumea, to the south of the land of Canaan. Numbers 20:21; Jeremiah 49:7. Paran] Was a city which gave its name to a province in Arabia Petrea. Genesis 21:21; Deuteronomy 33:2. Selah] This word is not well known; probably it means a pause or alteration in the music. See it in the Psalms, and its explanation there. His glory covered the heavens] His glory when he descended on Mount Sinai, and in the pillar of fire by night. The earth was full of his praise.] All the land was astonished at the magnificence of his works in behalf of his people. Instead of praise, some translate splendour. The whole land was illuminated by his glory.

3–15. The Revelation of Jehovah The passage has three strophes of 5, 4, 4 verses respectively. (1) Description of the Theophany, Habakkuk 3:3-7. (2) The question, what is its meaning? Habakkuk 3:8-11. (3) Statement of its meaning—it is to save His people, Habakkuk 3:12-15.

God came - literally, shall come From Teman - “God shall come,” as He came of old, clothed with majesty and power; but it was not mere power.

Jehovah’s terrible approach, Habakkuk 3:3-7.3. Teman — See on Amos 1:12. Mount Paran — In all probability the mountain range between Mount Seir and Mount Sinai.