Editing Book of Habakkuk (section)

==Habakkuk 2:4==
[[File:Köln_Juedfriedbockl2-07-03-25.jpg|thumb|Habakkuk 2:4b quoted in a Jewish cemetery in [[Cologne]]: "the righteous will live by his faith."]]
[[File:PaulT.jpg|thumb|right|240px|''Saint Paul Writing His Epistles'', 16th-century painting]]
The Talmud (Makkot 24a) mentions that various Biblical figures grouped the [[613 commandments]] into categories that encapsulated all of the 613. At the end of this discussion, the Talmud concludes, "Habakkuk came and established [the 613 mitzvoth] upon one, as it is stated: 'But the righteous person shall live by his faith' ([[Habakkuk 2#Verse 4|Habakkuk 2:4]])".

Habakkuk 2:4 is well known in Christianity. In the [[New International Version]] of the bible it reads:

:''See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright''
::''but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness.''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bible Gateway passage: Habakkuk 2:4 - New International Version |url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Habakkuk%202%3A4&version=NIV |access-date=2022-05-30 |website=Bible Gateway |language=en}}</ref>

Although the second half of this passage is only three words in the original Hebrew,{{sfnp|Barber|1985|p=38}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|The [[s:he:חבקוק ניקוד|Hebrew text]] is {{Script/Hebrew|וְצַדִּיק בֶּאֱמוּנָתוֹ יִחְיֶה}}}} it is quoted three times in the [[New Testament]].<ref name="McGee">{{cite book | last=McGee | first=J. Vernon | year=1991 | title=Nahum and Habakkuk | series=Thru the Bible Commentary Series | location=Nashville, TN | publisher=Thomas Nelson Publishers | isbn=0-7852-1033-4}}</ref>{{rp|66}} [[Paul the Apostle]] quotes it once in his [[Romans 1|Epistle to the Romans]],<ref>''Bible'', [[Romans 1:17]]</ref> and again in his [[Galatians 3|Epistle to the Galatians]];<ref>''Bible'', [[Galatians 3:11]]</ref> its third use is in the [[Epistle to the Hebrews]].<ref>''Bible'', [[Hebrews 10:38]]</ref> It became one of the most important of the verses that were used as foundations of the doctrines of the [[Reformation|Protestant reformation]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Price |first=Ira Maurice |date=1910 |title=The Just Shall Live by Faith: Habakkuk 2:4 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3141826 |journal=The Biblical World |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=39–45 |doi=10.1086/474285 |jstor=3141826 |s2cid=144496372 |issn=0190-3578}}</ref><ref name=":1"/>

There is controversy about the translation of the verse: the word "emunah" is most often translated as "faithfulness", though the word in this verse has been traditionally translated as "faith".<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Clendenen |first=E. Ray |date=2014-01-01 |title=Salvation by Faith or by Faithfulness in the Book of Habakkuk? |url=https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/psup/biblical-research/article/24/4/505/252747/Salvation-by-Faith-or-by-Faithfulness-in-the-Book |journal=Bulletin for Biblical Research |language=en |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=505–513 |doi=10.2307/26371312 |jstor=26371312 |s2cid=246630454 |issn=1065-223X}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite thesis |last=Tresham |first=Aaron K. |title=Paul's Use Of Habakkuk 2:4 In Romans 1:17 And Galatians 3:11 |type=Masters |publisher=The Master's Seminary |date=2008 |url=https://www.academia.edu/5886101}}{{better source needed|date=April 2023|reason=Per [[WP:SCHOLARSHIP]] only published doctorates are considered reliable sources}}</ref>

The word "emunah" is not translated as "belief" other than in Habakkuk 2:4,<ref>{{Cite book |title=New English Translation |publisher=Biblical Studies Press |year=2001 |quote=Habakkuk 2:4 tn Or “loyalty”; or “integrity.” The Hebrew word אֱמוּנָה (ʾemunah) has traditionally been translated as "faith", but the term nowhere else refers to “belief” as such. When used of human character and conduct it carries the notion of “honesty, integrity, reliability, faithfulness”. The antecedent of the suffix has been understood in different ways. It could refer to God’s faithfulness, but in this case one would expect a first person suffix (the original form of the LXX has “my faithfulness” here).}}</ref>  Clendenen, E. Ray defended the translation of the word as "faith" on the basis of the context of the verse, arguing that it refers to ''Genesis 15:6'', which used the word "''he’ĕmin"''  'believed' of which "''’ĕmȗnāh''" is derived from, he also argued that the [[Essenes]] in the Qumran community likely understood the verse as referring to faith in the [[Teacher of Righteousness]] instead of faithfulness.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sprinkle |first=Preston M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rYeKAAAAQBAJ&dq=Habakkuk+2%3A4+Qumran&pg=PA165 |title=Paul and Judaism Revisited: A Study of Divine and Human Agency in Salvation |date=2013-08-01 |publisher=InterVarsity Press |isbn=978-0-8308-2709-1 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Martin Luther]] believed that Habakkuk 2:4 taught the doctrine of [[Sola fide|faith alone]], commenting on the verse "For this is a general saying applicable to all of God's words. These must be believed, whether spoken at the beginning, middle, or end of the world".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hess |first=Richard S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kfvBDQAAQBAJ&dq=Habakkuk+2%3A4+Martin+Luther&pg=PT667 |title=The Old Testament: A Historical, Theological, and Critical Introduction |date=2016-11-15 |publisher=Baker Academic |isbn=978-1-4934-0573-2 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Rashi]] interpreted the verse to be about [[Jeconiah]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rashi on Habakkuk 2:4:2 |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Habakkuk.2.4.2?ven=The_Twelve_Prophets,_English_translation_by_A._Cohen,_Soncino_Press,_1948&vhe=On_Your_Way&lang=bi |access-date=2022-05-30 |website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref>

The [[Targum]] interpreted the verse as "The wicked think that all these things are not so, but the righteous live by the truth of them".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Beale |first1=G. K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M_4Tj384hrcC&dq=Habakkuk+2%3A4+Targum&pg=PT1197 |title=Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament |last2=Carson |first2=D. A. |date=2007-11-01 |publisher=Baker Books |isbn=978-1-4412-1052-4 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Pseudo-Ignatius]] understood the verse to be about faith.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CHURCH FATHERS: Spurious Epistles (Ignatius of Antioch) |url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0114.htm |access-date=2022-06-17 |website=www.newadvent.org |quote=who am driven along by land and sea, exhort you: stand fast in the faith, 1 Corinthians 16:13 and be steadfast, for the just shall live by faith;}}</ref>