Habakkuk 2:5b-The Babylonians Capture the Peoples of the Various Nations in the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian Regions of the World
Habakkuk Chapter Two • Sermon • Submitted • 1:05:50
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Habakkuk 2:5 indeed, wine betrays him; he is arrogant and never at rest. Because he is as greedy as the grave and like death is never satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the peoples. (NIV)
Habakkuk 2:5 But indeed, because his wine betrays him, the strong man is proud. Consequently, he is never at rest because his greed is enormous like Sheol, that is, he in fact can never be satisfied. Yes indeed, for his own advantage, he gathers all the nations, in other words, for his own advantage, he takes captive all the peoples. (My translation)
As we noted in our study of Habakkuk 2:2, this verse begins the fourth major section of the book of Habakkuk which ends in Habakkuk 2:20.
Now, the fourth section recorded in Habakkuk 2:2-20 contains the Lord’s response to Habakkuk’s argument and records the Lord’s decision to judge the Babylonian empire in the future for their unrepentant sinful behavior.
Habakkuk 2:2-3 form a prologue presenting the context for this vision and Habakkuk 2:4-20 contains the content of this vision.
Therefore, Habakkuk 2:4 is a transitional statement because it marks the beginning of the content of this prophecy regarding the destruction of the Babylonian Empire.
Habakkuk 2:5 begins to communicate the content of this vision or revelation from the Lord God of Israel in 605 B.C.
The content of this revelation from the Lord reveals that it concerns itself with the Babylonians.
Specifically, this vision reveals that the God of Israel will eventually judge the Babylonians for their sinful, unrepentant behavior just like He used Babylon to judge the southern kingdom of Judah for their sinful unrepentant behavior along with other nations in the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian regions of the world in Habakkuk’s day.
Habakkuk 2:5 contains six assertions, which are all describing the Babylonians, which is indicated by the immediate preceding context in Habakkuk 1:5-17 and the immediate context to follow, which is of course Habakkuk 2:6-20.
The first assertion emphatically states that the strong man is proud because his wine betrays him.
The reference to wine is figurative for the imperialistic success of the Babylonians.
So therefore, the first assertion states that the Babylonians were proud because of the military success in conquering many nations in the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian regions of the world in the seventh century B.C. or in other words, they thought they were invincible.
Now, the second assertion in Habakkuk 2:5 states that the Babylonian is never at rest and it emphatically negates the idea of the Babylonian being at rest in the sense of being satisfied with the nations and territory he has conquered.
The third assertion in Habakkuk 2:5 states that the Babylonian’s greed is enormous like Sheol.
The reference to their greed here refers to the fact that the Babylonian Empire had an insatiable desire to acquire not only nations and peoples to serve them but also to acquire the wealth and possessions of these nations.
The fourth assertion in Habakkuk 2:5 emphatically states that the Babylonian strong man gathers all the nations for his own advantage.
The “nations” refers specifically to all the Gentile nations located in the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian regions of the world who stand in contrast to the southern kingdom of Judah because they do not possess a covenant relationship with God as was the case with Judah.
When the Lord asserts that the Babylonian gathers “all” the nations, we must remember that He is using “hyperbole,” which can be defined as conscious exaggeration for the sake of effect.
Often (but not always) the effect aimed at is the expression of strong feeling.”
Hyperbole “is a type of overstatement in order to increase the effect of what is being said.[1]
A hyperbole is a deliberate exaggeration, in which more is said than is literally meant, in order to add emphasis.[2]
Therefore, when the Lord asserts in Habakkuk 2:5 that the Babylonian gathers “all” the nations, He is employing the figure of hyperbole in order to emphasize with the reader the tremendous military and political success of the Babylonian nation is unprecedented in human history.
This is indicated by the fact that history records that the Babylonians only conquered and subjugated people from the various nations in the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian regions of the world and never any other nation out of these regions like China and India.
So, the fourth statement in Habakkuk 2:5 is deliberate exaggeration in order to emphasize with the reader the unprecedent military and political success of the Babylonians.
The verb ʾā·sǎp̄ (אָסַף) means “to gather” since the word pertains to a collection or mass moving to one place.
We have seen this word twice already in Habakkuk.
Habakkuk 1:9 Each and every one of them is characterized as seeking to commit acts of violence. A multitude of their faces from the east indeed are characterized as gathering prisoners of war like sand. (My translation)
In this verse, the verb ʾāsap means “to gather” since the word pertains to the assembling of people.
Specifically, it pertains to a collection or mass moving to one place and here it speaks of the Babylonian army gathering prisoners of war like sand.
Habakkuk 1:15 He is characterized by causing each one of them to be pulled up with a fishhook. He is characterized by dragging them away with his throw net. When he is gathering them with his dragnet, he is rejoicing, yes specifically he is outwardly expressing joy. (My translation)
Here the verb ʾāsap is used in a figurative or metaphorical sense of the Babylonian army “gathering” members of the human race from the various nations in the Mesopotamian and Mediterranean regions of the world in Habakkuk’s day in 605 B.C. like a fisherman gathering fish in his dragnet.
This interpretation is indicated by the prepositional phrase bĕmikmartô (בְּמִכְמַרְתּוֹ֑), “in his dragnet,” which follows it and modifies it.
As was the case in Habakkuk 1:9 and 15, the verb here in Habakkuk 2:5 is used in a figurative or metaphorical sense of the Babylonian army “gathering” members of the human race from the various nations in the Mesopotamian and Mediterranean regions of the world in Habakkuk’s day in 605 B.C. like a fisherman gathering fish in his dragnet, which is how the word was used in Habakkuk 1:15.
The sixth and final statement in Habakkuk 2:5 asserts that the Babylonian takes captive all the peoples for his own advantage.
Like the fifth statement, the sixth is hyperbolic as well.
The sixth statement explains the fifth.
Therefore, this indicates that when the Lord says that for their own advantage, the Babylonians are gathering nations, He means that they are taking all the peoples of these nations captive.
The last two statements made by the Lord here in Habakkuk 2:5 echo the prophet Habakkuk’s statements in Habakkuk 1:15.
Habakkuk 1:15 He is characterized by causing each one of them to be pulled up with a fishhook. He is characterized by dragging them away with his throw net. When he is gathering them with his dragnet, he is rejoicing, yes specifically he is outwardly expressing joy. (My translation)
[1] Kaiser, W. C., Jr. (2007). “My Heart Is Stirred by a Noble Theme”: The Meaning of Poetry and Wisdom. In W. C. Kaiser Jr. & M. Silva (Eds.), Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning (p. 146). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[2] Campbell, D. K. (1991). Foreword. In C. Bubeck Sr. (Ed.), Basic Bible Interpretation: A Practical Guide to Discovering Biblical Truth (p. 154). Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook.