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“He Makes My Feet Like the Deer’s”: Simile and Ascent in Habakkuk 3:19

יְהוִ֤ה אֲדֹנָי֙ חֵילִ֔י וַיָּ֤שֶׂם רַגְלַי֙ כָּֽאַיָּלֹ֔ות וְעַ֥ל בָּמֹותַ֖י יַדְרִכֵ֑נִי לַמְנַצֵּ֖חַ בִּנְגִינֹותָֽי׃ (Habakkuk 3:19) YHWH my Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer’s, and He causes me to tread upon my high places. To the choirmaster, with my stringed instruments. Divine Enablement in Poetic Triumph Habakkuk 3:19 concludes the prophet’s prayer with…

The Use of Rhetorical Questions and Parallelism in Biblical Hebrew (Habakkuk 3:8)

Habakkuk 3:8 in Hebrew הֲבִנְהָרִים֙ חָרָ֣ה יְהוָ֔ה אִ֤ם בַּנְּהָרִים֙ אַפֶּ֔ךָ אִם־בַּיָּ֖ם עֶבְרָתֶ֑ךָ כִּ֤י תִרְכַּב֙ עַל־סוּסֶ֔יךָ מַרְכְּבֹתֶ֖יךָ יְשׁוּעָֽה׃ Introduction to Rhetorical Questions and Parallelism Habakkuk 3:8 presents a vivid poetic description of God's power, employing rhetorical questions and parallelism to emphasize divine action. The verse asks: הֲבִנְהָרִים֙ חָרָ֣ה יְהוָ֔ה – "Was the LORD angry with the…

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