Habakkuk
The book of Habakkuk reads less like a prophetic oracle and more like a personal prayer journal. Throughout Habakkuk, the prophet asks many vulnerable questions of God; themes of which include questions of divine timing, doubts in times when God is silent, and why God allows wrongdoing.This conversational approach allows a reader to immerse themselves in a divine dialogue. The depth of which is seen all the more clearly as we examine the cultural and historic backdrop.
Oracle
/ or'-a-k'-l / noun
A divine utterance delivered to man, usually in answer to a request for guidance.
Sheol
/ She·ol / noun
The term can be interpreted to mean either the literal place in which dead people are placed (i.e., in the ground) or the ancient world’s concept of the afterlife as a subterranean “land of gloom and deep darkness.”
Handbook on the Prophets
Robert B. Chisholm
Zondervan Handbook of Biblical Archeology
Randall Price