one of the twelve lesser prophets, whose prophecies are taken into the canon of the Old Testament. The name is written in the Hebrew with ה Habakkuk; and signifies "a wrangler." There is no precise time mentioned in Scripture when this Habakkuk lived; but from his predicting the ruin of the Jews by the Chaldeans, it may be concluded that he prophesied before Zedekiah, or about the time of Manasseh. He is reported to have been the author of several prophecies which are not extant: but those that are indisputably his, are contained in three chapters. In these the prophet complains very pathetically of the disorders which he observed in the kingdom of Judea. God reveals to him, that he would shortly punish them in a very terrible manner by the arms of the Chaldaeans. He foretels the conquests of Nebuchadnezzar, his metamorphosis, and death. He foretels, that the vast designs of Jehoiakim would be frustrated. He speaks against a prince (probably the king of Tyre) who built with blood and iniquity; and he accuses another king (perhaps the king of Egypt) of having intoxicated his friend, in order to discover his nakedness. The third chapter is a song or prayer to God, whose majesty he describes with the utmost grandeur and sublimity of expression.