Commentary on Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah and Malachi John Calvin (continued)
MINOR PROPHETS
of the visible form of God; and then he adds his power, designating it metaphorically by horns, which is common in Scripture. Indeed this mode of speaking occurs often.
He then says, that God came armed with power, when he gave the law to his people; for he bore horns in his hands, where his strength was hid. 58
As to the word hiding, some indeed give this refined view, that God then put forth his strength, which was before hidden. But this is a very strained explanation. To me it seems evident, that the Prophet in the first place says, that God's glory was conspicuous, capable of irradiating the whole world like the light of the sun; and he then adds, that this splendor was connected with power, for God carried horns in both his hands, where his strength was laid: and he says, that it was hid, because
God did not intend to make known his power indiscriminately throughout the world, but peculiarly to his own people; as it is also said in Psalm 31:20, that ``the greatness of his goodness is laid up for the faithful alone, who fear and reverence him.''
As then it is said, that the goodness of God is laid up for the faithful, for they enjoy it as children and members of the household; so also the power of God is said to be laid up, because he testifies that he is armed with power to defend his Church, that he may render safe the children of Abraham, whom he has taken under his protection. It afterwards follows---
Habakkuk 3:5
5. Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet.
5. Coram facie ejus ambulavit pestis, et egredietur carbo ignitus (vel, ustio) ad pedes ejus.
The Prophet repeats here, that God came armed to defend his people, when he went forth from Teman; for he connects with it here the deliverance of the people.
He does not indeed speak only of the promulgation of the law, but encourages all the godly to confidence; for God, who had once redeemed their fathers from Egypt, remained ever like himself, and was endued with the same power.
And he says, that before God's face walked the pestilence; this is to be referred to the Egyptians; and that ignited coal proceeded from his feet. Some render {,}רשף reshoph, exile; but its etymology requires it to be rendered burning or ignited coal, and there is no necessity to give it another meaning. 59
58That [{[{קרזmeans to irradiate or to shine, is clear from Exodus 34:29,30,35; ``for shine did the skin of his face,'' {]}כי
}פניי{[. }עור{ }קרז{Most critics consider that the noun here, though in this sense in no other instance, means rays, or beams of light; and this corresponds with the description given elsewhere of God's appearance on mount Sinai. Drusius, Marckius, Newcome, and Henderson, render it ``rays.'' The line then would literally be --- Rays from his hand were to him. or, to retain the English idiom. He had rays from his hand. To render the line, ``Rays streamed from his hand,'' is to give a paraphrase. The objection of Calvin as to the next line, seems not valid; for the hiding of strength may refer to the hand, or to the place, Sinai, whether we render the previous word, rays or horns;---to the place, if we retain our present reading, ,[{`` ]}עזהof its strength;'' but to the hand, if we adopt the reading of many copies, [{`` ]}עזוof his strength,'' which is perhaps the most accordant with the passage.---Ed.
59Most agree in the view given of this verse, only there is some shade of difference as to the word [{;[{רשףbut though Calvin renders it carbo ignitus---ignited coals, yet in his exposition he seems to regard it with many others as a burning disease. In the six other instances in which the word occurs, it certainly has not this sense, except it be in Deuteronomy 32:24, which is doubtful. It signifies not a burning coal, but a glowing fire, burning or lightening. Compare
Exodus 9:23,25, with Psalm 78:48; where it designates the fires or lightnings produced by thunder, which accompanied the hail.
Lightning would be its most proper rendering here; for instead of referring this verse to the plagues in Egypt, it may be considered as a continuation of what is contained in the foregoing verse; and the Septuagint and Theodotion have rendered [{]}דברin the preceding clause, not pestilence, but word---{λογος}, its most usual meaning. This makes the whole to comport to what we read of God's appearance on mount Sinai. See Exodus 19:16; Deuteronomy 33:2. The version then would be this--- From before him