Habakkuk 3:7 - Exposition

As God moves in his majesty the various nations are struck with fear, as of old were the peoples that heard of the Exodus (see Exodus 15:14-16 ). I saw . In prophetic vision ( 1 Kings 22:17 ). The tents of Cushan; LXX .. σκηνώματα αἰθίοτων "the tents of the Ethiopians;" Vulgate, tentoria AE thiopiae . "Cushan" is not Chushan-Rishathaim, the Mesopotamian king mentioned in 3:1-31 ; but is a lengthened form of Cush (as Lotan for Lot, Genesis 36:20 ), the biblical name for Ethiopia. Here the African country is meant, lying along the west coast of the Red Sea. In affliction. Panic-stricken. The prophet particularizes what he had said above generally of the nations hostile to the people of God. The curtains; t he tent curtains; Vulgate, pelles. Both "tents" and "curtains" are used by metonymy for their inhabitants. Midian . The country on the Gulf of Akaba, the eastern arm of the Red Sea. Ethiopia and Midian are named, as God is supposed to advance from the south.