Bible Strands
Habakkuk 3:11
Sun and moon stood still in their places at the flash of Your flying arrows, at the brightness of Your shining spear.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Habakkuk 3:11 belongs to a prophetic prayer describing Yahweh’s theophanic march to judge the nations. It sits between the cosmic trembling of verse 10 and the declaration of God’s furious advance across the earth in verse 12.
The words — The text centers on עָ֣מַד ('A.mad), literally "it has stood still," applied to שֶׁ֥מֶשׁ (She.mesh, "sun") and יָרֵ֖חַ (ya.Re.ach, "moon"). It links this pause to חִצֶּ֙י/ךָ֙ (chi.Tzei./kha, "your arrows") and נֹ֖גַהּ (No.gah, "brightness") to frame the event as divine warfare.
The thread — The passage shares imagery of divine descent and cosmic disturbance with Psalms 144:5, Joshua 10:11, and Psalms 18:12. These cited texts describe God coming down, touching mountains, or casting hail and fire, but do not mention the sun or moon remaining stationary.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that Yahweh’s judgment operates on a cosmic scale, halting creation itself to execute justice. It calls the reader to view divine intervention as an overwhelming display of sovereign power rather than a localized military event.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.
Cross-references
- Psalms 144:5 Part Your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains, that they may smoke.
- Joshua 10:11 As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by the swords of the Israelites.
- Psalms 18:12 From the brightness of His presence His clouds advanced—hailstones and coals of fire.
- Psalms 19:4 their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun.
- Psalms 77:17 The clouds poured down water; the skies resounded with thunder; Your arrows flashed back and forth.
- Isaiah 28:21 For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim. He will rouse Himself as in the Valley of Gibeon, to do His work, His strange work, and to perform His task, His disturbing task.
- Isaiah 38:8 I will make the sun’s shadow that falls on the stairway of Ahaz go back ten steps.’” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had descended.