NT Text: Galatians 3:11-12
OT Source(s):
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Direct Quotation
Connection Method(s): Contrast + Redemptive-Historical Progression
Anchor Text: Hab 2:4 — The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
Significance: Habakkuk himself was exhorting Judah to follow Abraham's footsteps—faith was not momentary but a whole life of persevering obedience. For Habakkuk, there was no dichotomy between faith and faithfulness. Paul didn't manipulate the citation; he was genuinely indebted to it and advanced the prophetic message. Regarding Leviticus 18:5's original setting—punctuated by "I am Yahweh your God"—it presents law as what the Lord requires for his people's good, not legalistic mentality. The key is redemptive-historical: to say "the law is not of faith" is to claim the Sinaitic covenant belongs to a different redemptive epoch than the gospel. The law came centuries after the Abrahamic covenant (3:15), and the time of law preceded the time of faith (3:19, 23-25).