NT Text: Hebrews 10:37-38
OT Source(s):
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Direct Quotation
Connection Method(s): Promise-Fulfillment + Longitudinal Theme
Anchor Text: Hab 2:4 — The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
Significance: Hebrews 10:37-38 quotes Habakkuk 2:3-4 with significant adaptation: "For yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him." In the original context, Habakkuk 2:3-4 answered the prophet's complaint about injustice: the vision of divine judgment on the wicked is certain — "it will surely come" — and in the meantime "the righteous shall live by his faithfulness" (be'emunato yichyeh). The LXX translated this as "the righteous one shall live by my faithfulness/faith," and the NT authors used it as a foundational text for justification by faith (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11). Hebrews personalizes the "coming" — what was in Habakkuk a coming vision or event becomes "the coming one" (ho erchomenos), a messianic title identifying Christ's parousia. The application is pastoral: just as Habakkuk's community had to persevere in faith while awaiting God's vindication, so the Hebrews community must persevere "by faith" while awaiting Christ's return. This quotation launches the great faith chapter of Hebrews 11, making Habakkuk 2:4 the programmatic text for the entire argument.