Bible Name Meaning Tool — Search Any Name (KJV)

Habakkuk

Pronounced huh-BAK-uk

boy

✓ In the King James Bible — Yes — Habakkuk appears in the King James Bible; the passages below give the context.

Meaning: "Embrace; Wrestler"
Origin: Hebrew

Habakkuk means "embrace" or "wrestler" in Hebrew. He is unique among the prophets because rather than delivering God's message to the people, he wrestled with God directly — questioning why evil prospers and justice seems delayed. Habakkuk's bold complaints to God — "O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear!" — give voice to the universal human struggle with divine justice. God's answer, that He would use the Babylonians to judge Israel, only deepened Habakkuk's perplexity. Yet Habakkuk's journey from questioning to worship produced one of the most quoted verses in Scripture: "The just shall live by his faith" (2:4) — later cited by Paul, forming the foundation of Reformation theology. His closing prayer of faith despite devastating circumstances is among Scripture's most beautiful passages.

Spiritual meaning

Habakkuk's name — 'embrace' — captures his journey from wrestling with God to embracing faith. His honest questioning produced the foundational truth that we live by faith, not by sight.

Related verses (KJV)

"Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith."
Habakkuk 2:4 (KJV) →
"Although the fig tree shall not blossom... yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation."
Habakkuk 3:17-18 (KJV) →

Full page for Habakkuk

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Questions about biblical name meanings

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