Habakkuk 3:7
in Habakkuk 3I saw the tents of Cushan in distress; the curtains of Midian were trembling.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; The curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
KJV
I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
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This verse in Habakkuk 3
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Verse 7.) I have seen the tents of Ethiopia because of iniquity, the skins of the land of Midian will be troubled. LXX: I have seen the dwellings of the Ethiopians because of their labors; they will be afraid, and the dwellings of the land of Midian.
This site's exposition
the pestilence, and burning coals
on Habakkuk 3:5-7
Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet, pictures the Lord's advance as an army with its own vanguard, plague and fire clearing the ground ahead of him. He stood, and measured the earth, drove asunder the nations, and the everlasting mountains were scattered, a power large enough to make ancient landmarks tremble, mountains the ancient world called perpetual bowing at his passing. I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction, and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble, bringing the vision down to particular, recognizable peoples that Pusey and Keil read as the same regions the exodus generation once crossed, shown here shaking at the memory of the God who led Israel through them long before.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
We meanwhile, exposed to the outbreaks of the barbarians and the storms of war, are tossing in the midst of troubles, and from these toils and dangers can only gather that those of our future life will be still more grievous. Wherefore that saying of the Prophet seems to accord with our condition, "I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction." For since I have now lived in the body fifty and three years, among the shadows of this world, whereby the truth of future perfection is obscured, and have already endured such heavy afflictions, am I not camping in the tents of Cushan, and having my habitation among the dwellers of Midian? For these, owing to their consciousness of their darksome works, dread being judged even by mortal men, "but he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man."
The Medieval Church1 voice
The tents of the Ethiopians will be terrified, and the tents of the land of Midian. For who does not know that the Ethiopians and Midianites are peoples of the nations? By whose names all the nations of the Gentiles are hinted, who, upon hearing …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Balak the king of Moab was so, Num. xxii. Some make the tents of Cushan to be in affliction when, in the days of judge Othniel, God delivered Cushan-rishathaim into his hand ( Judg. iii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction,.... The same with Cush or Ethiopia; hence the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render it, "the tents of the Ethiopians"; and these are the same with "the curtains of Midian" in the next clause, tents being made of curtains, and the Ethiopians and Midianites the same people; so the daughter of the priest of Midian, whom Moses married, is called an Ethiopian woman, Exo 2:
He affects himself with a holy concern for the present troubles of the church, but encourages himself and others to hope that the issue will be comfortable and glorious at last, though all visible means fail,
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
I saw - in prophetic vision 1Ki 22:17. The tents of Cushan in (under) affliction - Upon the coming of the Lord there follows the visitation of those alien from Him. . Cushan-Rishathaim was the first, whose ambition God overruled to chasten His people Jdg 3:8-10.. It has been remarked that as “king of Aram-Naharaim” or North Mesopotamia, he was probably sovereign of the Aram, from which Balak king of Moab, allied with Midian, sent for Balaam to curse Israel.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
So Lotan is found in the Hebrew of Genesis for Lot. BOCHART therefore considers it equivalent to Midian, or a part of Arabia. So in Nu 12:1, Moses' Midianite wife is called an Ethiopian (Hebrew, Cushite).
I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction - Cush is Arabia. The Arabians dwelt in tents, hence they were called Scenitae. When the Lord appeared on Mount Sinai, the Arabs of the Red Sea abandoned their tents, being terror-struck; and the Midianites also were seized with fear. See the desolation wrought among this people by Phinehas, Num 31:1, etc., on account of their having enticed the Israelites to idolatry, Num 25:1, etc. Either Cush and Midian lay contiguous to each other; or, these names are poetically used to express the same place.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| תַּ֣חַת | tachat | under | H8478 → | |
| אָ֔וֶן | ʾaven | trouble | H205 → | |
| רָאִ֖יתִי | raiti | I have seen | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אָהֳלֵ֣י | ʾoholei | [the] tents of | H168 → | |
| כוּשָׁ֑ן | khushan | Cushan | H3572 → | |
| יִרְגְּז֕וּן | yirgezun | they tremble ! | H7264 → | 41 times |
| יְרִיע֖וֹת | yeriot | [the] tent curtains of | H3407 → | |
| אֶ֥רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִדְיָֽן׃ ס | midyan | Midian | H4080 → |
תַּ֣חַתunder
tachatH8478 →
אָ֔וֶןtrouble
ʾavenH205 →
רָאִ֖יתִיI have seen
raitiH7200 →1300 times
אָהֳלֵ֣י[the] tents of
ʾoholeiH168 →
כוּשָׁ֑ןCushan
khushanH3572 →
יִרְגְּז֕וּןthey tremble !
yirgezunH7264 →41 times
יְרִיע֖וֹת[the] tent curtains of
yeriotH3407 →
אֶ֥רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
מִדְיָֽן׃ סMidian
midyanH4080 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Joshua 2:10For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings…
it leads to
- Numbers 21:21–35
Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,
- Numbers 23:22
God brought them out of Egypt with strength like a wild ox.
- Exodus 15:14–16
The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the dwellers of Philistia.
- Exodus 14:21–31
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were…
- Deuteronomy 2:30
But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as…
- Numbers 21:21–35
Through
Joshua 9:24The Gibeonites answered, “Your servants were told clearly that the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and wipe out all its inhabitants before you. So we…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 7:1–2
When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations…
- Deuteronomy 20:15–17
This is how you are to treat all the cities that are far away from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.
- Numbers 33:55–56
But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides; they will harass you…
- Deuteronomy 7:1–2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Habakkuk
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Letter 59; Bede, Commentary on the Song of Habakkuk; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Habakkuk; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.