The writer described this book as an oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw in a vision or dream. This burden (Heb. massa', something lifted up) was a message predicting judgment on Judah and Babylon.
"Habakkuk's prophecy possesses a burdensome dimension from start to finish."10
We know nothing more about Habakkuk than that he was a prophet who also had the ability to write poetry (ch. 3).11
