Covenant Evocations in Habakkuk: An Exploration of Intertextuality

As covenant mediators, the Hebrew Prophets functioned primarily to declare covenant with, the judgment from, and the restoration of Yahweh. Yet, how does one recognize “covenant” in texts that omit the Hebrew term for “covenant”—berit? Mario Manuel Catalino Melendez investigates intertextuality in the Book of Habakkuk to discover three areas that demark the presence of covenant. First, Habakkuk’s historical and literary context is presented as a covenantal context. Second, the outline of Habakkuk is presented as a plea of a vassal and the response of the suzerain. Third, Habakkuk displays a network of integral covenantal elements. Thus, from his intertextual reading of Habakkuk, Melendez offers a means of recognizing covenant in prophetic texts that do not mention berit.