Genesis 16:7

16:7 The Lord’s angel ¹  found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. ² 

Genesis 21:21

21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. ³  His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt. ⁴ 

Numbers 12:16

12:16 After that the people moved from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

Numbers 13:3

13:3 So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the command ⁵  of the Lord. All of them were leaders ⁶  of the Israelites.

Habakkuk 3:3

3:3 God comes ⁷  from Teman, ⁸ 

the sovereign ⁹  one from Mount Paran. ¹⁰  Selah. ¹¹ 

His splendor covers the skies, ¹² 

his glory ¹³  fills the earth.

¹ tn Heb “the messenger of the Lord.” Some identify the angel of the Lord as the preincarnate Christ because in some texts the angel is identified with the Lord himself. However, it is more likely that the angel merely represents the Lord; he can speak for the Lord because he is sent with the Lord’s full authority. In some cases the angel is clearly distinct from the Lord (see Judg 6:11-23). It is not certain if the same angel is always in view. Though the proper name following the noun “angel” makes the construction definite, this may simply indicate that a definite angel sent from the Lord is referred to in any given context. It need not be the same angel on every occasion. Note the analogous expression “the servant of the Lord,” which refers to various individuals in the OT (see BDB 714 s.v. עֶבֶד).

² tn Heb “And the angel of the Lord found her near the spring of water in the desert, near the spring on the way to Shur.”

³ sn The wilderness of Paran is an area in the east central region of the Sinai peninsula, northeast from the traditional site of Mt. Sinai and with the Arabah and the Gulf of Aqaba as its eastern border.

⁴ tn Heb “And his mother took for him a wife from the land of Egypt.”

⁵ tn Heb “mouth.”

⁶ tn Heb “heads.”

⁷ tn In vv. 3-15 there is a mixture of eleven prefixed verbal forms (without vav [ו] consecutive or with vav conjunctive), sixteen suffixed forms, and three prefixed forms with vav consecutive. All of the forms are best taken as indicating completed action from the speaker’s standpoint (all of the prefixed forms being regarded as preterites). The forms could be translated with the past tense, but this would be misleading, for this is not a mere recital of God’s deeds in Israel’s past history. Habakkuk here describes, in terms reminiscent of past theophanies, his prophetic vision of a future theophany (see v. 7, “I saw”). From the prophet’s visionary standpoint the theophany is “as good as done.” This translation uses the English present tense throughout these verses to avoid misunderstanding. A similar strategy is followed by the NEB; in contrast note the NIV and NRSV, which consistently use past tenses throughout the section, and the NASB, which employs present tenses in vv. 3-5 and mostly past tenses in vv. 6-15.

⁸ sn Teman was a city or region in southern Edom.

⁹ tn Or traditionally, “holy one.” The term קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh, “holy [one]”) here refers to God’s sovereignty. See v. 3b.

¹⁰ sn The precise location of Mount Paran is unknown, but like Teman it was located to the southeast of Israel. Habakkuk saw God marching from the direction of Sinai.

¹¹ tn Selah. The meaning of this musical term (which also appears in vv. 9, 13, and in the Psalms as well) is unknown.

¹² tn Or “heavens.”

¹³ tn Heb “praise.” This could mean that the earth responds in praise as God’s splendor is observed in the skies. However, the Hebrew term תְּהִלָּה (tÿhillah, “praise”) can stand by metonymy for what prompts it (i.e., fame, glory, deeds).