The Near East at the Time of Habakkuk

c. 620 b.c.

Though the exact date of the prophecies of Habakkuk are difficult to determine, it is likely that he prophesied a short time before the Babylonian invasions of Judah, which began in 605 b.c. During this time the Assyrian Empire was in decline, and the Babylonians were rising to replace them as the dominant power in the Near East.