Rather unusually, Habakkuk is introduced as a “prophet” (1:1; cf. 3:1). This is the only introduction to a prophetic book before Haggai and Zechariah that uses the word, though it is used later in many prophetic books. Whereas the word “prophet” came to have value status, in the OT its implications are much more ambiguous. Its resonances overlap with those of “televangelist.” It could suggest scandal, self-serving, deception, and self-deception as easily as imaginative proclamation of God’s truth.