“... (5) The pesher on Hab 2:8a describes the Romans quite differently than does the pesher on Hab 1:10. Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you (Hab 2:8a). Interpreted, this concerns the last priests of Jerusalem, who shall amass money and wealth by plundering the peoples. But in the last days, their riches and booty shall be delivered into the hands of the army of the Kittim, for it is they who shall be the remnant of the peoples. (1QpHab IX 3–7) Here Habakkuk’s reference to the Babylonians (“you” in the original) is made to refer to corrupt priests of Jerusalem, while the “remnant of the peoples”—a term referring to the survivors of an invasion—becomes the Romans. While Habakkuk envisioned Babylon’s conquered victims rising up against it, the pesher sees the Romans dispossessing the priests. Note how the Romans, described as conquerors in the comment on Hab 1:10b, are here given the role of the surviving victims of invasion, an excellent example of atomistic interpretation. ...”