The Book of Haggai

Introduction Haggai is the tenth of the twelve prophets in the Old Testament. These twelve prophets are sometimes called ‘the minor prophets’ because their writings are brief rather than a consequence of their importance. Haggai is the second shortest book in the Old Testament (only Obadiah is shorter), and is quoted in the New Testament once (Heb 12:26).

      The book consists of four prophecies delivered over a four-month period during the second year of the Persian King Darius I the Great (521 bc).

Author Haggai was a prophet (1:1). His name means ‘festal’, maybe suggesting he was born during one of the three great pilgrimage feasts. His ministry was short, lasting only four months. There is some evidence that Haggai witnessed the destruction of Solomon’s temple (2:3) but, if so, he must have been in his 70s when writing. Alternatively, a different Prophet took his master’s name for this book.

The date The book of Haggai was written 70 years after the Babylonian exile. The book was compiled soon after the events in the book occurred.

Background King Nebuchadnezzar deported the Jewish people to Babylon in 597 BC following his first invasion. A second major deportation occurred in 586 BC soon after the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed.

     Much later, in 538 BC, King Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon (2 Chron 36:21–24, Ezra 1:1–4). He adopted a policy of local identity and self-rule, and allowed the Jewish people to return to Jerusalem. Cyrus told them to rebuild their temple (Ezra 1:2–4; 6:3–5), so this period is known as the Second Temple period. The Second Temple was begun in 520 BC under King Darius of Persia and completed in 516 BC. The Books of Nehemiah and Ezra also describe the Restoration of Israel.

     The governor of Judah, Zerubbabel, and Joshua the Priest led about 50,000 Jews back to Jerusalem. They immediately started rebuilding the Temple, and completed the foundation within two years (Ezra 3:8–11). Their success upset their Samaritan neighbours, who feared the political and religious implications of a thriving Jewish state with a rebuilt Temple. The Samaritans opposed the project, and managed to halt work until about 520 BC, when Darius the Great became King of Persia (Ezra 4:1–5,24).

The Book of Haggai Haggai’s prophecy is a two-fold challenge to Israel after the Exile in Babylon: they must remain faithful to God and must rebuild the Temple (Ezra 5:1–2; 6:14).

     Haggai was sure that Babylon was able to conquer Israel because its people had broken their covenant with God. He therefore challenged the exiles to choose obedience and repent. He condemned injustice and idolatry, and reiterated the laws of ritual purity, telling the people to humble themselves and reject injustice and spiritual apathy. He reminded the would-be rebuilders of Jerusalem to give God their allegiance and build the Temple before they started constructing homes for themselves.

     Haggai assured the returning exiles that if they repented, God would fulfil His promise to establish a New Jerusalem and would defeat evil from among the nations. 

For more information, please read:

https://thebibleproject.com/explore/haggai/

https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/intro-to-haggai

http://biblescripture.net/Haggai.html

https://www.bible-studys.org/Bible Books/Haggai/Book of
Haggai.html

https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Book-of-Haggai