INTRODUCTION TO

Haggai

THE PROPHET HAGGAI was a champion for the “homeless”—in this case, the “homeless” God of the Hebrew people. The Jerusalem Temple had been sacked and plundered by the Babylonians nearly 70 years earlier. Sadly, it still lay in ruins nearly two decades after the Hebrews had returned to Judah from exile in Babylon. Haggai’s task was that of a herald sounding a wake-up call to a community that was spiritually “asleep.” Haggai was quick to point out the disparity between the desolation of the Temple precinct and the comfortable homes occupied by his audience. Surely God deserved better! His message was an exhortation to “get up and go to work”—that is, get to work rebuilding the Jerusalem Temple. The book of Haggai is a “success story”—a rarity among the Old Testament prophets. The people obeyed (1:12), worked (1:14), and eventually completed rebuilding the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem four years later, in 515 BC (cf. Ezra 6:15).

AUTHOR

The book is silent on the issue of authorship, although it is assumed that the prophet Haggai penned his own oracles on the basis of the prophetic word formula (“the LORD gave a message through the prophet Haggai”; 1:1). The Hebrew name Haggai means “festal” and is related to the Hebrew word khag [TH2282, ZH2504] (procession, festival). This is a fitting name for the prophet who called the Hebrews to rebuild the Temple of God (which had been destroyed by the Babylonians) and to reinstate the festal worship of Yahweh in Jerusalem. The Bible records no biographic information for Haggai, but his prophetic ministry in postexilic Jerusalem is attested by Ezra (Ezra 6:14). Two expressions identify Haggai as a “spokesperson” for God. He is called “the prophet” (1:1; 2:10-11; Ezra 6:14), and he is labeled “the LORD’s messenger” (1:13). Both titles verify the prophet’s divine commission.

DATE AND OCCASION OF WRITING

The date formula in 1:1 (cf. NLT mg) serves to root the speeches of Haggai in a specific historical context: the early years of the great Persian Empire (539–330 BC). The speeches of Haggai are dated precisely to the day, month, and year of the rule of Darius I, king of Persia. King Darius I (Hystaspes) ruled Persia from 522–486 BC. The equivalents for the date formulas are listed below:

SPEECH	DATE IN DARIUS'S REIGN	MODERN EQUIVALENT
Haggai 1:1	Year 2, month 6, day 1	August 29, 520 BC
Haggai 2:1	Year 2, month 7, day 21	October 17, 520 BC
Haggai 2:10	Year 2, month 9, day 24	December 18, 520 BC
Haggai 2:20	Year 2, month 9, day 24	December 18, 520 BC

It seems likely the book was written sometime between Haggai’s challenge to rebuild the Temple (520 BC) and the completion of its reconstruction (516/515 BC), since the prophet does not mention that event. The immediate occasion prompting the speeches of Haggai was very likely a severe drought affecting the province of postexilic Judah (1:11). It is this event that prompted God’s messenger to address the more important occasion for his oracles—the continued desolation of God’s Temple despite the return of the Hebrews from Babylonian captivity (1:4). A second issue related to the prophet’s concern for the rebuilding of the Temple is the public affirmation of the leadership of the Judean state in the blessing of Jeshua (2:4, or “Joshua,” NLT mg) and Zerubbabel (2:23).

A decree issued in 538 BC by Cyrus the Great, the first of the Persian kings, permitted conquered people groups who had been deported to Mesopotamia by the Babylonians to return to their homelands. The royal edict was issued on a clay cylinder, the famous Cyrus Cylinder. This pronouncement naturally included the Jews, although they are not named on the cylinder. The first wave of emigrants to Jerusalem numbered 42,360, along with 7,337 servants (Ezra 2:64-65). They were led by Sheshbazzar, a prince of Judah and the first governor of the restoration community in postexilic Judah (Ezra 1:5-11). The foundation for a new Temple was laid during the early stages of his administration, sometime in 538 or 537 BC (Ezra 5:16). The meager project was soon abandoned, however, and the construction site lay neglected for nearly two decades. Not until the preaching of Haggai in 520 BC did the initiative to rebuild the Jerusalem Temple resume (1:14). The second Temple was completed in March of 515 BC (cf. Ezra 6:15) under the auspices of the Persian king, Darius I. The monies granted for the rebuilding probably took the form of “tax rebates” to Judah from the Persian royal treasury.

AUDIENCE

Haggai’s first two oracles (1:1-15 and 2:1-9) are specifically addressed to Zerubbabel, the governor, and Jeshua, the high priest—the two leaders of postexilic Jerusalem. As a part of these pronouncements, the prophet also spoke a word of encouragement to the people of Judah (1:13; 2:5). Haggai’s third speech is directed to the priests (2:10-19), while the fourth prophecy is spoken exclusively to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah (2:20-23). We also learn that Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the people obeyed the words of Haggai and applied themselves to rebuilding God’s Temple (1:14).

CANONICITY AND TEXTUAL HISTORY

Haggai is the tenth book in the collection known as the Minor Prophets (or the “Book of the Twelve” in the Hebrew Bible). The Twelve Prophets are usually grouped with the Latter Prophets and without exception are found in the earliest delineations of the Old Testament canon. These twelve books were always copied on one scroll in the ancient Hebrew manuscript tradition. The order of the Twelve Prophets does vary in some renditions of the canon of the Hebrew Bible, but the sequence of books from Nahum through Malachi seems quite stable in the various canon lists.[126]

The books of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi form a distinct subcollection or literary corpus within the Book of the Twelve. All three prophets belong to the period of early postexilic Hebrew history and are unified by literary device (e.g., the rhetorical question) and theological theme (cf. Pierce 1984a). The Haggai–Zechariah–Malachi corpus is sometimes described as a narrative profile of postexilic Jerusalem, recounting the spiritual history of the Hebrew restoration community (e.g., Pierce 1984b). Pierce (1984b:411) understands the record of the postexilic prophets more negatively as one of covenant failure, since Malachi ends where Haggai begins—with a religious community in disarray. Others interpret the “spiritual history” of the restoration community as recorded in the Haggai–Zechariah–Malachi corpus from the more hopeful perspective of worship renewal prompting the return of the community to Yahweh.[127]

According to Meyers and Meyers (1987:lxvii), the Hebrew text (the Masoretic Text) of Haggai is in an excellent state of preservation. Portions of Haggai are attested by fragments from the Dead Sea caves of Wadi Murabba’at for 1:12–2:10; 2:12-23, dated to the second century AD. Verhoef (1987:18) cites only two minor variations in the extant Dead Sea manuscripts (which have 289 out of a total of 600 words in Haggai).

The Septuagint largely corresponds to the Masoretic Text, although it does rearrange several verses (e.g., 1:9 and 10 are spliced together; 1:15 becomes 2:1, affecting versification for all of ch 2). Generally speaking, the Septuagint is marked by both expansionist (e.g., 2:9, 14, 21, 22) and harmonizing tendencies (e.g., 2:17, 21). The Vulgate, Peshitta, and the Targum are essentially faithful witnesses to the Masoretic Text (granting some influence of the LXX on the Peshitta and the Targum). See further the discussions of the text of Haggai in Verhoef (1987:18-20) and Merrill (1994:17-18).

LITERARY STYLE

The speeches of Haggai are essentially prose summaries set in the third person. The messages are “oracular” in nature. That is, they represent authoritative prophetic speech motivated or inspired by God himself. This kind of prophetic speech is often characterized by formulaic language. Several of these stylized expressions occur in Haggai, including a date formula (month, day, etc., 1:1; 2:1, 10, 20), the prophetic word formula (“the Lord gave/sent a message,” 1:1; 2:1, 10, 20), the messenger formula (“says the Lord” [or variations], e.g., 1:7, 13; 2:4), and the covenant relationship formula (“for I am with you” [or variations], e.g., 2:4-5). Though not a literary masterpiece like Isaiah or Jeremiah, the book of Haggai does give evidence of considerable literary polish. This is especially the case in the use of a rhetorical question to emphasize a point in three of the four messages (e.g., 1:4; 2:3, 19 [cf. NASB]), the repetition of words or phrases to set a tone or mood (e.g., the repeated imperative “look at what’s happening /think carefully” [or variations] in 1:5, 7; 2:15, 18), and even wordplay on occasion—for instance, the similar sounds of the words translated “ruins” (khareb [TH2720, ZH2992], 1:4) and “drought” (khoreb [TH2721, ZH2996], 1:11).

MAJOR THEMES

Haggai was a prophet with one mission—to stir the postexilic Jewish community to action in rebuilding the Jerusalem Temple, which had been sacked and plundered nearly 70 years earlier by the Babylonians. Beyond this, his four speeches were designed to awaken the residents of postexilic Jerusalem to the responsibilities, obligations, privileges, and promises of their covenant heritage.

The prophet’s appeal for the reconstruction of the Temple building should not be construed as a contradiction of Jeremiah’s warning about misplaced trust in a sacred building (Jer 7:4). Rather, Haggai underscored the importance of worship in the life of the Hebrew community and the need for a sanctuary so that the worship of Yahweh could take place properly, according to the law of Moses. He assumed that the appropriate attitudes of reverence, humility, and unfeigned behavior in obedience to the commandments of God would naturally accompany the worship conducted in the restored Temple (note the prophet’s charge to the community to reflect upon their ways [1:5, 7; 2:15] and the response of obedience and worship on the part of the people [1:12]).

Haggai also emphasized the abiding presence of God’s Spirit (1:13; 2:4-5), a theme shared with the book of Zechariah (cf. Zech 1:16; 4:6; 7:12). This pronouncement so sparked the enthusiasm of the leadership and the people that they began the work of rebuilding the Temple (1:14). It is possible Haggai intended his message concerning this restored presence of God in the postexilic community of Judah as a fulfillment of Ezekiel’s earlier promise that God would again make his home among his people (Ezek 37:27-28).

The book presents two additional themes that are less developed: the divine blessing of prosperity bestowed upon the postexilic Hebrew community (2:7-9, 19), and the overthrow of the nations (2:20-22). Both connect the message of Haggai with the larger eschatological themes of Old Testament prophetic literature: God’s promise of blessing to Israel and God’s threat of judgment upon the nations. According to Ezra, postexilic Judah did realize a partial fulfillment of God’s blessing as a result of the ministry of Haggai and Zechariah (Ezra 6:14).

THEOLOGICAL CONCERNS

Each of Haggai’s four messages highlights a different theological concern that the prophet had for postexilic Judah. The first (1:1-15) is the call to the people of Jerusalem to reprioritize community life. Haggai directed the leadership of the Judean province to move out of their self-absorption by focusing on the restoration of proper worship of God (by means of the Temple liturgy) instead of focusing on the ease and security of their own “luxurious houses” (1:4).

The second message (2:1-9) assured the postexilic Hebrew community that God had not forgotten those previous promises of blessing and restoration made by earlier prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. It was important for community morale to understand that Haggai stood in the revered train of those prophetic predecessors. By his word of blessing and promise of restoration, he confirmed the continuity of his message with previous prophetic utterances concerning God’s plan for the restoration of Israel after the Babylonian exile. These were not just more empty words of “hope deferred” to bolster a beleaguered remnant, these were the words of God’s promise to his chosen people.

Ritual purity (both for the priests and the people) is the dominant theme of the third message (2:10-19). Haggai reminded his audience that the injunctions of the Law of Moses are still operative. God expected his people to be holy, even as he is holy (Lev 11:44-45).

Haggai’s final, and perhaps most important message (2:20-23), reestablished the prominence of the Davidic line in the religious and political life of the nation of Israel. The Davidic dynasty was singled out as the key to the restoration of the Hebrew people after the Babylonian exile (cf. Jer 23:5; 33:15; Ezek 37:24). Tragically, God was forced to pronounce the curse of judgment upon King Jehoiachin (and the line of David) at the time of the Exile (Jer 22:24-30). Haggai’s last speech overturns that curse of judgment upon the lineage of David and reinstates that ancient covenant of David as the vehicle by which God intended to make good on his promises of blessing and restoration to Israel (note especially the echo of the “signet ring” in Jer 22:24 and Hag 2:23; cf. Wolf 1976:54-55).

OUTLINE

I.   First Message: Haggai’s Challenge to Covenant Renewal (1:1-15)

A.   The Call to Reconsider Priorities (1:1-6)

B.   The Call to Rebuild the Temple (1:7-11)

C.   The Response of the Remnant (1:12-15)

II.   Second Message: The Promise of Restoration (2:1-9)

III.   Third Message: The Call to Holiness (2:10-19)

IV.   Fourth Message: Zerubbabel—Davidic Servant and “Signet Ring” (2:20-23)