Haggai

Haggai is a post-exilic prophet whose ministry, dated to the second year of Darius, urges the returned community to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. The brief biographical references center entirely on his prophetic activity alongside Zechariah.

The Prophet and the Rebuilding

Haggai works in tandem with Zechariah to push the rebuilding effort forward. The two are paired as the prophets whose voice carries the project: "Now the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem; in the name of the God of Israel [they prophesied] to them" (Ezra 5:1). The result is direct: "And the elders of the Jews built and prospered, through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the decree of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia" (Ezra 6:14).

The Word of Yahweh by Haggai

The book bearing his name records the prophetic oracles by precise date. The first comes "In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, the word of Yahweh came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying," (Hag 1:1). Haggai is identified explicitly as "Yahweh's messenger" who delivers the encouragement after the work resumes: "Then Haggai, Yahweh's messenger, spoke Yahweh's message to the people, saying, [my Speech is] with you⁺, says Yahweh" (Hag 1:13).

A second oracle is dated to the seventh month: "In the seventh [month], in the one and twentieth [day] of the month, the word of Yahweh came by Haggai the prophet, saying," (Hag 2:1). A third oracle follows in the ninth month: "In the four and twentieth [day] of the ninth [month], in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came by Haggai the prophet, saying," (Hag 2:10).

Haggai's Priestly Inquiry

Within that ninth-month oracle, Haggai puts a halakhic question to the priests and reports their ruling. He asks, "If one who is unclean by reason of a soul touches any of these, will it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It will be unclean" (Hag 2:13). He then applies the ruling to the nation: "Then Haggai answered and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, says Yahweh; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean" (Hag 2:14).

A Final Word to Zerubbabel

A fourth oracle, dated the same day as the third, comes for the governor: "And the word of Yahweh came the second time to Haggai in the four and twentieth [day] of the month, saying," (Hag 2:20).