Haggai
By Mary Jane Chaignot
Categories: Prophets
- There is no information about Haggai’s ancestry.
- Haggai dated his prophecies with precision. He provided four exact dates over a four-month period -- August-December 520 BCE.
- He prophesied from Jerusalem almost seventy years into the exile.
- He was the first to prophesy after the conquest of Jerusalem.
- He was a practical man who believed nothing was more important than the rebuilding of the temple.
- He was called by God to motivate the people to do just that.
- His name is mentioned twice in Ezra and probably means “feast” or “festival.” Some scholars think that means he was born on a feast day, though they have no way of knowing which one or even if that’s true.
- It is not known if he was taken to Babylon during the conquest or if he stayed behind in Jerusalem. His name is not on the list provided by Ezra of those who returned.
- He was definitely a man of conviction and a very effective speaker. (Consider that the people began building the temple within three weeks of his first oracle and finished it in four years. He only preached for four months.)
- His book is comprised of only two chapters, perhaps signifying an unexpected demise.
- Some of his end time prophecies did not come to pass.
Bibliography
Craigie, Peter. "Twelve Prophets." Daily Study Bible Series. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1984.
Gaebelein, Frank. "Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi." Expositor's Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing, 1985.
Mills, Watson and Richard Wilson. Mercer Commentary on the Bible. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1995.
Smith, Ralph. "Micah-Malachi." Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas, TX: Word Books, 1984. |
