The Old Testament Book of Haggai

The Book of Haggai is one of the twelve Minor Prophets in the Old Testament. Written after the Jewish people returned from exile in Babylon, it encourages them…

Haggai’s words concern conditions in the Persian province of Judah at the beginning of the postexilic period during the reign of the Persian king Darius I (522–486 B.C.). The community in Judah is struggling with its identity in light of the loss of its statehood through the demise of the monarchy and the destruction of the Temple. Haggai’s oracles address both these problems. First, the provincial government, despite its subordination to Persian hegemony, is seen as the legitimate heir to the Davidic monarchy; the governor Zerubbabel, himself a descendant of the Davidic line, and the high pri…