Introduction to the prophet Haggai

The 37th book of the Bible, consisting of only 2 chapters
God’s first prophet after the Babylonian exile

Haggai means “man of the feast” or “the festive one.” He is the first of the prophets to appear in Jerusalem after the return of the first Israelites from the Babylonian exile.
He wrote the tenth book in the “Book of the Twelve Prophets” among the “Minor Prophets,” and he is also mentioned in the Book of Ezra; otherwise, we know little else about him personally.

Haggai began his prophetic ministry when the rebuilding of the Temple had stalled, and it lasted only a little over four months in 520 B.C.
At this time, the prophet Zechariah also appeared at his side, whose ministry spanned a longer period.

Historically, the Persian King Cyrus had issued an edict in 538 BC allowing the Jews to return to their homeland in Israel.
Consequently, 42,360 people, including Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and Nehemiah, had returned to Israel from the Babylonian Empire and had erected an altar on the Temple Mount just one year later.
The following year, 536 B.C., the cornerstone was laid, and the people began building a new temple for their God in Jerusalem—we read about this in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

The building of this temple for the God of Israel, the God of the Jews, was boycotted by their pagan neighbors using every conceivable means—including political ones.
Work on it came to a complete standstill by 522 B.C. at the latest. This had caused frustration and a certain spiritual “lukewarmness” among the people.

His message is above all an encouragement to Israel; Haggai appeals to the people’s conscience and calls them to love and devotion to the LORD—which is also reflected in their work for “God’s cause.”
Drought and hardship prevailed in the land—and Haggai admonishes the people that God desires to bless them if they place Him above their own concerns.

In doing so, this prophet—as one of the few—witnesses a turning back, a turning toward God among the entire people in response to his message, and as early as 515 BC, the Second Temple is dedicated in Jerusalem.

Although this temple was nowhere near as magnificent as its predecessor, King Solomon’s Temple, it was expanded and rebuilt many times over under King Herod the “Great,” 500 years later.
The “Wailing Wall” in Jerusalem, a holy site for devout Jews, consists of the remains of the western wall of the Temple Mount from the time of Jesus and the Gospels—before the Romans destroyed this temple as well in 70 AD.

The prophet Haggai prophesies the future destruction of the pagan empires.
He envisions and describes how the pagan nations will bring their riches to the temple in the Messianic Kingdom, whose glory will far surpass that of Solomon’s temple and all its predecessors.

Outline of the Book of Haggai:

Content of the prophet Haggai:

Haggai chapter 1

Haggai chapter 2