Haggai

Haggai (Heb., 'born on a festival'), one of the minor prophets of the Old Testament. He was among those who returned from the Babylonian exile with Zerubbabel and Joshua. The building of the temple begun by them had for some time been at a stand-still, and several years of scarcity had followed. In the second year of Darius (520) Haggai prophesied that the dearth was due to the divine displeasure with the settlers for adorning their own houses while the house of God remained unfinished. The personal history of Haggai beyond what is given in his book is unknown. His prophecy is entirely connected with the construction of the temple, and closes with a promise to Zerubbabel, in whom he appears to have expected the fulfilment of the promises of the prophets regarding the ideal son of David. His style is monotonous and weak, which some have ascribed to the pressure of troubled times, others to his advanced age, concluding from ii. 3 that he was among those who seventy years before were carried into exile and had seen the old temple. There are commentaries by Hitzig (3d ed. 1863; 4th ed. by Steiner, 1881), Ewald (1867; in vol. v. of Eng. trans. of his Prophets, 1878), Keil (2d ed. 1873), Reinke (1868), and Vap Eaton (Lectures, ed. by Robinson, Pittsburg, 1883).