Hagai 1:1

Introduction

1:1 On the first day of the sixth month ¹  of King Darius’ ²  second year, the Lord spoke this message through the prophet Haggai ³  to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak: ⁴ 

Hagai 2:1-5

The Glory to Come

2:1 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, ⁵  the Lord spoke again through the prophet Haggai: ⁶  2:2 “Ask the following questions to ⁷  Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, ⁸  and the remnant of the people: 2:3 ‘Who among you survivors saw the former splendor of this temple? ⁹  How does it look to you now? Isn’t it nothing by comparison? 2:4 Even so, take heart, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord. ‘Take heart, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and ¹⁰  all you citizens of the land,’ ¹¹  says the Lord, ‘and begin to work. For I am with you,’ says the Lord who rules over all. 2:5 ‘Do not fear, because I made a promise to your ancestors when they left Egypt, and my spirit ¹²  even now testifies to you.’ ¹³ 

Hagai 2:20-23

Zerubbabel the Chosen One

2:20 Then the Lord spoke again to Haggai ¹⁴  on the twenty-fourth day of the month: ¹⁵  2:21 Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah: ‘I am ready ¹⁶  to shake the sky ¹⁷  and the earth. 2:22 I will overthrow royal thrones and shatter the might of earthly kingdoms. ¹⁸  I will overthrow chariots and those who ride them, and horses and their riders will fall as people kill one another. ¹⁹  2:23 On that day,’ ²⁰  says the Lord who rules over all, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant,’ ²¹  says the Lord, ‘and I will make you like a signet ring, ²²  for I have chosen you,’ says the Lord who rules over all.” ²³ 

[1:1]  ¹ sn The first day of the sixth month was Elul 1 according to the Jewish calendar; August 29, 520 b.c. according to the modern (Julian) calendar.

[1:1]  ² sn King Darius is the Persian king Darius Hystaspes who ruled from 522-486 b.c.

[1:1]  ³ tn Heb “the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet” (בְּיַד־חַגַּי, bÿyad-khaggay). This suggests that the prophet is only an instrument of the Lord; the Lord is to be viewed as the true author (see 1:3; 2:1; Mal 1:1).

[1:1]  ⁴ tn The typical translation “Joshua (the) son of Jehozadak, the high priest” (cf. ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV) can be understood to mean that Jehozadak was high priest. However, Zech 3:1, 8 clearly indicates that Joshua was high priest (see also Ezra 5:1-2; cf. NAB). The same potential misunderstanding occurs in Hag 1:12, 14 and 2:2, where the same solution has been employed in the translation.

[2:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “In the seventh [month], on the twenty-first day of the month.”

[2:1]  sn The seventh month was the month Tishri, according to the modern (Julian) calendar October 17, 520 b.c. The twenty-first day of Tishri marked the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Num 29:32-34). It also coincided with the date 440 years earlier (960 b.c.) when Solomon finished building his temple (1 Kgs 6:38; 8:2).

[2:1]  ⁶ tc Heb “the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying.” The MT has בְּיַד (bÿyad, “by the hand of” = “through” [so NAB, NIV, NLT] as in 1:1, 3); the Murabba’at Dead Sea text reads אֶל (’el, “to”), perhaps because the following command is given to the prophet.

[2:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “say to”; NAB “Tell this to.”

[2:2]  ⁸ tn Many English versions have “Joshua (the) son of Jehozadak the high priest,” but this is subject to misunderstanding. See the note on the name “Jehozadak” at the end of v. 1.

[2:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “this house in its earlier splendor”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “in its former glory.”

[2:3]  sn Solomon’s temple was demolished in 586 b.c., 66 years prior to Haggai’s time. There surely would have been some older people who remembered the former splendor of that magnificent structure and who lamented the contrast to the small, unimpressive temple they were building (see Ezra 3:8-13).

[2:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and take heart.” Although emphatic, the repetition of the verb is redundant in contemporary English style and has been left untranslated.

[2:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the people of the land” (עַם הָאָרֶץ, ’am ha’arets); this is a technical term referring to free citizens as opposed to slaves.

[2:5]  ¹² sn My spirit. It is theologically anachronistic to understand “spirit” here in the NT sense as a reference to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity; nevertheless during this postexilic period the conceptual groundwork was being laid for the doctrine of the Holy Spirit later revealed in the NT.

[2:5]  ¹³ tc The MT of v. 5 reads “with the word which I cut with you when you went out from Egypt and my spirit [which] stands in your midst, do not fear.” BHS proposes emending “with the word” to זֹאת הַבְּרִית (zo’t habbÿrit, “this is the covenant”) at the beginning of the verse. The proposed emendation makes excellent sense and is expected with the verb כָּרַת (karat, “cut” or “make” a covenant), but it has no textual support. Most English versions (including the present translation) therefore follow the MT here.

[2:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai.” This Hebrew expression is like the one in 2:10 and is slightly different from the one in 1:1, 3; 2:1.

[2:20]  ¹⁵ sn Again, the twenty-fourth day of the month was Kislev 24 or December 18, 520 b.c. See v. 10.

[2:21]  ¹⁶ tn The participle here suggests an imminent undertaking of action (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT “I am about to”). The overall language of the passage is eschatological, but eschatology finds its roots in the present.

[2:21]  ¹⁷ tn See the note on the word “sky” in 2:6. Most English translations render the Hebrew term as “heavens” here.

[2:22]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the kingdoms of the nations.” Cf. KJV “the kingdoms of the heathen”; NIV, NLT “foreign kingdoms.”

[2:22]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and horses and their riders will go down, a man with a sword his brother”; KJV “every one by the sword of his brother.”

[2:23]  ²⁰ sn The expression on that day appears as a technical eschatological term in a number of other OT passages (cf., e.g., Isa 2:11, 17, 20; 3:7, 18; Amos 8:3, 9; Hos 2:18, 21).

[2:23]  ²¹ sn My servant. The collocation of “servant” and “chosen” bears strong messianic overtones. See the so-called “Servant Songs” and other messianic texts in Isaiah (Isa 41:8; 42:1; 44:4; 49:7).

[2:23]  ²² sn The noun signet ring, used also to describe Jehoiachin (Jer 22:24-30), refers to a ring seal worn by a king or other important person and used as his signature. Zerubbabel was a grandson of King Jehoiachin (1 Chr 3:17-19; Matt 1:12); God once pronounced that none of Jehoiachin’s immediate descendants would rule (Jer 22:24-30), but here he reverses that judgment. Zerubbabel never ascended to such a lofty position of rulership; he is rather a prototype of the Messiah who would sit on David’s throne.

[2:23]  ²³ tn The repetition of the formula “says the Lord who rules over all” in v. 23 emphasizes the solemn and divine nature of the promise.