IIAG'GAI (Agg(rus, ITaggceus), the tenth of the 12 minor prophets, and the first of those who prophesied in Palestine after the Babylonian captivity. Of his own history, noth ing positive is known. It is related that he was born in Babylon, of priestly lineage, and came to Jerusalem at a very early age. The church fathers suppose him to have been one of the exiles who had returned with Zerubbabel and Joshua; and Ewald infers from ii. 3, that he was one of the few who had seen the first temple, in which case he must have been a very old man when lie composed his book. The time of his prophe dies, however, is known with accuracy to fall in the 6th. 7th or 8th month of the second year of Darius Hystaspis (cf. Ezra, v. 1; vi. 14; Haggai, iv. 24) = 520 B.C. Fifteen years has then elapsed since the foundations of the new temple had been laid; but dur ing the reign of Camhyses and Pseudo-Smerdis, the work had been neglected. and even the most zealous men began to think that the time of the re-establishment of the sanc tuary was not yet at hand. Suddenly Haggai presented himself before Zerubbabel and Joshua the high-priest, and strongly urged the re-establishment of the sanctuary, point ing at the same time to the famine in the land, as the divine punishment for the culpa ble neglect of the people, who only thought of their own houses, and not of that God. His words made a deep impression, and the building, was re-commenced (i.). The second discourse of the prophet—about a month later—predicts a still greater glory to the new temple than had belonged to the former (ii. 3-9). Two months afterwards
he had to renew his reproaches against their inertness, and his promises of a blessed future (ii. 10-19). The Min-tit prophecy 20-23); delivered ,ou, the, carne day, is directed to Zerubbabel, and foretellS great revolutions and political changes; but he, Zerubbabel, shall remain a "signet" in the hands of God—Le., the Jews and their princely leaders would not be harmed.
The style of Haggai is prosaic, and labors under an tameness and poverty of expression, principally apparent in the frequent repetition, within the short space of two chapters, of certain words and phrases, which could not well have been purposely retained for the sake of ornamentation (Eichh. Einl., s. 599). There is hardly any par allelism; but the prophet has endeavored to impart a certain vivacity to his writing by means of interrogation. The diction itself is, generally speaking, pure and clear. Haggai's name appears joined to that of Zechariah in some of the inscriptions of the Psalms (127 and 145-48 in lxx., 125, 126, 145-148 in Peshito, 111 and 145 in Vulgate), a circumstance which must point to the existence of an old tradition about these prophets having striven for the re-establishment of the music and singing of the psalms in the temple. Some critics suppose our present book of Haggai to he simply all epitome of some larger book, or a condensation of Haggai's orally delivered prophecies. However this may be, they have certainly not gainea in strength by any such compression, as must well have been presumed.