HAGGAI, hagfga-i (probably 'born on a feast day,' though Haggai may also be an abbreviation of Hagiah, 'feast of Yahweh,' or for Hagariah, `Yahweh hath girded'). A Hebrew prophet of the post-exilic period, and contemporary with the Prophet Zechariah, with whom he was associated (Ezra v. 1; I. Esdras vi. 1; vii. 3). He prophesied in Jerusalem after the re turn of the Israelites from the Babylonian cap tivity. The date of his work is fixed by his own writing (ch. i. 1, 15; ii. 1, 10) in the second year of Darius Hystaspes, n.e. 520. Concerning his own history nothing is known. The inference drawn from his work (ii. 3), that he had in his youth seen the former temple in its glory, may be correct, in which case the prophec,ies that we have from him would represent compositions pro duced in his old age. The'Book of Haggai con sists of four discourses, the delay in the rebuild ing of the sanctuary furnishing the general motive. The prophet is represented as appearing before Zerubbabel and Joshua, the high priest, and strongly urging the of the sanctuary, pointing at the same time to the famine in the land as the divine punishment for the culpable neglect of the people, who only thought of their own houses, and not of that of God. His words made a deep impression, and the building was recommenced (ch. i.). The second discourse, about a month later, predicts a still greater glory for the new temple than had belonged to the former (ii. 3-9). Two months later he had to renew his reproaches against their inertness, and his promises blessed future (ii.
10-19). The fourth discourse (ii. 20-23), de livered on the same day, is directed to Zerub babel, and, while foretelling great revolutions and political changes, promises that Zerubbabel shall remain a 'signet' in the hands of God—an im plication apparently that Zerubbabel is to become the Messianic King. The style of Haggai is prosaic, and labors under an uncommon 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 re tained for the sake of ornamentation. There is hardly any parallelism; 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. The contrast between Haggai and Zechariah, who have much in common, and the older prophets of the type of Jeremiah and Isaiah, is striking. Whereas the latter are concerned chiefly with ethical problems, the interest of the former is largely centred in the temple and the cult. They reflect in this respect the tendencies of the post exilic period. Consult the general commentaries on the Minor Prophets (q.v.) ; Perowne, "Haggai and Zechariah," in the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge, 1886). •