Haggai: Festive, one of the twelve so-called minor prophets. He was the first
of the three (Zechariah, his contemporary, and Malachi, who was about
one hundred years later, being the other two) whose ministry belonged
to the period of Jewish history which began after the return from
captivity in Babylon. Scarcely anything is known of his personal
history. He may have been one of the captives taken to Babylon by
Nebuchadnezzar. He began his ministry about sixteen years after the
Return. The work of rebuilding the temple had been put a stop to
through the intrigues of the Samaritans. After having been suspended
for fifteen years, the work was resumed through the efforts of Haggai
and Zechariah
(Ezra 6:14) who by their exhortations roused the people
from their lethargy, and induced them to take advantage of the
favourable opportunity that had arisen in a change in the policy of
the Persian government.
(See DARIUS)
Haggai's prophecies have thus been characterized:, "There is a
ponderous and simple dignity in the emphatic reiteration addressed
alike to every class of the community, prince, priest, and people, 'Be
strong, be strong, be strong'
(Haggai 2:4) 'Cleave, stick fast, to the
work you have to do;' or again, 'Consider your ways, consider,
consider, consider'
(Haggai 1:5,7; 2:15,18) It is the Hebrew phrase for
the endeavour, characteristic of the gifted seers of all times, to
compel their hearers to turn the inside of their hearts outwards to
their own view, to take the mask from off their consciences, to 'see
life steadily, and to see it wholly.'", Stanley's Jewish Church.
