Bible Commentaries
Haggai

Haggai

[Note. "Haggai, one of the twelve minor prophets, and the first of the three who, after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian exile, prophesied in Palestine. Of the place and year of his birth, his descent, and the leading incidents of his life, nothing is known which can be relied on. Some assert that he was born in Babylon, and came to Jerusalem when Cyrus, in the year b.c. 536, allowed the Jews to return to their country (2 Chronicles 36:23 ; Ezr 1:1 ), the new colony consisting chiefly of people belonging to the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi, with a few from other tribes.... The style of the discourses of Haggai is suitable to their contents: it is pathetic when he exhorts; it is vehement when he reproves; it is somewhat elevated when he treats of future events; and it is not altogether destitute of a poetical colouring, though a prophet of a more vivid imagination would have depicted the splendour of the Second Temple in brighter hues.... The prophetical discourses of Haggai are referred to in the Old and New Testaments (Ezra 5:1 , Ezra 6:14 ; Hebrews 12:26 . Comp. Haggai 2:6-7 , Hag 2:22 )." Kirro's Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature ].