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 1:3

1:3 So the Lord spoke through the prophet Haggai as follows: ⁵ 

Hagai 1:12

The Response of the People

1:12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, ⁶  along with the whole remnant of the people, ⁷  obeyed ⁸  the Lord their God. They responded favorably to the message of the prophet Haggai, who spoke just as the Lord their God had instructed him, ⁹  and the people began to respect the Lord. ¹⁰ 

Hagai 2:1

The Glory to Come

2:1 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, ¹¹  the Lord spoke again through the prophet Haggai: ¹² 

Hagai 2:10

The Promised Blessing

2:10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of Darius’ second year, ¹³  the Lord spoke again to the prophet Haggai: ¹⁴ 

Hagai 2:20

Zerubbabel the Chosen One

2:20 Then the Lord spoke again to Haggai ¹⁵  on the twenty-fourth day of the month: ¹⁶ 

[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.

[1:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying.” Cf. the similar expression in v. 1 and the note there.

[1:12]  ⁶ 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.

[1:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “all the remnant of the people.” The Hebrew phrase שְׁאֵרִית הָעָם (shÿ’erit ha’am) in this postexilic context is used as a technical term to refer to the returned remnant (see Ezra 9:14; Isa 10:20-22; 11:11, 16; Jer 23:3; 31:7; and many other passages). Cf. TEV “all the people who had returned from the exile in Babylonia.”

[1:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “heard the voice of”; NAB “listened to the voice of.”

[1:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “and according to the words of Haggai the prophet just as the Lord their God sent him.” Some English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV) take the last clause as causal: “because the Lord their God had sent him.”

[1:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and the people feared from before the Lord”; NASB “showed reverence for the Lord.”

[2:1]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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.

[2:10]  ¹³ sn The twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of Darius’ second year was Kislev 24 or December 18, 520 b.c.

[2:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the word of the Lord came to Haggai the prophet, saying.” This Hebrew expression is slightly different from the one in 1:1, 3; 2:1.

[2:20]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ sn Again, the twenty-fourth day of the month was Kislev 24 or December 18, 520 b.c. See v. 10.