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Book 37 of 66 · Old Testament

Haggai

Two months of blunt encouragement: get up and rebuild the Lord's house.

2 chapters38 versesWritten in HebrewSet Jerusalem, 520 BC

Overview

Haggai is short and pointed. The exiles have come home but left the temple in ruins while they see to their own houses. In a few dated messages over four months, Haggai rebukes them for their misplaced priorities and rouses them — with Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest — to finish rebuilding the Lord's house, promising that its "latter glory" will be great.

Book facts

Author
HaggaiNamed throughout; a prophet among the returned exiles.
Date written
520 BCPrecisely dated — the second year of King Darius.
Original language
HebrewPlain, direct Hebrew prose.
Setting
Jerusalem, 520 BCUrging the returned exiles to finish the temple.

How it came to be

Haggai is named throughout, and his messages are precisely dated. He prophesied in 520 BC, the second year of Darius, alongside Zechariah.

His whole message is a single call: finish rebuilding the temple.

What is arguedLittle is disputed; Haggai is one of the most straightforward and clearly dated of the prophets.

The whole book, chapter by chapter

ChapterWhat happensWho is in itWhere it takes place
Rebuild the house — four dated messages, chapters 1–2
Chapter 1The unbuilt houseHaggai rebukes the people for leaving the temple in ruins, and they begin to build., ,
Chapter 2The latter gloryGod promises the new temple's glory will surpass the old, and blesses the work.,

All 2 chapters. Start reading →

Worth knowing

Key people

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Key places

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Known for

The book's best-known lines — tap the verse to read it.