HAGGAI In a Nutshell. . .
FDate -- 520 B.C. (very Accurate date)
FName means. . . Festival
FContemporary Kings -- "Zerubbabel" (Governor), "Darius" I (Persian king)
FContemporary Prophets -- Zechariah
FRelated Scripture -- Ezra 4:4-6
FProphesied to. . . Remnant of Judah that had returned (538 B.C.)
FTheme -- Rebuilding of the TempleA. The Prophet
1. Not much is known of Haggai's background, even his birth place (Babylon?; 2:3 may be Jerusalem) is in question.
2. First of the 3 Post-Exilic prophets. (Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi)
3. From his writings, it seems that he was a very practical man.
B. Historical Setting
1. Between the last of the Pre-Exilic prophets (Zephaniah, Habakkuk) and the Post-Exilic prophets (Haggai, Zechariah) there is a long period of history, during which time only Ezekiel and Daniel prophesied. From the Babylonian captivity (586 B.C.) to the writing of Haggai the following events transpired:
a. The total destruction of Jerusalem, and the deportation or slaughter of many of the inhabitants (The prophet Jeremiah stayed in Jerusalem with the unwanted 'remnant')
b. The writing of Daniel (in Babylon) and Ezekiel (in Babylon too) in captivity.
c. The "remnant" in Judah reorganizing and fleeing to Egypt for protection from Babylon (Jeremiah 40-43) -- Jeremiah accompanies them, and tradition says he was stoned to death there.
d. The fall of Babylon to Medes & Persians 539 B.C. (Daniel 5)
e. The kindness shown to the Jews by Cyrus the Great--Persian king