Welcome to Bible Fiber where we are encountering the textures and shades of the prophetic tapestry in a year-long study of the twelve minor prophets, one prophet each month. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern.
This week we are reading the second chapter of Haggai. We know a good deal about the historical background to Haggai’s prophecies because of the book of Ezra. Ezra names Haggai as a prophet who ministered to the regathered Jews in Judah (5:1-2; 6:14). However, we know nothing of Haggai’s patrimony or biographical profile. For example, Ezra did not include Haggai in his extensive list of the first wave of returnees from Babylon, a notable omission. Perhaps, Haggai was in a subsequent wave, or Haggai never left Judah at all. The Babylonians did not deport all the Jews in Judea, only the prominent citizens. Possibly, Haggai’s parents were among the “poorest people of the land” (2 Kings 24:14). If so, Haggai was prophesying as a local Jerusalemite who had been awaiting the return of his people, living among the ashes of Jerusalem his whole life.
The word of the Lord came to Haggai for the second time on October 17, 520 BCE. This was the seventh day of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. We know that fact because of Haggai’s precise dating formula, but the prophet makes no specific mention of the holiday. Interestingly, the name Haggai is connected to chag, Hebrew for festival.
