AUTHOR: Information about the life of Haggai is rare, apart from the book that bears his name, which only Ezra mentions [ Ed 5:1 ], [ Ed 6:14 ]. Haggai is the first of the post-captivity prophets who ministered after Israel's return from Babylonian exile.

ORIGIN OF THE NAME: his name means “festive” or “joyful”, being the only one with that name in the Old Testament

THEME: The Book of Haggai covers the rebuilding of Israel's temple, in which Haggai plays an important role. Haggai's theme is the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. After destroying the Babylonian power, by decree, Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to the land of promise for the rebuilding of the sanctuary in Jerusalem, under the direction of Zerubbabel, the governor, and Joshua, the high priest [Ed 5:3] . After settling in the land of Jerusalem, the people erected an altar of burnt offering on the site of the temple. Two years later, amid great rejoicing, the foundations of the temple were laid. However, hostile neighbors (the Samaritans) employed their devices to stop the work. It was ordered, by an imperial decree, that the work be stopped. A state of indifference came over the exiles who had returned with the intent of rebuilding the house of God; instead of building the temple, they were busy decorating their own homes. As a result of this neglect, they were punished with drought and barrenness. For 16 years, the temple remained unfinished, until the reign of Darius Hystaspes, who published an order allowing the completion of the work. Empowered by God, the people began work on the house of the Lord, resuming the project. Three times the prophet repeats the imperative “be strong” (or have courage), once addressed to Zerubbabel, once to Joshua and also to all the people [ Hag 2:4 ]. Then, the plural imperative is addressed to everyone: “and work”. In short, failures in other areas of life are the result of neglecting God's work.

COMPILATION: The prophecy is carefully dated to 520 B.C., and this is indisputably due to the pen of Haggai. It consists of 2 chapters and 38 verses.