Haggai: Introduction-Date and Historical Background

The dating of Haggai is relatively easy since the prophet was precise in dating his prophecies.

The first message was delivered by Haggai on the first day of the sixth month of King Darius’ second year, which was Elul 1 according to the Jewish calendar, which in our modern Julian calendar was August 29, 520 B.C. (Hag. 1:1-13).

The second message was also delivered to Zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest during the twenty-first day of the seventh month Darius’ second year (Hag. 2:1-9).

This was the Jewish month Tishri, which according to our modern calendar would be October 17, 520 B.C.

The third message delivered by Haggai to the priests of the Law was on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of Darius’ second year, which was the twenty-fourth day of the Jewish month Kislev, which in our Julian calendar would be December 18, 520 B.C. (Hag. 2:10-19).

The fourth and final message was delivered by Haggai to Zerubbabel only on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of Darius’ second year, which would be the twenty-fourth day of the Jewish month Kislev, which is December 18, 520 B.C. in our modern calendar (Hag. 2:20-23).

In 586 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar waged a third and final campaign against the southern kingdom of Judah and its capital city Jerusalem destroying both and deporting the majority of the population to Babylon.

However, upon Nabopolassar’s ascension to power as king of the Neo-Babylonian empire, the balance of power in the eastern world was shifting as Cyaxares (625-585) became the ruler over Media and all northern Mesopotamia.

He conquered Persia and installed Cambyses as its governor.

Cyaxares died and his son, Astyages (585-550) ascended the throne.

This king’s daughter was the mother of Cyrus II and vassal of her father and ruler of the Persian province of Anshan.

Cyrus made an alliance with Nabonidus, the king of Babylonia and Astyages’s enemy.

Consequently, there was a major rift in the relationship between Astyages and Cyrus.

Soon after Media was conquered by Cyrus in 550 B.C.

As these events were taking place in Persia, Amel-Marduk (562-560), Neriglissar (560-556), Labashi-Marduk (556), and Nabonidus (556-539) followed the magnificent career of Nebuchadnezzar II who had invaded the southern kingdom of Judah three times in 605, 597 and 586 B.C.

Nabonidus was preoccupied with his cult and foreign travel and trade and thus left the responsibility of governing to Belshazzar.

This was a disaster as recorded in Daniel chapter 5 since the Medo-Persian empire led by Cyrus overthrew the city of Babylon, which was thought to be impregnable and absorbed the Babylonian empire.

In 538 B.C., Cyrus, the king of Persia conquered Babylon.

He issued a decree allowing the Jews in Babylon to return to their homeland and restore Jerusalem and rebuild the temple (cf. Ezra 1:2-4; 6:3-5).

Under the leadership of Sheshbazzar, 50,000 Jewish exiles returned from Babylon to begin work on restoring Jerusalem and rebuilding the temple.

Approximately two years later in 536 B.C., they completed the foundation with much rejoicing (Ezra 3:8-10).

However, their success disturbed the Samaritans and their other neighbors who lived in fear of the political and religious implications of a rebuilt temple in a restored Jewish state.

Consequently, they stridently opposed the project and were successful in temporarily stopping the restoration.

But in 522 B.C. Darius Hystaspes (522-486 B.C.) became king of Persia (Ezra 4:1-5, 24).

During this monarch’s second year, both Zechariah and Haggai exhorted the Jewish remnant to rebuild the temple.

Tattenai, the governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai and their colleagues attempted to interfere with the rebuilding efforts.

However, Darius Hystaspes ruled in favor of the Jews after investigating the matter in the royal records (cf. Ezra 5:3-6; 6:6-12).

In 516 B.C., the temple was finished and dedicated (Ezra 6:15-18).

Now, when investigating the historical background of the book of Haggai, one must not confuse Darius the Mede with Darius I who began to rule in 522 B.C.

The latter was a about twenty-eight by 522 B.C. having been born in approximately 550 B.C. whereas the former was sixty-two when he began to rule according to Daniel 5:31 (6:1).

Furthermore, Darius I was of a Persian royal line because his father, Hystaspes, was of the Achaemenid dynasty whereas the father Darius the Mede was Ahasuerus who was of Median descent according to Daniel 9:1.

Darius I took the throne by a coup d’état whereas Cyrus appointed Darius the Mede to be king over Babylon according to Daniel 9:1.

Darius I is mentioned in Ezra 4:5, 24; 5:5-7; 6:1, 12, 15 as well as Haggai 1:1; 2:10; Zechariah 1:1, 7; 7:1 whereas Darius the Mede is only mentioned in the book of Daniel (6:1, 6, 9, 25, 28; 9:1; 11:1).

The book of Haggai is focused upon the rebuilding of the temple since in 586 B.C. Solomon’s temple was destroyed by the army of Nebuchadnezzar.

The construction of the second temple started in 586 B.C. under the leadership of Zerubbabel, thus it is called “Zerubbabel’s temple” by scholars and expositors of the bible.

When the construction was completed in 516 B.C. during the sixth year of the reign of Darius I (522-486) under urging of Zechariah and Haggai, the remnant who remembered Solomon’s temple wept (cf. Ezra 3:12).

Ezra 3-6 provides details regarding the rebuilding of the temple by returning exiles.

This account asserts that the rebuilding began promptly in 536 B.C. but after the altar was built (Ezra 3:1-7) and the foundation was completed (Ezra 3:8-13), the project came to a halt because of resistance from the people of the land (Ezra 4:1-5).

Those opposing convinced the king of Persia to withdraw support from the project (Ezra 4:19-23).

Fifteen years would pass (535-520 B.C.) before the work would begin again during the second year of the reign of Darius (Ezra 4:24).

The prophets Zechariah and Haggai helped Zerubbabel restart the project and work began again in 520 B.C. (Ezra 5:1; Hag. 1:1; Zech. 1:1).

The temple construction was completed during the sixth year of the reign of Darius in 515 B.C. (Ezra 6:15).

The temple was dedicated by the Jewish remnant with a tremendous outpouring of joy and thanksgiving (Ezra 6:16-18).

The dimensions of Zerubbabel’s temple more than likely constructed on the same foundation as Solomon’s temple and thus had the same east-west orientation.

Solomon’s temple measured 60 cubits in length, 20 in width, and 30 in height.

Ezra 6:3 does not specify the length but does assert that it was 60 cubits wide and 60 cubits high.

This discrepancy is probably because the new temple was the same size as Solomon’s.

One should compare 2 Chronicles 3:3 for the dimensions of Solomon’s temple.

Although the new temple was relatively simple in comparison to the ostentatiousness of Solomon’s temple, Haggai prophesied that the former would be greater than the latter (Hag. 2:3-9).

In fact, this was fulfilled in history since Jesus Christ who was a descendant of Zerubbabel (Luke 3:27; Matt. 1:12) entered into Zerubbabel’s temple and taught and performed miracles in it (Matt. 21:12-27; Mark 11:15-33; Luke 2:22, 46; 19:45-20:8).

The worship of Yahweh in Zerubbabel’s temple by the Jews went uninterrupted until the rule of the Seleucid Antiochus Epiphanes IV in 169 B.C.

1 Maccabees 1:20-28 records him entering the temple and removing the vessels used in the sanctuary.

Jerome asserts that he set up an image of Jupiter Olympus on the temple grounds.

Josephus records that he built a “pagan altar” on the original altar and sacrificed a pig on it (Antiquities 12.5-4-253).

This abomination came to an end as a result of the Maccabean revolt which was led by the Hasmoneans (165-164 B.C.).

In 63 B.C., the Roman general Pompey attacked Jerusalem and entered the temple and thus desecrating it.

Herod the Great renovated the temple beginning in the 18th year of his reign around 20 B.C.

However, in fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy it was eventually destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.