CHAPTER 1
1. In the second year of Daryawesh the King, in the sixth month, on day one of the month, the word of YHWH came by the hand of Khaggai the prophet to Zerubbavel the son of She’althi’el, governor of Yehudah, and to Y’hoshua the son of Y’hotzadaq, the high priest, saying,
Governor: or deputy, i.e., under Daryawesh, the king of Persia, the nation which had granted autonomy to Yehudah. (The LXX only says, of the tribe of Yehudah.) Zerubbavel (“sown in Babylon”) would have been king of Yehudah if there had not been a curse placed on his ancestor, Konyahu (also called Yehoyakhin), that no son of his would ever sit on the throne of David. Not until Zerubbavel’s descendant, Y’shua ben Yosef, redeemed his bloodline through his own death, could the throne of David resume so that countless promises of YHWH could be fulfilled. Yet YHWH allowed Zerubbavel to have a high position of leadership in Yehudah nonetheless. The LXX transliterates Y’hoshua exactly as the Greek version of the Renewed Covenant presents Y’shua’s name. Ezra uses the Aramaic form, Y’shua. The epistle to the Hebrews presents Y’shua as a high priest of a different sort.
2. “This is what YHWH, [the Master] of Armies, has said, [and I] quote: ‘This people has said, “The time has not arrived—the time [for] YHWH’s house to be rebuilt.”’”
The first day of the sixth month, 40 days before Yom Kippur, is traditionally the time to begin a more intense time of repentance. To someone in tune with YHWH’s seasons, this “word to the wise” should have been sufficient. It should have put the thought in their minds, “Is there ever a time for His house not to be built?” Though YHWH had never specifically asked for a permanent structure for His dwelling place (2 Shmu’el 7:5ff), it is permissible to “beautify the commandment” in any way that does not violate another part of the Torah, and the traditional understanding has been that once a particular service has been elevated to a certain level, we should never back off from that level again, but it now becomes the minimum; the highest that has been attained now becomes the standard. So once the Tabernacle had been replaced by the Temple, it is always incumbent to rebuild it if it has been damaged. At the very least, they should have replaced the Tabernacle, which was actually commanded. This people: YHWH does not call them “My people” while they are in such a state of remission. They have left Babylon, but Babylon has not left them.
3. Then the word of YHWH came by the hand of Khaggai the prophet, saying,
4. “Is it time for you yourselves to settle in your paneled houses while this House is in ruins?
Is it time: Aramaic targum, Is it now fitting? He makes no statement, but only asks a question that they must give a “yes” or “no” answer to. He wanted them to take responsibility and come to the recognition that what they were doing was not right. Paneled: used in conjunction with cedar in Yirmeyahu 22:14; alt., covered, closed in with wainscoting or clapboard. I.e., this is more than just the minimal protection they would need from the elements in order to be able to turn their attention toward the reason for Israel’s existence. In fact, most Israelite houses before this had not had an inner layer of wood, but only stone walls. The king’s palace was the exception, not the rule, so he is saying that they are actually living in luxury. What sort of “paneling” have we put up to better ourselves? Do we make New year’s resolutions? Beautifying our image amounts to nothing if we are not first and foremost enhancing the life of Israel, but if we are doing the latter, it does not matter how disgusting we might appear to the outside world. This House: LXX, our house, emphasizing what Israel all holds in common; Aramaic: this sanctuary, i.e., YHWH’s Temple, and the context bears this out. The logical reason for their slowness to restart the Temple is given in Ezra 4. After building the altar and successfully laying the foundation of the Temple itself some 15 to 18 years earlier, the other inhabitants of the Land, who had been brought from outside by their conquerors, terrorized them and hired consultants against them, forcibly preventing any further construction until this time, around 520 B.C.E. In the meantime, they had been able to decorate their own houses with no opposition, so that had become their focus. Apparently the opposition had grown slack with Daryawesh’s accession to the throne or just because of the passage of so much time, but they still saw themselves as under another power, and had not dared to resume construction. Even if Persia had been kind to them, YHWH’s authority still had to be seen as higher. We, too, are in a place where we might expect to be harassed if we tried to carry out certain aspects of the Torah while in exile, but in order for full restoration to be brought, we too have to enter into some things even when opposition looks likely.
5. “And now, this is what YHWH, [the Master] of Armies, says: ‘Direct your mind onto your ways.
Direct your mind [or heart] onto: figuratively, consider; alt., set your innermost parts on your path. Pay attention to where your actions are leading you. Are you building the right “house”? Ways: or habits; how your life has been:
6. “‘You sow a lot, yet bring in little. [You] eat, but there is not [enough] to be satisfied; [you] drink, but there is not [enough] to [make you] drunk. [You] put on clothing, but there is not enough to be warm. The one who earns wages hires himself out to a punctured bag.’
Drunk: or merry, hilarious—i.e., to drink freely. Punctured: or perforated; i.e., some of what is put into it will fall out through the holes. Aramaic, [only] to be cursed with poverty. (Compare Prov. 28:27, which uses the Hebrew version of the same word for curse.)
7. “This is what YHWH, [the Master] of Armies, says: ‘Direct your mind onto your ways!
He repeats the command, showing how important it is to listen.
8. “‘Ascend the mountain and bring wood and build the House, and I will be pleased with it when I am honored,’ says YHWH.
The mountain: possibly any mountain nearby, letting them know that they did not have to wait until it was possible to bring in cedars from Levanon again as Shlomoh had done the first time, in order to satisfy Him. It was more important that they do something about its condition than nothing at all, though they could afford little. But when the article is present it is likely to have the specialized meaning of “THE Mountain [of the House of YHWH]”. There were not supposed to be groves of trees near His altar anyway (Deut. 16:21), and the altar was already in use. Trees are also a picture of righteous men (Psalm 1:3; Yeshayahu 44:3; Yirmeyahu 17:7), so this is also a call for righteous men to gather together to build THE House of which the Temple is only a picture. This is not meant to be only allegorical, but it should get our attention on whether our attention is on our own houses of His. Shlomo, too, asked for cedars first, then stones, though the wood was mainly for the paneling, so this is again a mild rebuke for paneling their own houses first. Trees would also be needed for shoring timbers to form a framework until the outer stone structure was stable, and some crossbeams would remain even after that as supports. The stones were already present to rebuild with, having only been knocked down, as they do not burn. Note also the parallel with Yitzhaq, who ascended this mountain carrying wood. (Gen. 22) If we bring the preparatory materials, YHWH will provide the lamb! I will be pleased: This is not a statement YHWH makes often or easily.
9. “‘You prepared for abundance, but in fact [there was] little, and when you brought it home, I blew it [away]. On account of what?’ YHWH [Master] of Armies declares, ‘On account of My House, which is in ruins, while each of you hurries away to his own house!
Prepared: or looked, cleared the way, turned toward. Blew it away: even what little they did bring home was lost.
10. “‘That is why the skies above you have held back from [dropping] dew, and the earth withholds her produce.
11. “‘And I can call for a drought on the land, and on the mountains, and on the grain, and on the fresh wine, and on the shining [pure] oil, and on whatever the ground brings forth, and on both human being and beast, and on all products of a pair of hands.’”
Grain, wine, and oil are exactly what was to be brought to the altar. (Deut. 28:23) YHWH had promised to increase the wine and oil of those who obeyed, and this precisely what was not increasing here.
12. Then Zerubbavel the son of Shalthi’el and Y’hoshua the son of Y’hotzadaq, the high priest, as well as all the rest of the people, obeyed the voice of YHWH their Elohim, and the words of Khaggai the prophet, when YHWH their Elohim sent him, and the people were awed by the presence of YHWH.
Shalthi’el: Note the difference in spelling from verse 1. The letter alef, symbolic of unity, is missing, diminishing the value of his name, which means, “I have asked [a favor] of Elohim”. Awed: in fear, reverence, and respect, having received the threat of His withdrawal of even the little that was left to them.
13. Then Khaggai, the messenger of YHWH, spoke with YHWH’s message for the people, to quote: “‘I am with you,’ declares YHWH.”
Messenger: or representative, the same word often translated “angel”. YHWH’s feasts are indeed His messengers to us. I am with you: Aramaic, “My Memra (living Word) is your support.”
14. Thus YHWH stirred up the spirit of Zerubbavel the son of Shalthi’el, governor of Yehudah, and the spirit of Y’hoshua the son of Y’hotzadaq the high priest, and the spirit of all the rest of the people, and they came in and prepared the work [to be done] in the House of YHWH [Master] of Armies, their Elohim
Stirred up: aroused, awakened, incited—by the simple word of encouragement that YHWH had given them. Note that the “spirit” that was stirred up resulted in physical work, not mysticism. Rest: or remainder, remnant, suggesting that once they had to get to work, some of the 42,360 Jews who had come back from exile might have actually left, since they believed more in building their own houses. This remnant could thus mean those who were willing to stay on and complete the job.
15. on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Daryawesh the king.
They started gathering materials on this date, but appear to not yet have actually re-started construction.
CHAPTER 2
1. On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of YHWH came by the hand of Khaggai the prophet, saying,
Twenty-first of the seventh month: This is nearly a month later. (See also note on v. 6.)
2. “Please speak to Zerubbavel son of Shalti’el, governor of Yehudah, to Y’hoshua son of Y’hotzadaq, the high priest, and to the rest of the people, saying,
3. “‘Who among you remains [of those] who saw this House in its former glory? And how do you regard it now? Isn’t it like nothing in comparison to it?
This is a direct answer to the fact that people did weep when they saw the new Temple for this very reason. (Ezra 3:12) Like nothing: or, as if it did not exist. The Temple had been destroyed 70 years before this, so the oldest of the men there were in adolescence or early adulthood when it was destroyed. We who have studied the glory of the ancient Temple may also be disappointed at first when we see the initial product of our labors, since we who are dedicated to it are so few. The fact that it was 70 years is another reason it was time to rebuild, for Yirmeyahu (25:11-12; 29:10) had predicted that the exile and servitude to foreigners would last 70 years. There were three deportations to Bavel, so the count could have started from the first, but now that the Temple itself had been out of usage for 70 years, the time of punishment had been fulfilled by any way of counting.
4. “‘Yet now, be strong, O Zerubbavel,’ emphasizes YHWH. ‘And hold firmly, O Y’hoshua son of Y’hotzadaq, the high priest, and keep a tight grip, all [you] people of the Land,’ says YHWH, ‘and work, because I am with you,’ declares YHWH [Master] of Armies.
Hold firmly: YHWH said the same to the first Y’hoshua. Work: The time for gathering supplies and any other preparation was over; it was time to stop that and get down to the actual building. I am with you: no matter what the Gentiles around you may do.
5. “‘The promise that I cut with you when you came out of Egypt—and My Spirit remains [firmly] among you; do not be afraid!
Cut: the terminology of covenant-making.
6. “‘Because this is what YHWH [Master] of Armies: “Once again—it is a small [thing]—I am causing the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the dry [land] to shake.
A small thing: or, a little while. To shake: the root word for the “beginning” in Genesis 1:1. So this is a “new creation”. Hebrews 12:27 comments in regard to this verse that it implies the removal of anything that can be shaken, so that what cannot be shaken can remain. The shaking only removes the chaff (what is useless) from the wheat. Interestingly, this word is brought on the final day of Sukkoth (Hoshanah Rabbah), a high day to be celebrated in the Temple as the greatest day of the feast. If the custom then was the same as it is now, they had been shaking a lulav (collection of four species prescribed in Lev. 23:40) for the past six days as well as this one. (We know that this practice was at least restored during the next stage of reconstruction. (Nekhemyah 8:14ff) YHWH indeed had an appointment with His people this particular year.
7. “‘“And I will make all the nations shake, and what all nations desire will come, and I will fill this house [with] honor,” says YHWH [Master] of Armies.
Will: in the perfect tense, indicating that this is not a conditional promise as some are. Honor: weightiness, esteem, glory, importance.
8. “‘“I have the silver, and I have the gold,” declares YHWH [Master] of Armies.
I have: or, is mine, is for Me. This may be what he was referring to in saying “what all nations desire”, but this may instead be a reference to the return of YHWH’s presence, a step toward the return to Eden. I have: no matter if you think you cannot afford to do this, don’t let that be your focus; get started and all you need will be provided. “You do not have because you do not ask.” (Yaaqov 4:2) But asking for paneling for our own houses would be asking amiss. (4:3)
9. “‘“The honor of this latter House will become greater than the first,” says YHWH [Master] of Armies. “And at this place I will bestow peace,” declares YHWH [Master] of Armies.’”
Latter: or, lattermost. It may be speaking of this second Temple, which was greatly embellished by King Herodos, and of course it was dignified even more because the Messiah walked within its precincts regularly. The lattermost House is described in Y’hezq’el 40 through 45, and it will be even larger than that of Herodos, and the Messiah will officiate in many ceremonies.
10. On the twenty-fourth of the ninth [month] in year two of Daryawesh, the word of YHWH came by the hand of Khaggai the prophet, saying,
11. “This is what YHWH [Master] of Armies says: Please ask the priests [for] instruction, saying,
Instruction: Heb., torah. Aramaic, a ruling.
12. “‘Here is a man [who] carries consecrated meat in the wing of his garment. Now his wing touched bread or boiled food or wine or oil or anything to eat; will it become consecrated?’” And the priests answered and said, “No.”
13. So Khaggai said, “If any of these touches a [person] defiled [by] a [dead] body, will it become defiled?” And the priests answered and said, “It will become defiled.”
Ritual defilement can be transferred accidentally, but ritual purity must be conferred on an object by deliberately setting it apart as solely for YHWH’s use.
14. Then Khaggai responded by saying, “‘[It is the] same [for] this people, and likewise for this nation in My presence,’ declares YHWH. ‘And every product of their hands is the same [way], so anything they bring near [to offer] there—it is defiled!
The LXX adds, “because of their early burdens; they shall be pained because of their toils, and you have hated him that reproved in the gates.”
15. “‘So now, please direct your mind from this day and upward, from before a stone [was] laid on a stone in the Temple of YHWH:
Stone: Aramaic, layer, based on Ezra 6:4. This may refer to the fact that the foundation for the Temple was laid during the reign of Koresh (Ezra 3:8-13), but was not resumed until that of Daryawesh. (Ezra 4:24; 6:13ff)
16. “‘Since they were, one came toward a heap of twenty [sheaves], and there were [only] ten, one came to the wine vat to skim off fifty at the winepress, but there were [only] twenty,
17. “‘I have struck you—all the products of your hands--with blight, mildew, and hail, yet with you there was no one [who turned] toward Me,’ declares YHWH.
18. “‘Please direct your mind from this day and upward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth [month], that is, from the day when YHWH’s Temple was founded, consider in your hearts:
Upward: i.e., the following days with higher calendar dates. The very next day would later become the day Hanukkah begins—the day of the rededication of the Temple after a defilement by the Greeks nearly 400 years later. So on YHWH’s cycle, this is always a day for the restoration of His dwelling place.
19. “‘Is the seed still in the granary? Yet even the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not borne [fruit]! From this day [on], I will bless.’”
20. Then the word of YHWH came a second time to Khaggai on the twenty-fourth of the month, to say,
21. “Speak to Zerubbavel, governor of Yehudah, saying, ‘I will shake the heavens and the earth,
22. “‘and I will overturn the throne of kingdoms and I will annihilate the grip of the kingdoms of the Gentiles, and I will overthrow chariot and its riders, and horses and their riders will [be brought] down, [each] man by his brother’s sword.
Annihilate the grip of…the Gentiles: Ezra 5 tells us how as soon as this work restarted, predictably, opposition from the neighboring Gentiles revived as well. But they were able to keep building while they awaited a reply from Daryawesh as to what to do about it. After he had made a search and found evidence that Koresh had indeed authorized this work, he not only validated it and forbade anyone from opposing it; he paid all the expenses as well! Overthrow chariot and its riders: an allusion to Pharaoh at the Reed Sea, an event which itself was reminiscent in many ways of the six days of creation. So this is the language of a new creation.
23. “‘On that day,’ declares YHWH [Master] of Armies, ‘I will select you, O Zerubbavel, son of She’althi’el, my servant,’ declares YHWH. ‘And I will set you [in place] like a seal [affixed by a signet ring], because I have chosen you,’ declares YHWH [Master] of Armies.”
The Temple would still not be dedicated for about four years, and even then it would remain incomplete until 353 B.C.E., but an integral stage was accomplished here. The spelling of She’althi’el is restored to its fullness here, possibly to indicate the restoration of the throne of David, which this line carries on, yet which it had no right to until the Messiah redeemed it. Chosen: or accepted, decided for (rather than against); Aramaic, found pleasure in. The final promise is not to Y’hoshua the high priest, for he is already in his rightful place; Zerubbavel should be king, not a royal deputy, and one day he will have this authority to bind or loose. But despite the limitations of his circumstances, Zerubbavel’s faithfulness was able to lay a foundation for this restoration, but like this Temple begun in Koresh’s day, it would remain incomplete for a long time thereafter, for it took the Messiah’s blood purchasing back the people who would become the subjects of his Kingdom.to finish that task. The final result will be seen “on that Day”—an idiom for the end of the age, when the Kingdom finally becomes tangible in the physical realm. (Zkh. 12:9-13:2) The seed of the one “sown in Babylon” would finish the job he opened the door for Yehudah to begin. Our Y’shua is already assured of what he will be; the rest of us must still rise to the occasion, and if we do, we too will attain the place YHWH has for us.
WRITINGS OF THE PROPHET
Khagga'i
INTRODUCTION: Khaggai’s name means “festive” or “my feasts”, a theme that ties in well with his emphasis on rebuilding the place where YHWH’s feasts were to be celebrated together by all Israel. The chronological reference given is Daryawesh (or Daryush), the king of Persia (son of Hystaspes) who succeeded Cambyses II (Akhashwerosh of Esther), son and successor (after two usurpers were displaced) to Koresh the Great, who had conquered Babylon and permitted the tribe of Yehudah to return and rebuild Yerushalayim (Ezra 4:5), and with whom he had been co-regent for 6 years. It was common in the Persian Empire for a king to have the name of his ancestor, but not in the immediately succeeding generation. This is not the earlier Daryawesh made well-known by the story of Dani’el and the lions’ den, for he preceded Koresh (Dan. 6:28), in whose first year Dani’el either died or ended his prophesying (Dan. 1:21). That Daryawesh is distinguished also by being called “the Mede” as opposed to the Persian, though the two kingdoms were united by this time. There were two later kings named Daryawesh in Persia. Khaggai is also a contemporary of Ezra (being cross-referenced in Ezra 5:1 and 6:14), and this account is just a short anecdote (covering about four months) within the framework of the much longer time spanned by Ezra, and took place only the month prior to the beginning of Z’kharyah’s prophecies. The approximate date is 520 B.C.E.
