The Meaning of Haggai 1:1 Explained

Haggai 1:1

KJV: In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,

YLT: In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, hath a word of Jehovah been by the hand of Haggai the prophet, unto Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and unto Joshua son of Josedech, the high priest, saying:

Darby: In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, came the word of Jehovah by the prophet Haggai unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,

ASV: In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of Jehovah by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,

KJV Reverse Interlinear

In the second  year  of Darius  the king,  in the sixth  month,  in the first  day  of the month,  came the word  of the LORD  by  Haggai  the prophet  unto Zerubbabel  the son  of Shealtiel,  governor  of Judah,  and to Joshua  the son  of Josedech,  the high  priest,  saying, 

What does Haggai 1:1 Mean?

Study Notes

sixth month
i.e. September, also Haggai 1:15 .

Verse Meaning

Like Ezekiel ,, Jonah , and Zechariah , the Book of Haggai contains no formal title. Yahweh sent a message to Zerubbabel ("born in Babylon" or "seed of Babylon," an allusion to his birthplace) and Joshua ("Yahweh saves") through the prophet Haggai , though it went to all the Israelites too ( Haggai 1:2; Haggai 1:4). Zerubbabel was the political governor (overseer) of the Persian province of Judah who had led the returnees back to the land ( Ezra 2:2; et al.). He was the son of Shealtiel ("I have asked of God," Ezra 3:2; Ezra 3:8; Ezra 5:2; Nehemiah 12:1; et al) and the grandson of King Jehoiachin (Jeconiah), one of the descendants of King David (cf. 1 Chronicles 3:17-19; Matthew 1:12).
Zerubbabel apparently had two fathers ( 1 Chronicles 3:17-19). Perhaps his other father, Pedaiah, was his uncle. If this was a levirate marriage (cf. Deuteronomy 25:5-10), Pedaiah would have married a woman and then died. Shealtiel, Pedaiah"s brother, would then have married the widow who gave birth to Zerubbabel in place of Shealtiel, Zerubbabel"s physical father. Another possibility is that Shealtiel adopted Zerubbabel after Pedaiah died. A third option is that one of these men was really a more distant ancestor of Zerubbabel, perhaps his grandfather.
Joshua was the high priest of the restoration community and a descendant of Aaron. He was the son of Jehozadak, who had gone into Babylonian captivity in586 B.C. ( 1 Chronicles 6:15; cf. Ezra 3:2; Ezra 3:8; Nehemiah 12:1; Nehemiah 12:8).
The Lord gave Haggai this message on the first day of the sixth month in the second year that Darius I (Hystaspes) ruled as king over Persia. This was Elul1 (August29), 520 B.C. [1] When the Israelites returned from exile in Babylon, they continued to follow the Babylonian calendar and began their years in the spring rather than in the fall (cf. Exodus 23:16; Exodus 34:22). Each new month began with a new moon, and the Israelites commonly celebrated the occasion with a new moon festival (cf. Numbers 28:11-15; Isaiah 1:14; Hosea 2:11). This first prophetic revelation that God gave in the Promised Land following the return from exile came on a day when most of the Israelites would have been in Jerusalem. The meaning of Haggai"s name (festal, or festal one) was appropriate in view of when the Lord gave this first prophecy through him. The fact that the writer spoke of Haggai in the third person does not exclude Haggai himself from being the writer since this was a common literary device in antiquity. [2]
In the historical books of the Old Testament, the writers usually dated the events in reference to a king of Judah or Israel, but the Jews had no king now. They were under the control of a Gentile ruler, in "the times of the Gentiles" ( Luke 21:24; cf. Daniel 2; Zechariah 1:1). "The times of the Gentiles" are the times during which Israel lives under Gentile control. These times began when Judah lost her sovereignty to Nebuchadnezzar in586 B.C, and they will continue until Messiah"s second coming when He will restore sovereignty to Israel.

Context Summary

Haggai 1:1-11 - Selfish And Shortsighted Thrift
Zerubbabel is the Sheshbazzar of Ezra 1:8. He was of the royal line, and appointed governor by Cyrus. Josedech was son of Seraiah, high priest when Jerusalem was taken, 2 Kings 25:18-21. The returned exiles had been experiencing a succession of bad seasons. They had sown much, and reaped little; their money ran out of the bag as quickly as they put it in; a drought lay on all the land, and the reason for it was to be found in the neglected Temple. How frequently our disasters and losses in business arise from our failure to remember God's cause. We say that we have not the time, cannot afford the money, and see no necessity for setting apart the Lord's Day or the daily period for meditation and prayer. Did we see things as they really are, we should find that this is false economy, and wastes more than we save. "There is that which withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty." The mower does not waste time when he stops to whet his scythe. [source]

Chapter Summary: Haggai 1

1  The time when Haggai prophesied
2  He reproves the people for neglecting the building of the house
7  He incites them to the building
12  He promises them, being forward, God's assistance

What do the individual words in Haggai 1:1 mean?

In the year second of Darius the King in month the sixth on the day first of the month came the word of Yahweh by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel governor of Judah and to Joshua of Jehozadak the priest high saying
בִּשְׁנַ֤ת שְׁתַּ֙יִם֙ לְדָרְיָ֣וֶשׁ הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ בַּחֹ֙דֶשׁ֙ הַשִּׁשִּׁ֔י בְּי֥וֹם אֶחָ֖ד לַחֹ֑דֶשׁ הָיָ֨ה דְבַר־ יְהוָ֜ה בְּיַד־ חַגַּ֣י הַנָּבִ֗יא אֶל־ זְרֻבָּבֶ֤ל בֶּן־ שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל֙ פַּחַ֣ת יְהוּדָ֔ה וְאֶל־ יְהוֹשֻׁ֧עַ יְהוֹצָדָ֛ק הַכֹּהֵ֥ן הַגָּד֖וֹל לֵאמֹֽר

בִּשְׁנַ֤ת  In  the  year 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
שְׁתַּ֙יִם֙  second 
Parse: Number, fd
Root: שְׁנַיִם  
Sense: two.
לְדָרְיָ֣וֶשׁ  of  Darius 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּרְיָוֶשׁ  
Sense: Darius the Mede, the son of Ahasuerus, king of the Chaldeans, who succeeded to the Babylonian kingdom on the death of Belshazzar; probably the same as “Astyages” the last king of the Medes (538 BC).
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ  the  King 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
בַּחֹ֙דֶשׁ֙  in  month 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: the new moon, month, monthly.
הַשִּׁשִּׁ֔י  the  sixth 
Parse: Article, Number, ordinal masculine singular
Root: שִׁשִּׁי  
Sense: sixth.
בְּי֥וֹם  on  the  day 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
אֶחָ֖ד  first 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: אֶחָד  
Sense: one (number).
לַחֹ֑דֶשׁ  of  the  month 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: the new moon, month, monthly.
הָיָ֨ה  came 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
דְבַר־  the  word 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
יְהוָ֜ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
חַגַּ֣י  Haggai 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: חַגַּי 
Sense: 0th in order of the minor prophets; first prophet to prophecy after the captivity.
הַנָּבִ֗יא  the  prophet 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָבִיא  
Sense: spokesman, speaker, prophet.
זְרֻבָּבֶ֤ל  Zerubbabel 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: זְרֻבָּבֶל  
Sense: the grandson of king Jehoiachin and leader of the first group of returning exiles from Babylon.
בֶּן־  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל֙  of  Shealtiel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל 
Sense: father of Zerubbabel.
פַּחַ֣ת  governor 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: פֶּחָה  
Sense: governor.
יְהוּדָ֔ה  of  Judah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהוּדָה  
Sense: the son of Jacob by Leah.
וְאֶל־  and  to 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
יְהוֹשֻׁ֧עַ  Joshua 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהֹושֻׁעַ  
Sense: son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim and successor to Moses as the leader of the children of Israel; led the conquest of Canaan.
יְהוֹצָדָ֛ק  of  Jehozadak 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהֹוצָדָק  
Sense: grandson of the high priest Hilkiah; son of the high priest Seraiah; and father of the high priest Joshua; he never attained the office of high priest himself because he was carried captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.
הַכֹּהֵ֥ן  the  priest 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: כֹּהֵן  
Sense: priest, principal officer or chief ruler.
הַגָּד֖וֹל  high 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
לֵאמֹֽר  saying 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.