Haggai 1:1 Commentary and Bible Study

Here begins the first of four great exhortational prophecies from Haggai to the people. It is 520 BC, and the king of the Medo-Persian Empire is the time reference, ‘in the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month.’ Attached to each prophecy, and the beginning and end of this first one, is the careful relating of the date. The word of the Lord was given by Haggai to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel. Both of these men are in the royal line of descent from King David, and both are mentioned in the genealogies of Matthew and Luke: Zerubbabel is called Zorobabel, and Shealtiel, Salathiel. From them the Messiah would come, and so even in this time of disturbance for the nation, God was remaining faithful to his promises, causing the one in the line of promise to have the zeal to return and lead the work. Many think that Sheshbazzar, named in Ezra, and also appointed governor of Judah (Ezra 1:8) is the same person as Zerubbabel. The two names run into each other in Ezra 1:11 – 2:2, and it is thought that Sheshbazzar is the Babylonian name, and Zerubbabel the Hebrew name, meaning ‘Born in Babylon’.