Book of Haggai

The Book of Haggai is a book of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament, written by the prophet Haggai. It was written in 520 BCE, some 18 years after Cyrus had taken the kingdom of Babylon and made a law in 538 BCE, so that the captive Jews could return to Judea.

Cyrus also wanted the temple in Jerusalem to be built, so that the worship there could be begun again. Haggai told the people to begin to rebuild second Jerusalem temple. Haggai said that a recent drought was because of the people's refusal to rebuild the temple, which he sees as key to Jerusalem’s glory.

He said that Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, was the Lord’s chosen leader. Haggai writes that three weeks after his first warning, the rebuilding of the Temple began on September 7 521 BCE. "They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the King.

This is in Chapter 1 verses 14 and 15. The Book of Ezra says that it was finished on February 25 516 BCE "The Temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius." (Ezra Chapter 6, verse 15) After this Haggai said that God would bless the people. (Chapter 2, verse 18-19) The book ends by telling about the future downfall of other kingdoms.