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Introduction to Haggai

INTRODUCTION TO HAGGAI

This part of sacred Scripture is in some Hebrew copies called "Sepher Haggai" the Book of Haggai; in the Vulgate Latin version the Prophecy of Haggai; and in the Syriac and Arabic versions the Prophecy of the Prophet Haggai. His name comes from a word^F1חגג "festum celebravit" Buxtorf. which signifies to keep a feast; and according to Jerom^F2Comment. in c. i. 1. So Stockius p. 306. signifies festival or merry; according to Hillerus^F3Onomast. Sacr. p. 262 779. the feasts of the Lord; and according to Cocceius^F4Comment. in c. i. 1. my feasts: and the issue of his prophecy answered to his name; by which the people were encouraged to build the temple whereby the feasts of the Lord were restored and observed; and a particular feast appointed for the dedication of the temple. The notion entertained by some that he was not a man but an angel founded on Haggai 1:13 deserves no regard; since the character there given of him respects not his nature but his office. Indeed no account is given of his parentage; very probably he was born in Babylon; and according to Pseudo-Epiphanius^F5De Prophet. Vita & Interitu c. 20. and Isidore^F6De Vita & Morte Sanct. c. 49. he came from thence a youth to Jerusalem at the return of the Jews from their captivity. The time of his prophecy is fixed in Haggai 1:1 to the second year of Darius that is Hystaspis; which according to Bishop Usher was in A. M. 3485 or 519 B.C.; and in the sixty fifth Olympiad; about 520 B.C.; and about seventeen or eighteen years after the proclamation of Cyrus for the Jews to return to their own land. Jerom says this was in the twenty seventh year of Tarquinius Superbus the last of the Roman kings. Haggai was the first of the three prophets that prophesied after their return; and all his prophecies were within the space of four months and have their dates variously put to them. Of the authority of this prophecy of Haggai there is no room to question; not only because of the internal evidence of it but from the testimony of Ezra Ezr 4:24 and from a quotation out of Haggai 2:7 by the author of the epistle to the Hebrews Hebrews 12:26. The general design of this book is to reprove the Jews for their negligence in building the temple after they had liberty granted them by Cyrus to do it and to encourage them in this work; which he does by the promise of the Messiah who should come into it and give it a greater glory than the first temple had. The name of this prophet is wrongly prefixed with others to several of the psalms especially those called the Hallelujah psalms in the Septuagint Vulgate Latin Syriac Arabic and Ethiopic versions as Psalm 112:1. Where he died is not certain; very probably in Jerusalem; where according to Pseudo-Epiphanius and Isidore^F7Ut supra. (De Vita & Morte Sanct. c. 49.) he was buried by the monuments of the priests; but according to the Cippi Hebraici^F8Ed. Hottinger p. 27. he was buried in a large cave in the declivity of the mount of Olives.

Commentator

John Gill (November 23 1697-October 14 1771) was an English Baptist a biblical scholar and a staunch Calvinist. Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism is a matter of academic debate.

He was born in Kettering Northamptonshire. In his youth he attended Kettering Grammar School mastering the Latin classics and learning Greek by age eleven. The young scholar continued self-study in everything from logic to Hebrew. His love for Hebrew would follow Gill throughout his life.

At the age of about twelve Gill heard a sermon from his pastor William Wallis on the text "And the Lord called unto Adam and said unto him where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9). The message stayed with Gill and eventually led to his conversion. It was not until seven years later that young John made a public profession when he was almost nineteen years of age.

His first pastoral work was as an intern assisting John Davis at Higham Ferrers in 1718 at age twenty one. He was subsequently called to pastor the Strict Baptist church at Goat Yard Chapel Horsleydown Southwark in 1719. In 1757 his congregation needed larger premises and moved to a Carter Lane St. Olave's Street Southwark. His pastorate lasted 51 years. This Baptist Church was once pastored by Benjamin Keach and would later become the New Park Street Chapel and then the Metropolitan Tabernacle pastored by Charles Spurgeon.

During Gill's ministry the church strongly supported the preaching of George Whitefield at nearby Kennington Common.

In 1748 Gill was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity by the University of Aberdeen. He was a profound scholar and a prolific author. His most important works are:

• The Doctrine of the Trinity Stated and Vindicated (London 1731)
• The Cause of God and Truth (4 parts 1735-8) a retort to Daniel Whitby's Five Points
• An Exposition of the New Testament (3 vols. 1746-8) which with his Exposition of the Old Testament (6 vols. 1748-63) forms his magnum opus
• A Dissertation on the Antiquity of the Hebrew Language (1767)
• A Body of Doctrinal Divinity (1767)
• A Body of Practical Divinity (1770).

John Gill is the first major writing Baptist theologian. His work retains its influence into the twenty-first century. Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism in English Baptist life is a matter of debate. Peter Toon has argued that Gill was himself a hyper-Calvinist which would make Gill the father of Baptist hyper-Calvinism. Tom Nettles has argued that Gill was not a hyper-Calvinist himself which would make him merely a precursor and hero to Baptist hyper-Calvinists.

¢w¢w¡mJohn Gill¡¦s Exposition of the Bible¡n

New King James Version Bible NKJV

The NKJV was commissioned in 1975 by Thomas Nelson Publishers. One-hundred-and-thirty respected Bible scholars church leaders and lay Christians worked for seven years with the goal of updating the vocabulary and grammar of the King James Version while preserving the classic style of the of the 1611 version.

The task of updating the English of the KJV involved many changes in word order grammar vocabulary and spelling. One of the most significant features of the NKJV was its removal of the second person pronouns "thou" "thee" "ye " "thy " and "thine." Verb forms were also modernized in the NKJV (for example "speaks" rather than "speaketh").

Young¡¦s Literal Translation (YLT)

Young¡¦s Literal Translation was completed in 1898 by Robert Young who also compiled Young¡¦s Analytical Concordance. It is an extremely literal translation that attempts to preserve the tense and word usage as found in the original Greek and Hebrew writings. The online text is from a reprint of the 1898 edition as published by Baker Book House Grand Rapids Michigan. Obvious errors in spelling or inconsistent spellings of the same word were corrected in the online edition of the text. This text is Public Domain in the United States.