Haggai and Zechariah both started prophesying around the same time, namely in the second year of the reign of King Darius the Mede. The primary background is of God using Haggai to encourage the people to complete the building work on the temple.
Some Israelites had returned to Israel from captivity in Babylon. Building work had begun several years earlier, but due to a combination of opposition and discouragement the work had stopped for about sixteen years.
The original order to return to Jerusalem had come from Cyrus and about 50 000 Jews did so. Work on rebuilding the temple had started. The work had stopped due to opposition and the perceived need to cultivate the land and build houses.
Zerubbabel was the Jewish governor and Joshua was the high priest.
The book has four messages and these are carefully dated, so we know exactly when they were given. As well as being useful in its own right, the book of Haggai helps as a useful backdrop to understanding Zechariah.
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