Page:A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi and Jonah.djvu/68

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It has long been the fashion to disparage the book of Haggai, and some of the later biblical scholars are almost as severe in their criticism of it as were, in their day, Gesenius and de Wette.

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The truth is that there is hardly a sufficient basis for a very defmile and decisive opinion with reference to Haggai and his prophecies. In the first place, let it be noted, the book that bears his name, next to Obadiah, is the smallest in the Old Testament; secondly, small as it is, only about two-thirds of it can be attributed to the prophet; and, thirdly, these brief fragments, in passing through the hands of an editor, may have lost more or less of the impress of Haggai's personality. This being the case, criticism should confine itself to the more salient features of the book; for the more minute the analysis the further it is likely to be from the truth.

The central thought of the prophet is too prominent to be overlooked. He was inspired with the irrepressible desire to see the temple rebuilt, and he set himself the task of persuading his people to restore it. In the pursuit of this purpose he used the same