flourished 6th century BC
One of the 12 Minor Prophets of the Hebrew scriptures, traditional author of the book of Haggai.
(His prophecy is part of a larger book, The Twelve, in the Jewish canon.) Born during the Babylonian Exile , he returned to Israel when it ended and helped mobilize the Jewish community to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem . His book consists of four prophecies delivered in 521 BC. He attributes the economic distress of the returned exiles to their delay in reconstructing the Temple and promises that the new house of God will be greater than the first.