Haggai as an Old Book

Abstract

Abstract Like other »post-exilic« books, Haggai was traditionally considered to be a »late« text. In agreement with this, several important studies published in recent decades have paid great attention to the ways Haggai works with older literary traditions. However, in the wake of shifts in the dating of many biblical texts, even entire literary traditions, the question arises: if we continue to situate at least a substantial core of Haggai in the early Persian period, which texts or traditions could have been known to the prophet or redactor(s) of the book? The article argues that, within the history of biblical literature, Haggai can be considered a relatively old book, and that it offers a small yet interesting window into several traditional aspects of Judean religion, mostly uninfluenced by the important theological developments of the »exilic« and Persian periods.