Abstract:
Understanding the theme of "messianism", although very relevant to Judaism and Christianity, does not seem to be a simple task when analyzing the Old Testament. Biblical study questions what the vision of messianism was for the authors of the Old Testament. After all, was the Messiah announced by the prophets a political leader, a king for Israel? Or would he be a religious figure, a teacher, a priest, a prophet? What would be his mission, the scope of his work? To contribute to this reflection, this text analyzes the preaching attributed to the prophet Haggai, set during the period of the repatriation of the Jews to Palestine after their exile in Babylon. The investigation deals with the content of the prophecy contained in Haggai 2:20-23, in order to verify whether it is a messianic promise to Zerubbabel. The research begins with an approach to the idea of the Messiah in the Old Testament and in extracanonical Jewish literature. It then moves on to an approach to the socioliterary elements of the book of Haggai: author, historical context and characterization of the character Zerubbabel. It ends with an exegetical exercise on the pericope. Anchored in the discussion with academic works on biblical interpretation, this research proposes an answer to the following central question: Does Haggai consider Zerubbabel to be the Messiah in his text? In view of the lack of unanimity among theorists, this paper supports the most recent interpretations that Haggai does not consider Zerubbabel to be the Messiah, but rather that from David's descendants will come the Messiah who will continue his dynasty and definitively free YHWH's people from their oppressor. We can therefore conclude that Haggai's prophecy does not give Zerubbabel a political-messianic role in the present, but rather places its hope for the future in him.
