Hag 2:21-22 | TNotes | STEP | 2:21 Zerubbabel, the governor , was a descendant of David through Jehoiachin (1 Chr 3:19 ). Haggai’s affirmation thus overturns the curse on Jehoiachin (Jer 22:24-30 ). However, Zerubbabel abruptly disappears from the biblical record. He was possibly deposed as Judean governor or even executed by King Darius, who was attempting to control his newly acquired empire. The expectations here ascribed to Zerubbabel, and his status as a descendant of David, might have made him a political threat to Darius.

b1 Chr 3:19►

cJer 22:24-30►

eExod 15:1-21►

‏ Haggai 2:21-22

2:21 ^a Zerubbabel, the governor, was a descendant of David through Jehoiachin (1 Chr 3:19 ^b). Haggai’s affirmation thus overturns the curse on Jehoiachin (Jer 22:24-30 ^c). However, Zerubbabel abruptly disappears from the biblical record. He was possibly deposed as Judean governor or even executed by King Darius, who was attempting to control his newly acquired empire. The expectations here ascribed to Zerubbabel, and his status as a descendant of David, might have made him a political threat to Darius.
2:22 ^d I will overturn their chariots and riders: The prophet’s language would remind Israel of their deliverance from the Egyptian army (see Exod 15:1-21 ^e). The ambiguity of the threat of God’s judgment makes it unclear whether Haggai is referring to events in the distant future or to something more immediate involving the Persian Empire (e.g., the Greek-Persian wars during the reigns of Darius I and Xerxes or the later Peloponnesian War).