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Book of Haggai

Anonymous · betmas

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machine-draft · no human review 6 passages · 1,160 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

The Geʿez version of the Book of Haggai, preserved in a single Ethiopic manuscript, follows the Septuagint tradition closely, including the longer chronological formula in 2:10 absent from the Masoretic Text. The translation is conventionally dated to the Aksumite period (5th–6th c.) and is used in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo tradition during the season of the Prophets (Nabi’at) before Gǝnna. The English draft accompanying this edition is a modern translation not reflecting the Geʿez syntax or Septuagint Vorlage and should not be used for textual criticism.

This Geʿez version of Haggai is significant as a witness to the Septuagint-based Old Testament canon in the Ethiopian tradition, preserving textual features lost in the Masoretic tradition. It also illustrates the Aksumite translation practices and the liturgical use of the Minor Prophets in the Ethiopian church. The text's expansions and free renderings provide insight into the interpretive traditions of the translators.

Historical context

The Geʿez translation of the Minor Prophets, including Haggai, is conventionally assigned to the Aksumite period (5th–6th c.), when the Ethiopian church was closely linked to the Greek-speaking Christian world. The translation was made from the Septuagint, as shown by the longer chronological formula in 2:10 (LXX 2:10a) not found in the Masoretic Text. The single manuscript witness used for this edition (betmas) lacks a colophon confirming a precise date for Haggai. In the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo tradition, Haggai is read during the season of the Prophets (Nabi’at) preceding the celebration of the Birth of Christ (Gǝnna). The text reflects the post-exilic leadership structure of Zerubbabel and Joshua, and includes expansions not present in the Hebrew, such as 'you drink but are not quenched' and 'you clothe yourselves but are not warm'.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

34 commentary units 6 structure5 term5 scripture5 caution4 background4 reception3 dating2 parallel 0 derived notes 13 open questions 6 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • coverageNo English translation was located by an automated check of the source corpus and one library catalogue. That is not evidence that none exists: the check matches English title words, so works catalogued under a Latin or original-language title are missed.
  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: other in Geʿez; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 6 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: betmas — CC BY-SA 4.0 (per file); site footer states NC-SA - treat as NC

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
LIT3149Haggai:1 · narrativehigh
Source
Text of the EOTC printed Bible Chapter 1 በካልእ፡ ዓመተ፡ መንግሥቱ፡ ለዳርዩስ፡ ንጉሥ፡ በሳድስ፡ ወርኃ፡ አመ፡ ሠርቅ፡ ኮነ፡ ቃለ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ በእደ፡ ሐጌ፡ ነቢይ፡ ወይቤ፡ በሎ፡ ለዘሩባቤል፡ ወልደ፡ ሳላያል፡ ዘሕዝብ፡ ይሁዳ፡ ወለዮሴዕለ፡ ወልደ፡ ዮሴዴቅ፡ ካህን፡ ዓቢይ፡ ወበሎም። ከመዝ፡ ይቤ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ዘኩሉ፡ ይመልክ፡ ዝንቱ፡ ሕዝብ፡ ይብሉ፡ ኢብጽሐ፡ ጊዜ፡ ለሐኒፆ፡ ቤተ፡ እግዚአብሔር። ወኮነ፡ ቃለ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ በእዶ፡ ሐጌ፡ ነብይ፡ ወይበሌ። እመ፡ ጊዜሁ፡ ለክሙ፡ ትንበሩ፡ ዉስተ፡ ልገታተ፡ ቀላያት፡ ወዝኒ፡ ቤትየ፡ ይመዘብር። ወይእዜኒ፡ ከመዝ፡ ይቤ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ዘኩሎ፡ ይመልክ፡ ሐልዩ፡ እስኩ፡ በልብክሙ፡ ፍናዊክሙ። ዘሪኩም፡ ብዙኀ፡ ወአእተዉክሙ፡ ኀዳጠ፡ ትበልዑ፡ ወኢትጸግቡ፡ ትስትዩ፡ ወኢትረዉዩ፡ ትትከደኑ፡ ወኢትመዉቅ፡ ወዘያስተጋብዕ፡ ዓስቦ፡ አስተጋብኦ፡ ዉሰተ፡ ዕቁር፡ ስቁር። ከመዝ፡ ይቤ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ዘኩሉ፡ ይመልክ፡ ሐልዩ፡ ፍናዊክሙ።
English
Chapter 1 In the second year of the reign of Darius the king, on the sixth month, on the day of the new moon, the word of the Lord came through the hand of Haggai the prophet, and he said, Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, of the tribe of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and say to them: Thus says the Lord of all: This people say, The time has come for the building of the house of the Lord. And the word of the Lord came through the hand of Haggai the prophet, and he said: From the time you dwell in the houses of the valleys, and this house of mine lies desolate. And now thus says the Lord of all: Consider your ways. You have sown much and brought in little; you eat but are not satisfied; you drink but are not quenched; you clothe yourselves but are not warm; and what is gathered is stored in the storehouse. Thus says the Lord of all: Consider your ways.
LIT3149Haggai:2 · narrativehigh
Source
ዕርጉ፡ ደብረ፡ ወግዝሙ፡ ዕፀወ፡ ወሕንጹ፡ ቤተ፡ ወእሠምሮ፡ ወእሴባሕ፡ ይቤ፡ እግዚአብሔር። ርኢክሙ፡ ብዙኀ፡ ወኮነ፡ ኀዳጠ፡ ወአባእከሙ፡ ቤተ፡ ወነፈኀክዋ፡ በእንተ፡ ዝንቱ፡ ከመዝ፡ ይቤ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ዘኩሎ፡ ይመልክ፡ እስመ፡ ቤትየ፡ መዝበረ፡ ወአንትሙስ፡ ታጸንዑ፡ አብያቲክሙ፡ ኩልከሙ። በእንተ፡ ዝንቱ፡ ታቀዉም፡ ሰማይ፡ ዝናመ፡ ምላዕሉ፡ ወምድርኒ፡ ኢትሁብ፡ ፍሬሃ። ወአመጽእ፡ ኩናተ፡ ላዕለ፡ በሐዉርት፡ ወላዕለ፡ አድባር፡ ወላዕለ፡ እክለ፡ ወወይን፡ ወቅብአ፡ ወላዕለ፡ ሰብእ፡ ወእንስሳ፡ ወላዕለ፡ ኩሉ፡ ተግባረ፡ እደዊሆም። ወስምዐ፡ ዘሩባቤል፡ ወልደ፡ ሰላትያል፡ ዘሕዝበ፡ ይሁዳ፡ ወዬሴዕ፡ ወልደ፡ ዬሴዴቅ፡ ካህን፡ ዓቢይ፡ ወኩሉኦም፡ ሕዝብ፡ እለ፡ ተርፉ፡ ቃለ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ አምላኮሙ፡ ወቃለ፡ ሐጌ፡ ነቢይ፡ ዘከመ፡ ለአኮ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ እምላኮሙ፡ ኀቤሆሙ፡ ወፈርሁ፡ ሕዝብ፡ እምቅድም፡ ገጹ፡ ለእግዚአብሔር። ወይቤ፡ ሐጌ፡ መልክ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ለሕዝብ፡ አነ፡ ምስሌክሙ፡ ይቤ፡ እግዝያብሔር።
English
altar, mountain, and timber, and build the house, and I will serve and praise, says the Lord. I have seen you many, and it became lacking, and you have brought into the house and have driven it out because of this, thus says the Lord who rules over all, because my house is desolate, and you yourselves strengthen all your houses. Because of this, the sky will withhold its rain, and the earth will withhold its fruit. And I will bring famine upon the valleys, and upon the mountains, and upon grain and wine and oil, and upon men and beasts, and upon all the works of their hands. And Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel of the people of Judah, and Joshua son of Jehozadak the high priest, and all the people who remained heard the word of the Lord their God and the word of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent to them, and the people feared before the face of the Lord. And Haggai said, The kingdom of the Lord to the people: I am with you, says the Lord.
LIT3149Haggai:3 · narrativemedium
Source
ወአንሥአ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ መንፈስ፡ ዘሩባቤል፡ ዋልደ፡ ሰላትያል፡ ዘሕዝበ፡ ይሁዳ፡ ወመንፈሰ፡ የሴዕ፡ ወልደ፡ ዩሴዴቅ፡ ካህን፡ ዓቢይ፡ ወመንፈሶሙ፡ ለኩሉም፡ እለ፡ ተርፉ፡ ሕዝብ፡ ወቦኦ፡ ይግበሩ፡ ግብረ፡ ቤተ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ አምላክሙ፡ ዘኩሎ፡ ይመልክ። Chapter 2 አመ፡ ዕሥራ፡ ወአርባዕቱ፡ ለሳድስ፡ ወርኀ፡ በሰዱስ፡ ዓመት። በሳብዕ፡ ወርኀ፡ በሰዱስ፡ ለጽልበት፡ ነበበ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ በእደ፡ ሐጌ፡ ነቢይ፡ ወይቤሎ። በሎ፡ ለዘሩባቤል፡ ወልደ፡ ሰላትያል፡ ዘሕዝበ፡ ይሁዳ፡ ወለዩሴዕ፡ ወልደ፡ ዩሴዴቅ፡ ካህን፡ ዓቢይ፡ ወለኩሎሙ፡ እለ፡ ተርፉ፡ ሕዝብ፡ ወይቤ። መኑ፡ እምኔክሙ፡ ዘርአዩ፡ ለዝንቱ፡ ቤት፡ ትርሲቶ፡ ዘትካት፡ ወእፎ፡ ትሬእይዎ፡ ይእዜ፡ እንትሙከመ፡ ዘኢሀሎ፡ ቅድሜክሙ። ወይአዜኒ፡ ጽናዕ፡ ዘሩባቤል፡ ይቤ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ወይጽናዕ፡ ዩሴዕ፡ ወልደ፡ ዩሴዴቅ፡ ካህን፡ ዓቢይ፡ ወይጽንዑ፡ አሕዛብ፡ ምድር፡ ይቤ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ወግብሩ፡ ወአነ፡ ሀሎኩ፡ ምስሌክሙ፡ ይቤ፡ እግዚአቤሔር፡ ዘኩሉ፡ ይመልክ።
English
And the Lord raised up the spirit of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, of the people of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the people who remained, and they began to perform the work of the house of the Lord, their God, who rules over all. Chapter 2 In the twenty-fourth of the sixth month, in the sixth year. In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day, the Lord spoke through the hand of Haggai the prophet, and said to him: He said to Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, of the people of Judah, and to Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the people who remained, and said: Who among you has seen this house in its former glory, and how do you see it now, while you are standing where it once stood? And again, be strong, Zerubbabel, says the Lord; and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, peoples of the land, says the Lord; and work, and I am with you, says the Lord, who rules over all.
LIT3149Haggai:4 · narrativemedium
Source
ወመንፈስየ፡ ይቀዉም፡ ምእከሌክሙ፡ ተአመኑ። ከመዝ፡ የቤ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ዘኩሉ፡ ይመልክ፡ ዓዲ፡ ምዕረ፡ ወአነ፡ አድለቀልቃ፡ ለሰማይ፡ ወለምድር፡ ወለባሕር፡ ወለየብሰ። ወድለቀልቆም፡ ለኩሎሙ፡ አሕዛብ፡ ወየመጹእ፡ ኀሩሆሙ፡ ለኩሎሙ፡ አሕዛብ፡ ወእመልሎ፡ ለዝንቱ፡ ቤት፡ ትርሲተ፡ ይቤ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ዘኩሉ፡ ይመልክ። ዚአየ፡ ዉእቱ፡ ወርቅ፡ ዉብሩር፡ ይቤ፡ እግዚአብሄር፡ ዘኩሉ፡ ይመልክ። ወይኄይስ፡ ትርሲቱ፡ ላዝንቱ፡ ቤት፡ ደኃሪቱ፡ ምቀዳሚቱ፡ ይቤ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ዘኩሉ፡ ይመልክ። ወእሁብ፡ ስላመ፡ ለዝንቴ፡ ብሔር፡ ይቤ፡ እዚአብሔር፡ ዘኩሉ፡ ይመልክ፡ ወሰላመ፡ ለኩሉ፡ ነፍስ፡ እንተ፡ ትትጌበር፡ ወየትነሣእ፡ ዝንቱ፡ ቤት። አመ፡ ዕሥራ፡ ወአርባዕቱ፡ ለታስዕ፡ ወርኀ፡ በካልእት፡ ዓመተ፡ መንግሥቱ፡ ለዳርዩስ፡ ኮነ፡ ቃለ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ኀበ፡ ሐጌ፡ ነቢይ፡ ወይቤሉ። ከመዝ፡ ይቤ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ዘኩሉ፡ ያማልክ፡ ታስአሎሙአ፡ ለካህናቲክ፡ ሕገ፡ ወበሎሙ።
English
And the spirit of the Lord shall stand in your midst; believe. For thus says the Lord of all: Again, a hundred and I have shaken the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I have shaken all the peoples, and their leaders have come forth for all the peoples. And I will say concerning this house: "The inheritance," says the Lord of all. "It is mine: gold and silver," says the Lord of all. "And the inheritance of this house, the last and the first," says the Lord of all. "And I will give peace to this land," says the Lord of all. "And peace to every soul that is built and rises in this house." On the twenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of the reign of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Haggai the prophet, and he said: For thus says the Lord of all: Ask your priests concerning the law, and tell them.
LIT3149Haggai:5 · narrativemedium
Source
እመአ፡ ለከፎ፡ ለሰብአ፡ ሥጋ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ጽንፈ፡ ልብሱ፡ ወለከፎ፡ በዘፈረ፡ ልብሱ፡ እመሂ፡ ኀብስተ፡ ወእመሂ፡ ወይነ፡ ወእመሂ፡ ብሱለ፡ ወእመሂ፡ ዛኮነ፡ እክል፡ ወእመሂ፡ ቅብእ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ይትቄደሰኑ፡ ዋይቤሉ፡ ካህናት፡ ኢይትቄደስ። ወይሌሎሙ፡ ሐጌ፡ ከማሁ፡ እመኬ፡ ለክፎ፡ ርኩስ፡ ወሥኡ፡ በነፍስ፡ ይረኩሰኑአ፡ እምኩሉ፡ ዝንቱ፡ ወይቤሉ፡ ካህናት፡ ይረኩስ። ወይቤሎሙ፡ ሐጌ፡ ከማሁኬአ፡ ዝንቱ፡ ሕዝብ፡ ወነገደ፡ ቅድመየ፡ ይቤ፡ እግዚአቤሔር፡ ወከማሁ፡ ኩሉ፡ ግብረ፡ እደዊሆሙ፡ ወኩሉ፡ ግብረ፡ እደዊሆሙ፡ ወኩሉ፡ ዘቀረቦሙ፡ ይረኩስ፡ በአንተ፡ ዘተረፎሙ፡ በጽባሕ፡ ይሣቀዩ፡ በቅድመ፡ ሕማሞሙ፡ ወይጸልእዎሙ፡ ለእለ፡ ይጌሥጽዎሙ፡ በኅበ፡ አናቅጽ። ወይእዘኒ፡ ሐልዩ፡ በልብክሙ፡ ዘእምአሜ፡ ቀዳሚት፡ ዕለት፡ ወዘእምቅድሜሁ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ ያንብሩ፡ እብነ፡ ዲበ፡ እብን፡ ዉስተ፡ ቤተ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ መኑ፡ አንትሙ። አመ፡ ትዘርኡ፡ ዕሥራ፡ ሰገመ፡ ወታትዉ፡ ዐሠርተ፡ ሰገመ፡ ወትበዉኡ፡ ኀበ፡ ምክያድ፡ ትቅድሑ፡ ኃምሳ፡ ጻሕበ፡ ወትቀድሑ፡ ዕሥራ።
English
From where? For the one who is clothed in holy flesh, the fringe of his garment, and for the one who is clothed in a garment of wool, from the bread and from the wine and from the cooked food and from the zakon grain and from the holy oil, shall it be consecrated? Woe to them, the priests, it is not consecrated. And Haggai said to them likewise: From where? For the one who is unclean, and he who touches with his soul shall defile them from all of this. And the priests said: He defiles. And Haggai said to them likewise: Is this the people and the tribe before me? The Lord said, and likewise all the work of their hands and all the work of their hands and all that they have offered is defiled by you who have remained for them. In the morning they bathe before their sickness, and they curse those who mock them in the secret of the corners. And moreover, consider in your heart: from the first day and from before him, without placing stone upon stone within the house of the Lord, who are you? When you sow twenty measures and harvest ten measures and bring it to the threshing floor, you tithe fifty measures and you tithe twenty.
LIT3149Haggai:6 · narrativemedium
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ቀሠፍኩክሙ፡ በዓባር፡ ወበበረድ፡ በኩሉ፡ ተግባረ፡ እደዊክሙ፡ ወኢነሳሕክሙ፡ ወኢተመየጥክሙ፡ ኀቤየ፡ ይቤ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ዘኩሉ፡ ይመልክ። ሐልዩ፡ በልብክም፡ ዘእምአሜ፡ ቀዳሚት፡ ዕለት፡ ወዘእምድኀሬሃ፡ ዘእመ፡ ተሱዑ፡ ለጽልመት፡ ታስዕ፡ ወርኀ፡ ዘእምአመ፡ ሣረሩ፡ ቤተ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ተዘከርዎ፡ ብልክሙ። ወትሬእዩ፡ በዉሰተ፡ ምክያደ፡ ክል፡ ወወይን፡ ወበለስ፡ ወሮማን፡ ወዘይት፡ ወኩሉ፡ ዕፅ፡ ዘኢያፈሪ፡ እባርኮሙ፡ እምዩም። ወኮነ፡ ቃለ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ በዳግም፡ ኀበ፡ ሐጌ፡ ነቢይ፡ አመ፡ ዕሥራ፡ ወአርባዕቱ፡ ለጋስዕ፡ ወርኀ፡ ወይቤሎ። በሎ፡ ለዘሩባቤል፡ ወልደ፡ ሰላትያል፡ ዘሕዝበ፡ ይሁዳ፡ ናሁ፡ አነ፡ አድለቀልቃ፡ ለሰማይ፡ ለምድር፡ ወለበህር፡ ወለየብስ። ወእገፈትዕ፡ መናብርተ፡ ነገሥ፡ ወእገፈትዕ፡ ሠረገላ፡ ወመስተጽዕናነ፡ ወይወርዱ፡ መስተጽዕናን፡ በአፍራሲሆሙ፡ ምስለ፡ አስይፍቲሆሙ፡ ኀበ፡ ቢጾሙ። ይእተ፡ አሚረ፡ ይቤ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ዘኩሉ፡ ይመልክ፡ አነሥአከ፡ ዘሩባቤል፡ ወልደ፡ ሰላትያል፡ ውሬስየክ፡ ከመ፡ ማዕተብ፡ እስመ፡ ኪያክ፡ ኀረይኩ፡ ይቤ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ዘኩሉ፡ ይመልክ።
English
I have struck you with blight and with hail, with all the work of your hands, and I have not forgiven you, and I have not cleansed you before me, says the Lord of All. Remain in your heart from the first day and from after it, if you have been troubled for darkness, you will set the month from when they planted the house of the Lord; remember it, I say to you. And you will see within the measure of every cup and wine and olive and pomegranate and oil and every tree that does not bear fruit; I will bless them from today. And the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai the prophet on the twenty-fourth of the month Gāseʿ, and he said to him: Say to Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, of the people of Judah: Behold, I have shaken the heavens, the earth, and the sea, and the dry land. And I will overturn the thrones of kings, and I will overturn the chariot and the charioteers, and the charioteers will descend on their horses with their swords to their punishment. This having been said, the Lord of All says: I have raised you up, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel; I have appointed you as a seal, for I have chosen you, says the Lord of All.
Citation. Tergwame, “Book of Haggai”, LIT3149Haggai:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/LIT3149Haggai#s1
Colophon. Source: betmas · licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (per file); site footer states NC-SA - treat as NC · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0043 · generated 2026-11-15.