1. interpretation about the prophet Haggai,
according to the Altenburg manuscript. *)
From Luther's lectures, which began on September 11, 1525, and were probably completed in the same month. Printed in 1886.
Translated from Latin.
Preface to Haggai.
Haggai is the lightest of all the prophets, and if we look at the matter without the right attitude, the prophet will appear to be very little, especially in our times, when all the things of which he prophesies, namely the rebuilding of the Temple, have ceased. Therefore, we must look at the matter in the right way, so that we do not ignore both the object and the word of God.
take into account. It will be very important for us to keep this in mind, not only in this prophet, but in many other scriptures where we read similar things. The matter is the material temple, and yet the divine majesty condescends to speak so much about the rebuilding of the temple, as if it were of great importance. Therefore, we should also remember here
*Already in 1552, when the fourth volume of the Latin Wittenberg edition appeared, the editors lacked a transcript of Luther's lectures on the prophet Haggai. Because they wished to have an explanation of each of the minor prophets, they persuaded Melanchthon to prepare one. He wrote a VrAumsntum conciormm kropUstas IIuMki, which is found in the Latin Wittenberg (1552), tom. IV, col. 666 8H. This writing was published in 1555 by LI. Stephan Agricola, "der stad Mersburg Pfarrherrn," into German, and is included in the Wittenberg edition (1556), vol. VIII, p. 559. At the end there is the note: "Such interpretation is in 1552. by Dsominumj Philippum Melanthonem ge-
and learn not to value and look at the things in the Scriptures as well as the heart and the words, so that we may value the works of God according to the will of God, which are all very good, no matter how small and despised they may seem to be. Hypocrisy, however, acts quite differently, for it despises the word of God and looks, as it were, with its mouth agape at the works that are commanded, whether it be a small or a great work, in quite the opposite way, for one should judge a work, not according to its greatness or smallness, but according to the will of Him who commands such a work. This is done by faith, which knows that the great and the small work of the same is God's work, and judges it according to the word of God, which it considers great, looking only at the will of God. For the word by which the Jews were commanded to rebuild the Temple and the word by which God created all creatures in heaven and on earth in the beginning are one and the same word. We must do the same here, and then this prophecy will be of great use to us etc.
The time, however, at which the prophet Haggai prophesied, is clear from the title, because he says that he prophesied under the king Darius. Incidentally, the histories of both the Greeks and the Latins differ greatly from each other, so that nothing certain can be determined. For among the historians there are many arguments about the number of kings of the Persians. I have, as lightly as I have understood it
The order and the years were brought together in a table, of which I believe that it is already known to all, because it has appeared in print. 1) From it, whoever wants to, can investigate the order in which one king followed the other etc. But this difficulty is caused by nothing else than by the fact that one and the same king had two, often also three names. For Cambyses or Artaxerxes is called Nebucadnezzar in the book of Judith, but he was the son of the very powerful king Cyrus, who was succeeded in the reign of Darm by the fourth [king], Longimanus etc. Now under Cyrus the Jews returned from captivity, and set about rebuilding the temple, but they were hindered by the neighboring pagans, and could not carry out their undertaking, for they could hardly with great effort keep off the hostile pagans. Then Xerxes 2) forbade by a manifest command that the temple be rebuilt, and so nothing else was accomplished by Cyrus than that the Jews were brought back from captivity. The temple could not be rebuilt, however much Cyrus had commanded the rebuilding, for they did not yet have the word of God; the counsel and commandment was only of men. I say this so that no one may think that there is a contradiction here.
1) See the first note on this prophet.
2) This is Cambyses. The Zwickau manuscript says: "Cambyses. The Greeks call him Lerxes, the Scriptures Artaxerxes." The Altenburg manuscript has here in the margin: or Cambyses.
The text was printed because no interpretation of Luther on this prophet was available. None of the other editions has included it, because it is not by Luther. Since the matter now stands like this, it can be called a pleasing event that in recent times the Altenburg, Zwickau and Hall manuscripts, which we have already discussed many times, have been found and published. We believe (with the Weimar edition) that the chronological table mentioned in the preface to this prophet in the aforementioned three manuscripts is not the chronological work published by Luther only in 1541 with the Kupxutatio rauücii, which he, as he says at the beginning of the preface, made only for his own use, but a small table (slMoürüa), which covers only the Median-Persian kingdoms, which he had printed for the use of students. Therefore, the concern that v. Kolde (deutsche Litteraturzeitung 1888, No. 14) raised regarding Luther's authorship on the basis of this table is not valid. He has withdrawn the same in his "Martin Luther", vol. II, p. 529. Our writing has in the Altenburg manuscript the title: Ooiumolltarius In XMouua kroxüetam ?er M. I^utdoruru. 'iVittemberMe HXXXV. XI. LoptoMdris. The time when the lecture on this prophet is finished is nowhere indicated. At the end of the Zwickau manuscript there is a note that the lectures were interrupted for a time, but this will not have lasted long, for in the same year Luther began Zechariah. For the first time our writing is printed in the Erlanger, sx6A. oxx., toua. XXVII, p. 393, thereafter, "considerably improved," in the Weimar, vol. XIII, p. 532. According to the latter edition we have translated.
Of the spirit and mind of the prophet.
The word of God is of such a kind that it is always proclaimed and comes when all things are in despair, when people think that nothing less will happen than what the word of God says will certainly happen. For it does not come to those who are in good peace or live in pleasure, for to them it is a laughing matter, but to the weak, oppressed and poor, full of whom it is also only 1) received, namely, so that all human boasting may perish, nothing be attributed to our powers or efforts, but everything alone to God, since the divine goodness allows such things, which are quite impossible according to the judgment of reason, to be accomplished by men from the lowly yeast. This we see here quite obviously. For here the rebuilding of the temple is commanded against the mightiest and bitterest enemies, it is commanded, I say, to a weak and few in number people, who are resisted by the mightiest princes, the mightiest nations, who dwelled all around and threatened them daily with destruction and devotion, as can be seen from the book of Ezra. For the violence of the neighboring nations was so great that the Jews were forced to clench with one hand, fight with the other, and hold off the hostile nations. And yet this one and very lowly prophet dares to stand up against these exceedingly bitter and powerful enemies and prophesy of the rebuilding of the temple, and so he commands the few people who had just been torn out of the exceedingly difficult captivity to oppose the furious and very puffed up king, who did not want that
1) Instead of barMern, we have assumed baMulL.
the temple was to be rebuilt, whose army was so great that he could not count his innumerable men of war, but had to measure them by tens of thousands. Namely, we must consider this power of courage and spirit, although it shows itself in a very small general opportunity. For here the hearts are awakened against the mightiest king and the very strong Gentiles, who would rather that all the Jews were destroyed than that the temple be rebuilt. And yet it is the word of the Lord that commands this, which must be obeyed, even if the whole world opposes it, as the Jews also obeyed. For if we so honor God that he is true, it happens that everything that was at first hostile to us must promote and help our endeavor, as has also happened here, where all exceedingly heavy burdens and the most hostile obstacles have been transformed into the most peaceful help. For, as history says, the princes were commanded by the king to assist the people, who had previously been ordered to resist and hinder. Thus, through God's counsel, that which before seemed quite impossible was easily accomplished. Namely, divine grace turns everything for the best for the believers through miraculous counsel: judgment becomes salvation for them, sin becomes righteousness etc. The enemies become their friends and subordinates, because God has everything in his hand, who is the ruler over everything. The whole world must obey him, kings and all princes, for he does not let any man harm his anointed, but punishes kings for their sake, as the exceedingly fine 105th Psalm, v. 14, says. Therefore, if God is for us, who can be against us? Rom. 8, 31. This is the main point and the goal (scopus) of things and of the mind or spirit, which we have to look at in this prophecy, and so everything becomes lovely.