Haggai Bible Trivia: 22 Questions and Answers for Kids

These 22 Haggai Bible trivia questions cover both chapters of the book -- the paneled houses, the purse with holes in it, and the promise that God's presence makes a small start greater than a glorious past -- with answers and verse references after every question. They're sorted into easy (ages 5-8), medium (ages 9-12), and hard (teens and adults) rounds.

Haggai is one of the easiest prophets for kids to understand, because his message fits in one sentence: you've been building your own houses -- now go build God's. It's also one of the only books in the Bible where the people actually listened to the prophet, which makes it the rare prophecy with a happy ending in real time.

What Is the Book of Haggai About?

The book of Haggai is a series of four short messages urging the Jews who had returned from exile in Babylon to stop stalling and rebuild God's temple in Jerusalem. Haggai delivered all four messages in a single year -- 520 BC, "the second year of King Darius" of Persia (Haggai 1:1) -- and each one is dated to the exact day, making Haggai one of the most precisely dated books in the Bible.

The book is named for the prophet Haggai, who spoke its messages (Haggai 1:1); we know almost nothing else about him, except that he worked alongside the prophet Zechariah (Ezra 5:1). His two main listeners were Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, and Joshua, the high priest (Haggai 1:1). At just 2 chapters and 38 verses, Haggai is the second-shortest book in the Old Testament -- only Obadiah is shorter -- but it worked: within about four years the temple was finished (Ezra 6:15).

What Was Happening in Haggai's Time?

The people of Judah had come home from exile with a job to do -- and had quit. After King Cyrus of Persia set the exiles free to return and rebuild (Ezra 1:1-3), they laid the temple's foundation with great celebration -- but then local enemies frightened and frustrated them until the work ground to a halt (Ezra 4:4-5, 24). For roughly 16 years the temple sat as a ruin while everyone got busy with their own homes and farms.

Then, in 520 BC, Haggai started preaching -- and something almost unheard of in the prophets happened: the leaders and "the whole remnant of the people obeyed" (Haggai 1:12). Twenty-three days after the first sermon, construction restarted (Haggai 1:14-15). Zechariah joined in with his own visions of encouragement (Ezra 5:1), and the finished temple was dedicated with joy in 516 BC (Ezra 6:15-16). The whole story is a great one to read alongside our post on rebuilding the temple, and the Zechariah trivia questions make a natural round two -- same city, same year, same building project.

Easy Haggai Trivia Questions (Ages 5-8)

1. What did Haggai tell the people to build? God's house -- the temple in Jerusalem (Haggai 1:8)

1. What kind of houses were the people living in while God's house stayed a ruin? Paneled houses -- nice, finished homes (Haggai 1:4)

1. Who was the governor of Judah that Haggai spoke to? Zerubbabel (Haggai 1:1)

1. Did the people listen to Haggai and start building? Yes -- the leaders and all the people obeyed (Haggai 1:12)

1. What did God say to encourage the builders when the work felt too hard? "Be strong... for I am with you" (Haggai 2:4)

1. Which king was ruling the empire when Haggai preached? King Darius of Persia (Haggai 1:1)

Medium Haggai Trivia Questions (Ages 9-12)

1. Haggai said the people earned wages only to put them where? In a purse with holes in it (Haggai 1:6)

1. What short command does Haggai repeat throughout the book? "Give careful thought to your ways" (Haggai 1:5, 1:7)

1. Why had the harvests been so small and the people never satisfied? Because God's house lay in ruins while everyone busied themselves with their own houses (Haggai 1:9-11)

1. Who was the high priest serving alongside Zerubbabel? Joshua son of Jozadak (Haggai 1:1)

1. Which other prophet was preaching in Jerusalem at the same time as Haggai? Zechariah (Ezra 5:1)

1. Where did God tell the people to go to get timber for the temple? Up into the mountains (Haggai 1:8)

1. Whose glory did God promise would be greater -- the old temple's or the new one's? The new one's -- "the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house" (Haggai 2:9)

1. What did God say already belongs to him, so the builders never needed to worry about funding? "The silver is mine and the gold is mine" (Haggai 2:8)

1. What excuse were the people making before Haggai preached? "The time has not yet come to rebuild the LORD's house" (Haggai 1:2)

Hard Haggai Trivia Questions (Teens and Adults)

1. How many dated messages does the book of Haggai contain, and over how long? Four messages, all within about four months of 520 BC (Haggai 1:1, 2:1, 2:10, 2:20)

1. On what day did the rebuilding actually resume? The twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in Darius's second year (Haggai 1:14-15)

1. What royal object did God say he would make Zerubbabel like? A signet ring -- "for I have chosen you" (Haggai 2:23)

1. In Haggai's question to the priests, does holy meat make other things holy by touch, and does a defiled person defile what he touches? Holiness does not spread by touch, but defilement does (Haggai 2:12-13)

1. What did God ask the old-timers who had seen Solomon's temple? "Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? ... Does it not seem to you like nothing?" (Haggai 2:3)

1. When was the rebuilt temple finally completed? In the sixth year of King Darius -- 516 BC (Ezra 6:15)

1. Where does Zerubbabel show up again in the New Testament? In the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:12-13)

How to Use These Questions

Start with question 7 -- the purse with holes in it -- because every kid instantly gets the picture, and it opens the door to Haggai's whole message about putting God first. Run the easy round at dinner, use the medium round for Sunday school (it pairs perfectly with a lesson on the return from exile), and save the hard round for family Bible trivia night when the adults need humbling -- almost nobody knows question 19.

Haggai also makes a great five-minute read-aloud: two chapters, one sitting. Our video lessons at Faithful Kids follow the same watch-then-quiz rhythm if your kids like learning this way. For the bigger sweep from Creation to the exile and back, keep our Old Testament trivia for kids in the rotation, and the Ezra trivia questions tell the other half of this same rebuilding story.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who wrote the book of Haggai?

The book records the messages of the prophet Haggai, who preached in Jerusalem in 520 BC (Haggai 1:1). The Bible tells us almost nothing about his background -- only that he prophesied alongside Zechariah and that their preaching restarted the temple rebuild (Ezra 5:1, 6:14).

How many chapters does Haggai have?

Haggai has 2 chapters and 38 verses, making it the second-shortest book in the Old Testament after Obadiah. Chapter 1 is the wake-up call to rebuild; chapter 2 contains three follow-up messages of encouragement and promise.

What is the main message of Haggai?

The main message is "put God's house first, and God will provide the rest." The people had decided the time wasn't right to rebuild the temple (Haggai 1:2), and God pointed to their frustrating harvests and leaky wallets as evidence that self-first living doesn't actually pay (Haggai 1:5-6).

What is the most famous verse in Haggai?

Haggai 2:9 is probably the book's most quoted line: "The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house... And in this place I will grant peace." Haggai 2:4 -- "Be strong... for I am with you" -- is a close second and a great memory verse for kids.

Who was Zerubbabel in the book of Haggai?

Zerubbabel was the governor of Judah who led the returned exiles and headed the temple rebuilding project (Haggai 1:1, 1:14). He was a descendant of King David, God called him his chosen "signet ring" (Haggai 2:23), and he appears in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:12-13).

What age can kids start learning the book of Haggai?

Kids as young as 5 can grasp Haggai's core story -- God asked his people to build his house, they made excuses, then they obeyed and God was with them. The dating details and the priests' holiness ruling in chapter 2 are better for ages 10 and up, but the "purse with holes" picture in Haggai 1:6 lands with every age.