Haggai 2,17 – A New Analysis 557 (Hag 2,10-19) reiterates the explicit connection made earlier in the first oracle (Hag 1,1-11) between the Lord’s judgments and the people’s past failure to rebuild the temple, even as the Lord is about to promise once more to bestow his blessings (2,19) in response to their changed behavior. This interpretation of Hag 2,17 not only makes sense of the current MT, it fits within the rest of the verse itself, Haggai’s third oracle, and his prophecy as a whole. Erskine Theological Seminary M. ROGLAND Columbia Campus 1500 Lady Street, suite 200 Columbia, South Carolina 29201 – USA SUMMARY The syntax of the phrase yla µktaAˆyaw in Hag 2,17 has proven difficult to analyze, causing many scholars to suspect that the text is corrupt. This article argues, on the contrary, that the current Masoretic Text is understandable syntactically and that emendation is unnecessary. Examples from Qumran Hebrew and Biblical Hebrew are adduced to demonstrate that the syntagm µktaAˆya is to be understood as a type of possessive clause. The usage of the preposition la and the function of the clause as a whole are also analyzed, and it is argued that the phrase ought to be rendered “while you had nothing directed towards me” or “because you had nothing directed towards me”. The phrase thus indicates that the judgment experienced by the people was due to their failure to direct that their material possessions towards the Lord for the rebuilding of his temple (cf. Hag 1,1-11).