83 THE FATE FUTURE ZERUBBABEL AND OF the special care of a person who has high personal value for someone 23. Such imagery is used in a variety of contexts and is not essentially linked to kingship. Examples include love poetry (Song 8,6) and wisdom teaching (Sir 17,22). In Jer 22,24, the divine rejection of Jehoiachin is likened to the discarding of a seal (a symbol of a precious object) 24, and rejected Jehoiachin is described using the metaphor of a worthless potsherd (22,28: “ a despised broken pot, a vessel no one cares for”). In Hag 2,23, Zerubbabel is assured that he is a seal and will be protected like a precious object. The conclusion of Rose (with which I concur) is that God’s promise to Zerubbabel comprises special protection for God’s chosen servant at a time of substantial changes on the political landscape 25. On this interpretation, the metaphor of the seal in Haggai’s final oracle is not a royal or messianic cipher. 6. How temple and eschatology are related At the heart of the message of Haggai is the theological significance of the temple, especially the issue of the appearance of divine glory at the temple and the importance of the temple as a precursor to the end (1,8; 2,3.6-9) 26. The prophet depicts the inflow of the wealth of the nations to the rebuilt temple (2,7), which is a traditional prophetic theme (see Isa 45,14; 60,5-11; 61,6; 66,12), and the reference to silver and gold as belonging to YHWH relates to the same theme (2,7). “Glory” (dwbk) filled the first house (1 Kgs 8,11) and Ezek 43,5 and 44,4 contain references to the “glory of the LORD ” filling the new temple. Haggai promises that the glory of the rebuilt temple will be greater than that of the earlier temple. All this will happen “ in a little while”, with Haggai saying that God is “about to shake [the cosmos] ” (2,6; cf. 2,21) 27. Eschatological events are accompanied by cosmic signs. Haggai draws on traditional eschatology (e.g. the Zion tradition in the Psalter) as do Isaiah and Ezekiel themselves. As noted by Mason, the space devoted to eschatology in the messages of Haggai renders highly unlikely the assertion of Paul D. Hanson that the BDB, 368 understands μtwj in Hag 2,23 to indicate “a precious article”. 23 J.A . THOMPSON, The Book of Jeremiah (NIC ; Grand Rapids, MI 1980) 24 484. Likewise, H. JUNKER, Die Zwölf Kleinen Propheten (HSAT VIII 3/2; 25 Bonn 1938) II, 106-108, views God’s message to Zerubbabel as a promise of protection. R. MASON, “The Prophets of the Restoration”, Israel’s Prophetic 26 Tradition. Essays in Honour of Peter Ackroyd (ed. R.J. COGGINS) (Cambridge 1982) 143, 144. The Hiphil participle announces what God will do in the imminent future 27 (GKC § 116p labels the participle a futurum instans).