Who was Haggi in the Bible?

Haggi was a son of Gad, who was one of the twelve sons of Jacob (Israel). This makes Haggi a grandson of Jacob and part of the foundational tribes of Israel, specifically the tribe of Gad (Genesis 46:16).

What is the significance of Haggi in the Bible?

Haggi's significance is primarily genealogical, as he represents one of the clan heads of the tribe of Gad. His descendants, the Haggites, were counted in the census of Israel's fighting men during the Exodus (Numbers 26:15).

What key events was Haggi involved in?

The Bible does not record specific events in Haggi's personal life. His mention is limited to the genealogical lists that trace the lineage of the tribe of Gad from Jacob down to the generation that entered Egypt and later was numbered for the conquest of Canaan (Genesis 46:16, Numbers 26:15).

Haggi

Old TestamentEgypt & WildernessMaleSon

Haggi was a son of Gad and a grandson of Jacob, mentioned in the genealogies of Genesis and Numbers.

Haggi

Biography

Haggi was the second son of Gad, Jacob's seventh son born to the handmaid Zilpah (Genesis 46:16; Numbers 26:15). He accompanied Jacob's family to Egypt during the great famine, part of the seventy souls who descended to settle in Goshen. Haggi became the progenitor of the Haggite clan, one of the tribal subdivisions of Gad later numbered in the wilderness census. Numbers 26:15 records the Haggites as one of seven clans within the tribe of Gad, indicating that Haggi's line was a recognized and established family group within Israel. The tribe of Gad eventually settled east of the Jordan River in the territory of Gilead, and Haggi's descendants would have been part of this inheritance, participating in Israel's long story from Egypt through the conquest.

Significance

Haggi's place in the Gadite genealogy, though modest, contributes to the corporate identity of the tribe of Gad within the twelve-tribe structure of Israel. The tribal and clan registries in Genesis and Numbers are not incidental, they trace the fulfillment of God's promise to make Abraham's descendants numerous as the stars. Haggi's seven-generation journey from Jacob's household to a numbered clan in the wilderness illustrates how God preserves and multiplies his people even through slavery and hardship. His descendants' inheritance east of the Jordan also foreshadows the complexities of tribal loyalty and territorial belonging that would shape Israel's national life for centuries.

Verse Appearances (2)

Genesis

Genesis 46:16

Numbers

Numbers 26:15

References

Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

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