Then Haggai said, “If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?” “Yes,” the priests replied, “it becomes defiled.” Then Haggai said, “’So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,’ declares the LORD. ‘Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled. (Haggai 2: 13-14 NIV)
1. Who is Haggai?
Haggai was a prophet of the post-exilic period (late 6th century BCE) who played a key role in encouraging the Israelites to rebuild the Second Temple in Jerusalem after their return from Babylonian exile. His prophecies, recorded in the Book of Haggai, emphasize spiritual purity, obedience to God, and the connection between righteousness and prosperity.
2. Context
This passage is part of a prophetic message to the Israelites, highlighting how impurity can spread easily, while holiness does not transfer in the same way. The prophet asks the priests about ritual purity, using the example of a person who is defiled by contact with a dead body. According to Jewish purity laws, anything that touches a dead body becomes unclean. The priests affirm this principle, and Haggai applies this concept metaphorically to the people of Israel:
2.1. Just as touching a dead body makes something impure, the actions of a spiritually impure nation defile whatever they do—including their offerings to God.
2.2. Haggai rebukes the Israelites for their impure ways, emphasizing that their sacrifices and religious acts are meaningless if they themselves are not pure before God.
3. Does This Verse Condemn Eating Animal Flesh and Promote Veganism?
While the immediate context of this passage is about spiritual defilement and the rebuilding of the Temple, it can be interpreted from a vegan theological perspective to challenge the practice of consuming dead animals:
3.1. Association of Death with Impurity
The passage equates contact with a dead body with impurity. If touching a dead body renders a person unclean, what about consuming dead bodies (i.e., eating animal flesh)? Eating animal flesh requires direct contact with death, which aligns with the principle of defilement described in Haggai.
3.2. Sacrifices and Offerings Are Defiled
3.2.1. Haggai states that the offerings of an impure people are unacceptable to God.
3.2.2. Animal sacrifice involved the slaughter of innocent creatures—a practice many vegan theologians argue contradicts God’s will for mercy and compassion.
3.2.3. If the Israelites’ offerings were already defiled, how much more would their acts of killing and consuming animals be considered impure?
3.3. Holiness and Purity in Diet
3.3.1.In Genesis 1:29, God originally prescribed a vegan diet for humanity.
3.3.2. Isaiah’s vision of the New Heaven and New Earth (Isaiah 11:6-9, 65:25) describes a peaceful, vegan world where even carnivorous animals no longer kill.
3.3.3. Haggai’s emphasis on purity and separation from defilement can be seen as a call to return to God's original dietary plan—one that does not involve the killing of animals.
4. Confirmation by Jesus
The uncleanness of contacting dead bodies as food is confirmed by Jesus asserting "Wretched is a body depending on a body!” in Saying 87, The Gospel of Thomas, as trans. & ed. by Stevan Davies (2002). Now, how can a body be dependent on another body? Only if the body eats the other body.
5. Conclusion: A Vegan Interpretation
While Haggai’s primary message was about spiritual defilement rather than diet, the logic behind his teaching can be applied to vegan theology:
5.1. Death and defilement are linked → Eating dead animals defiles the body and spirit.
5.2. God rejects defiled offerings → Animal sacrifices (and by extension, consuming animals) may not be pleasing to God.
5.3. Holiness requires separation from impurity → A plant-based diet aligns with God's original design for a pure and compassionate life.
Thus, from a vegan theological perspective, Haggai 2:13-14 can serve as an implicit critique of eating animal flesh and a call to return to a non-violent, plant-based way of life.
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