The prophets of the post-exilic period are of particular interest because they indicate the various trends of thought that were taking shape during the centuries that immediately followed the return of the exiles from Babylon. The Temple in Jerusalem and the many ceremonies and activities associated with it came to occupy a most important place in the religious lives of the people, and especially in the case of Haggai, who believed that Yahweh's presence, as well as his blessings, was dependent upon a proper place in which he might dwell in their midst. The distinction between the secular and the sacred, emphasized by Malachi and implied in the works of other prophets, came to occupy more and more attention on the part of the priests. The spirit of nationalism, which in some cases reached the point of hatred toward Israel's enemies, can be seen in Obadiah and, to a lesser extent, in Joel.
It would, however, be a mistake to suppose that these tendencies were present in all of the prophetic writers. Voices were heard from time to time in which the spirits of Jeremiah and Deutero-Isaiah found magnificent expression. We do not know the persons who possessed these voices, but many of their messages have been preserved in the later chapters of the Book of Isaiah. The introduction of the figure of Satan in the prophecies of Zechariah, as well as the eschatological implications of Zechariah's visions, marks an important trend in the development of post-exilic Judaism.
