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The Sermon of Saint John the Baptist, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1566

The Sermon of Saint John the Baptist, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1566. Public domain.

Old Testament · Book 39 of 66

Malachi

Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament, the word of the LORD to Israel after the return from exile. It rebukes careless priests and faithless people and promises that Elijah will come before the day of the LORD.

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The Sermon of Saint John the Baptist, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1566

The Sermon of Saint John the Baptist, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1566. Public domain.

What is Malachi about?

Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament in the English order, the word of the LORD to Israel after the exile. It opens with the LORD's words: “I have loved you” (1:2). Six times he speaks, the people answer with a question, and he answers them. He rebukes priests who offer blind and lame animals, men who break faith with their wives, and a nation that withholds its tithe. He promises a messenger to prepare his way and the Lord coming to his temple. It ends with a day that burns like a furnace, the sun of righteousness rising, and Elijah sent before the day of the LORD.

All 4 chapters

Every chapter of the book, in one grid. Each cell opens that chapter.

  • I have loved you1:1 to 2:9
  • The messenger of the covenant2:10 to 3:12
  • The day that burns like a furnace3:13 to 4:6

The colour is the movement that opens the chapter, and every cell opens that chapter's Study level. The second movement begins at 2:10 and the third at 3:13.

1I have loved you2The covenant with Levi3The refiner's fire4Elijah before the day

Who wrote it, where, when, for whom, and why?

The book calls itself the burden of the word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi (1:1), and it gives the prophet no father, town or king. The Hebrew name means my messenger, the word the LORD uses at 3:1 of the one he will send to prepare the way. Paul quotes 1:2 and 3 as what is written (Romans 9:13), and Jesus quotes 3:1 as written of John the Baptist (Matthew 11:10; Luke 7:27).

This is the burden of the word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi:

Malachi 1:1, Berean Standard Bible.

The book stands in Judah and Jerusalem (2:11, 3:4) at the LORD's temple, with its altar, its table, its doors and its storehouse (1:7, 1:10, 3:1, 3:10). It looks out to Edom's ruined hills (1:3 and 4) and back to Horeb, where the LORD gave Moses the law for all Israel (4:4).

The book dates itself by what stands: a temple with its altar and priests (1:7 to 10), a governor to whom gifts are brought (1:8), and tithes owed to a storehouse (3:10). The temple was finished in the sixth year of Darius (Ezra 6:15). Nehemiah, back in Jerusalem, found the Levites' portions unpaid, men married to women of Ashdod, Ammon and Moab, and the priesthood defiled (Nehemiah 13:10, 23 and 29), the three faults Malachi names.

The word is to Israel (1:1), and in turn to the priests who despise the LORD's name (1:6, 2:1), to Judah that has broken faith (2:11), and to the descendants of Jacob who have not been destroyed (3:6). Its last promises are for those who fear the LORD and honour his name (3:16, 4:2).

The book gives its reason in the LORD's words. He has loved them (1:2), and he calls them to return to him so that he will return to them (3:7). He promises to send his messenger before he comes to his temple (3:1), and tells them to remember the law of Moses and to look for Elijah before the day of the LORD (4:4 and 5).

Judah is a small people under a governor (1:8), serving at a rebuilt temple. The book names priests who offer stolen, lame and sick animals (1:13), men who marry the daughter of a foreign god (2:11) and put away their wives (2:16), workers cheated of their wages and widows oppressed (3:5), and crops the devourer destroys (3:11). Edom's land lies waste to the south (1:3 and 4).

Sources. Malachi 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 and 4, 1:6, 1:7 to 10, 1:8, 1:13, 2:1, 2:11, 2:16, 3:1, 3:4 to 7, 3:10, 3:11, 3:16, 4:2 and 4:4 and 5; Ezra 6:15; Nehemiah 13:10, 23 and 29; Matthew 11:10; Luke 7:27; Romans 9:13. Every verse is read in the Berean Standard Bible.

How is Malachi arranged, and what is it for?

The three movements the book falls into, then what it teaches and what it was written to do.

  1. I have loved you1:1 to 2:9, 23 verses, the turn at 1:2

    The LORD's love for Jacob, then the priests who despise his name with blind and lame offerings.

  2. The messenger of the covenant2:10 to 3:12, 20 verses, the turn at 3:1

    Faith broken with the wife of one's youth, the messenger and the refiner's fire, and the tithes withheld.

  3. The day that burns like a furnace3:13 to 4:6, 12 verses, the turn at 4:2

    The scroll of remembrance, the day like a furnace, the sun of righteousness, and Elijah sent before the day.

The theme

The LORD has loved his people, and he answers every question they raise against him. They doubt his love, dishonour his altar, break faith with their wives, ask where his justice is and rob him of the tithe, and each time he names the fault and gives the answer. His answer to their doubt about justice is that he is coming: a messenger will prepare his way, and the Lord will come to his temple to refine his people. The day that follows will burn the arrogant and heal those who fear his name.

The purpose

Malachi was sent to a people back in their land, with the temple standing and their hope grown cold, to call priests and people back to the covenant. The book presses them to honour the LORD's name, keep faith with one another and bring the full tithe. It leaves them with two things to hold until the day comes: the law of Moses to remember, and Elijah to wait for.

6 disputes, each in three parts

  1. 1I have loved you
    The LORD's word“I have loved you”
    The people's question“How have You loved us?” 1:2
    The LORD's answerJacob chosen and Esau not; Edom's hills laid waste, and the LORD great beyond Israel's borders. 1:2 to 5
  2. 2I have loved you
    The LORD's word“if I am a father, where is My honor?”
    The people's question“How have we despised Your name?” 1:6
    The LORD's answerDefiled food on the altar, blind and lame animals, and the covenant with Levi broken. 1:7 to 2:9
  3. 3The messenger of the covenant
    The LORD's word“You have wearied the LORD with your words”
    The people's question“How have we wearied Him?” 2:17
    The LORD's answerBy asking where the God of justice is. He sends his messenger, and the Lord comes to his temple as a refiner's fire. 2:17 to 3:5
  4. 4The messenger of the covenant
    The LORD's word“Return to Me, and I will return to you”
    The people's question“How can we return?” 3:7
    The LORD's answerHe answers with a charge: Will a man rob God? 3:8
  5. 5The messenger of the covenant
    The LORD's word“Yet you are robbing Me!”
    The people's question“How do we rob You?” 3:8
    The LORD's answerIn tithes and offerings. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, and see the windows of heaven opened. 3:8 to 12
  6. 6The day that burns like a furnace
    The LORD's word“Your words against Me have been harsh”
    The people's question“What have we spoken against You?” 3:13
    The LORD's answerYou said it is futile to serve God. The scroll of remembrance is written, and the day comes like a furnace. 3:14 to 4:3
Read each row from left to right, and the rows from 1 to 6. In every row the LORD speaks first, the people answer with a question, and the LORD answers the question. The whole book takes this one form, from its first verse of speech to its last dispute, and the answer to the third dispute, the messenger and the Lord who comes, is the turn of the book. The colour at the left of each row is the movement it stands in. Sources: Malachi 1:2 to 4:3 in the Berean Standard Bible; the words and the questions are read from the store.

I have loved you, Malachi 1:1 to 2:9

What the text says in these 23 verses, and the pages they open on.

The book opens as the burden of the word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi (1:1). The LORD says he has loved them, and they ask how. He answers with two brothers: he chose Jacob and not Esau, and Esau's mountains now lie waste, left to the desert jackals (1:2 to 3). Edom may rebuild, but the LORD will tear it down, and Israel will see that the LORD is great beyond its borders (1:4 to 5). He then turns to the priests. A son honours his father, but they despise his name by bringing blind, lame and sick animals to his altar, gifts they would not dare offer their governor (1:6 to 8). He wishes someone would shut the temple doors, for his name will be great among the nations from the rising of the sun to its setting (1:10 to 11). He sends the priests a decree: his covenant with Levi was life and peace, and the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, but they have turned from the way and caused many to stumble (2:1 to 9).

“I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you ask, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved,
Malachi 1:2, Berean Standard Bible. The LORD speaks first, and the people's question in the same verse sets the form of the book.
  • Malachi 1Jacob loved and Esau's hills laid waste; blind and lame offerings on the altarShow summary, 3 pages

    The last book of the Old Testament runs as a courtroom argument: God asserts, the people answer back, God replies. 'I have loved you … But you ask … How have You loved us?' The answer is Jacob and Esau, with Edom's ruin as the proof (Paul quotes it in Romans 9). Then the priests: 'A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor?' They bring blind, lame, and sick animals to the altar: 'Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?' Against it stands 1:11: 'My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets.'

    On this chapter (3)

    Read Malachi 1 verse by verse

    Study
  • Malachi 2the covenant with Levi broken; faith broken with the wife of one's youthShow summary, 5 pages

    The charge against the priesthood, measured against the covenant with Levi, who had this in his mouth: 'True instruction'. He 'turned many from iniquity', because 'the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts' (2:7). These priests have turned aside and caused many to stumble. Then the second treachery, in the home: 'Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why then do we break faith with one another'? They flood the altar with tears while divorcing the wives of their youth, and God sought a godly seed. 'For I hate divorce … says the LORD' (2:16).

    On this chapter (5)

    Read Malachi 2 verse by verse

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The six disputes of the book are drawn as one table in three columns, under The book as a whole.

Jacob loved, in Malachi and in Romans

The text of Malachi
“I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you ask, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated, and I have made his mountains a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”
Malachi 1:2–3, the LORD's answer to the people's first question.
Explicit quotation
So it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Romans 9:13, Paul, with So it is written.
Read the two columns side by side. Paul quotes the two clauses of the LORD's answer as what is written, in Malachi's order, and leaves out the ruin of Esau's hills. What loved and hated mean in each place stands in the study linked below the movement. Sources: Every passage in the Berean Standard Bible, read from the store.

Characters (5)

Who the text names. A name with a page carries its door.

  • Malachi

    The prophet through whom the word comes to Israel (1:1).

  • Jacob

    The brother the LORD says he has loved (1:2).

  • Esau and Edom

    The brother not chosen, whose hills are laid waste (1:3 to 4).

  • The priests

    Those who despise the LORD's name at his altar (1:6).

Show the next 1
  • Levi

    The tribe whose covenant was life and peace (2:4 to 6).

Places (3)

Where the chapters stand.

  • The hills of Esau

    Made a wasteland, left to the desert jackals (1:3).

  • Edom

    Called the Land of Wickedness, which will not be rebuilt (1:4).

  • Jerusalem and the temple

    The altar, the table of the LORD and the temple doors (1:7 to 10).

Themes (4)

What these chapters raise, each on its own page where one stands.

Where the New Testament uses these chapters (1)each marked as a quotation or an allusion, with the evidence
  • Explicit quotationMalachi 1:2 to 3 at Romans 9:13. Paul quotes Jacob loved and Esau hated as what is written, in his argument that God's purpose stands by his choice and not by works. Held by Paul, who introduces the words with So it is written. He quotes the two clauses and leaves out the ruin of Esau's hills.

The messenger of the covenant, Malachi 2:10 to 3:12

What the text says in these 20 verses, and the pages they open on.

The prophet asks why a people with one Father break faith with one another (2:10). Judah has married the daughter of a foreign god (2:11), and men cover the altar with tears because the LORD no longer accepts their offerings (2:13). The reason is the wife of their youth, whom they have betrayed though the LORD was witness to the covenant (2:14). The LORD says he hates divorce, and twice the prophet says to guard your spirit and not break faith (2:15 to 16). The people have wearied the LORD by asking where the God of justice is (2:17). He answers that he will send his messenger to prepare the way, and the Lord they seek will come suddenly to his temple (3:1). He will be like a refiner's fire and a launderer's soap and will purify the sons of Levi (3:2 to 3), and he will be a swift witness against those who oppress the widow and the worker (3:5). Because he does not change, Jacob is not destroyed; he calls them to return (3:6 to 7). They rob him in tithes and offerings, and he tells them to bring the full tithe into the storehouse and test him, and see whether he will not open the windows of heaven (3:8 to 12).

“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.
Malachi 3:1, Berean Standard Bible. The LORD's answer to the question where the God of justice is: he is coming to his temple.
  • Malachi 2:10 onward

    This movement begins inside chapter 2, whose entry stands under I have loved you, where the chapter begins.

  • Malachi 3the messenger and the refiner; robbing God; the scroll of remembranceShow summary, 4 pages

    'Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple' (3:1): the verse Mark opens his Gospel with, applied to John the Baptist. But the coming is not comfortable: 'who can endure the day of His coming? … He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap', sitting to purify the sons of Levi, a swift witness against sorcerers, adulterers, and those who oppress the hireling and the widow. 'Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.' Then the tithe dispute ('Will a man rob God?') and the one invitation to test him: 'Test Me in this' (3:10).

    On this chapter (4)

    Read Malachi 3 verse by verse

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The messenger, in Malachi and in three Gospels

The text of Malachi
“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.
Malachi 3:1, the LORD's answer to Where is the God of justice.
Explicit quotation
This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’
Matthew 11:10, Jesus, of John.
Explicit quotation
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.”
Mark 1:2, Mark's first quotation.
Explicit quotation
This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’
Luke 7:27, Jesus, of John.
Read from Malachi across to the Gospels. All three Gospels quote the messenger sent to prepare the way, and all three speak to a second person, ahead of You, where Malachi reads before Me. Matthew and Luke give the words to Jesus, of John the Baptist. Mark quotes them first in his Gospel and names Isaiah, whose voice in the wilderness follows; why he names Isaiah stands under Where do readers disagree. Sources: Every passage in the Berean Standard Bible, read from the store.

Characters (4)

Who the text names. A name with a page carries its door.

  • The faithless husbands

    Men who break faith with the wife of their youth (2:14).

  • The wife of your youth

    Your companion and your wife by covenant (2:14).

  • The messenger of the covenant

    The one sent to prepare the way, and the Lord who comes to his temple (3:1).

  • The sons of Levi

    Refined like gold and silver (3:3).

Places (3)

Where the chapters stand.

  • Judah and Jerusalem

    Whose offerings will please the LORD again (3:4).

  • The temple

    Where the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come (3:1).

  • The storehouse

    Where the full tithe is to be brought (3:10).

Themes (3)

What these chapters raise, each on its own page where one stands.

Where the New Testament uses these chapters (3)each marked as a quotation or an allusion, with the evidence
  • Explicit quotationMalachi 3:1 at Matthew 11:10. Jesus says John the Baptist is the one about whom it is written that the messenger is sent to prepare the way. Held by Jesus, as Matthew records him, with the formula it is written. The words speak to a second person, ahead of You, where Malachi reads before Me.
  • Explicit quotationMalachi 3:1 at Mark 1:2. Mark opens his Gospel with the messenger sent to prepare the way, joined to the voice in the wilderness of Isaiah 40:3. Held by Mark, who writes As it is written in Isaiah the prophet and quotes Malachi before Isaiah; why he names Isaiah stands under Where do readers disagree.
  • Explicit quotationMalachi 3:1 at Luke 7:27. Jesus says of John, as in Matthew, that he is the one about whom it is written. Held by Jesus, as Luke records him, in the same words as Matthew 11:10.

The day that burns like a furnace, Malachi 3:13 to 4:6

What the text says in these 12 verses, and the pages they open on.

The people's words against the LORD have been harsh: they say it is futile to serve God, and they call the arrogant blessed (3:13 to 15). Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another, and he listened, and a scroll of remembrance was written before him (3:16). They will be his treasured possession on the day he prepares, and the difference between the righteous and the wicked will be seen again (3:17 to 18). The day is coming, burning like a furnace, and the arrogant will be stubble (4:1). For those who fear his name the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and they will leap like calves from the stall (4:2 to 3). The book closes with two commands and a promise: remember the law of Moses given at Horeb, and see, the LORD will send Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the children to their fathers (4:4 to 6).

“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall.
Malachi 4:2, Berean Standard Bible. The one promise of healing in a chapter of fire, spoken to those who fear his name.
  • Malachi 3:13 onward

    This movement begins inside chapter 3, whose entry stands under The messenger of the covenant, where the chapter begins.

  • Malachi 4the day like a furnace, the sun of righteousness, and ElijahShow summary, 5 pages

    The Old Testament ends looking straight at the day of Jehovah: 'behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace,' leaving the proud and the wicked neither root nor branch. And in the same breath, for those on the other side: 'for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall' (4:2). Two last commands close the canon, remember the law of Moses given at Horeb, and watch for the forerunner: 'Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.' Jesus points to John in that role (Matthew 11). Then four hundred silent years.

    On this chapter (5)

    Read Malachi 4 verse by verse

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Elijah before the day, in Malachi and in the Gospels

The text of Malachi
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
Malachi 4:5–6, the last words of the book.
Probable allusion
And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Luke 1:17, the angel to Zechariah.
Probable allusion
The disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus replied, “Elijah does indeed come, and he will restore all things. But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him whatever they wished. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
Matthew 17:10–13, Jesus after the Transfiguration.
Read from Malachi across. The angel in Luke takes up the turning of the hearts of the fathers to their children and the name of Elijah, and gives them to John before his birth. In Matthew the disciples ask why Elijah must come first, and Jesus answers that he has already come, and they understand he means John. Both passages set Malachi's words in their own sentences, so both are marked as allusions. Sources: Every passage in the Berean Standard Bible, read from the store.

Characters (3)

Who the text names. A name with a page carries its door.

  • Those who feared the LORD

    They spoke with one another, and the LORD heard (3:16).

  • Moses

    The servant whose law Israel is told to remember (4:4).

  • Elijah

    The prophet the LORD will send before the day (4:5).

Places (2)

Where the chapters stand.

  • Horeb

    Where the LORD commanded the statutes to Moses for all Israel (4:4).

  • The land

    Struck with a curse unless the hearts are turned (4:6).

Themes (5)

What these chapters raise, each on its own page where one stands.

  • The book of remembrance

    The scroll written before the LORD of those who fear him (3:16).

  • The day of the LORD

    The great and awesome day, burning like a furnace (4:1, 4:5).

  • The sun of righteousness

    Rising with healing in its wings (4:2).

  • Elijah's return

    Elijah sent before the day to turn the hearts (4:5 to 6).

Show the next 1
Where the New Testament uses these chapters (4)each marked as a quotation or an allusion, with the evidence
  • Probable allusionMalachi 4:5 to 6 at Luke 1:17. The angel tells Zechariah that his son will go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children. Held by the angel, as Luke records him. He takes up the words of 4:6 and the name of Elijah from 4:5 into his own announcement.
  • Probable allusionMalachi 4:5 at Matthew 11:14. Jesus says of John that, if they are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Held by Jesus, as Matthew records him. The Elijah who was to come is the Elijah Malachi says the LORD will send, and Jesus speaks it in his own words.
  • Probable allusionMalachi 4:5 to 6 at Matthew 17:10 to 13. The disciples ask why the scribes say Elijah must come first; Jesus answers that Elijah comes and will restore all things, and that he has already come, and they understand he means John. Held by Jesus, as Matthew records him. The scribes' teaching that Elijah comes first rests on 4:5, and restore echoes turn in 4:6.
  • Probable allusionMalachi 4:5 to 6 at Mark 9:11 to 13. The same question and answer after the Transfiguration: Elijah does come first and restores all things, and Elijah has indeed come. Held by Jesus, as Mark records him, who adds just as it is written about him.

Where do readers disagree?

One list: the readings with their holders, and what the evidence does not settle.

  • Is Malachi a name or a title, and what did the Greek and the Targum read?

    • The prophet's own name. Held by John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets, on 1:1, who reads the verse as God sending his word through a minister, even Malachi, and by Joyce G. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (1972).
    • A title: my messenger. Held by Jerome, who reports in his Commentary on Malachi, on 1:1, that the Greek Old Testament reads by the hand of his messenger.
    • A title for Ezra the scribe. Held by the Targum of Jonathan on 1:1, which reads by the hand of my messenger, whose name is called Ezra the scribe, and by Rabbi Joshua ben Korha in the Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 15a.

    What the evidence does not settle: The word stands as a name only in 1:1, so no other use decides it, and the book says nothing else of the man.

    The argument in full

    The prophet's own name. Every other book of the Twelve names its prophet in its first verse, and a short name ending in the sound of my is an ordinary Hebrew form.

    A title: my messenger. The word is the same the LORD uses at 3:1 of the one he will send, and it is found as a name nowhere else in Scripture.

    A title for Ezra the scribe. The faults the book names are the faults Ezra and Nehemiah faced, so the messenger is read as the scribe of that generation.

  • When was Malachi written, and what do its abuses share with Nehemiah 13?

    The Intertestamental Period→
    • After the second temple was finished. Held by Adam Clarke in his Commentary on the Bible, on 1:1, who places Malachi after Haggai and Zechariah because the temple begun in their time stands complete in his (3:10).
    • In Nehemiah's generation, during his absence. Held by Pieter A. Verhoef, The Books of Haggai and Malachi, New International Commentary on the Old Testament (1987).
    • Earlier in the fifth century, before Ezra. Held by Andrew E. Hill, Malachi, Anchor Bible (1998).

    What the evidence does not settle: The book is dated by its contents; the likeness to Nehemiah 13 shows the same faults in the same community, and a reader weighs whether it means the same decade.

    The argument in full

    After the second temple was finished. The book speaks of a temple with its altar, its doors and its storehouse, which stood from the sixth year of Darius (Ezra 6:15).

    In Nehemiah's generation, during his absence. The three faults of Malachi, the Levites' portions withheld, marriage to foreign women and a defiled priesthood, are the three Nehemiah found when he came back to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 13:10, 23 and 29).

    Earlier in the fifth century, before Ezra. The faults could have set in soon after the temple was finished, and the book's Hebrew stands close to that of Haggai and Zechariah.

  • Does 2:16 say that God hates divorce, and what do the Hebrew and the versions read?

    Divorce→
    • The LORD says he hates divorce. Held by John Gill in his Exposition of the Old Testament, on 2:16, who reads that the LORD hates putting away, and by Albert Barnes in his Notes on the Old Testament, on 2:16.
    • The man who hates and divorces does violence. Held by Gordon P. Hugenberger, Marriage as a Covenant (1994).
    • A permission: if you hate her, send her away. Held by John Calvin in his Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets, on 2:16, with the Greek Old Testament and the Targum of Jonathan on 2:16.

    What the evidence does not settle: The Hebrew of 2:15 and 2:16 is among the hardest in the Twelve, and the verb's person and subject decide the reading; every reading condemns the man who breaks faith with the wife of his youth (2:14 and 16).

    The argument in full

    The LORD says he hates divorce. The Berean Standard Bible prints For I hate divorce, says the LORD, and the verse follows the LORD's witness to the covenant of marriage at 2:14.

    The man who hates and divorces does violence. The Hebrew verb is in the third person, he hates, and the clause is read as a man who hates his wife and sends her away covering his garment with violence.

    A permission: if you hate her, send her away. The old versions read the verse as the permission of Deuteronomy 24:1, a reading the Hebrew letters can bear.

  • Who is the messenger of 3:1, and who is the Lord who comes to His temple?

    The Forerunner and the Refiner, argued in full→
    • John the Baptist, and the Lord is Christ. Held by Adam Clarke in his Commentary on the Bible, on 3:1, who names the messenger John the Baptist and the Lord the Messiah, and by Cyril of Jerusalem in his Catechetical Lectures, lecture 15.
    • The Lord and the messenger of the covenant are the LORD himself. Held by Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871), on 3:1, who read the article on the Lord as marking Jehovah.
    • An angel who keeps the covenant. Held by Theodore of Mopsuestia in his Commentary on the Twelve Prophets, on 3:1, who reads the messenger of the covenant as the angel who ministers to the agreements God made with Israel.

    What the evidence does not settle: Whether the messenger of the covenant is the same person as the Lord who comes or a second figure; the verse sets them side by side in one sentence.

    The argument in full

    John the Baptist, and the Lord is Christ. Jesus says John is the one about whom 3:1 is written (Matthew 11:10), and the Lord who comes to his own temple is the one the people seek.

    The Lord and the messenger of the covenant are the LORD himself. The temple is called his temple, and the verse says the LORD of Hosts sends the messenger before Me, so the one who comes is God.

    An angel who keeps the covenant. The word for messenger also means angel, and the verse can be read as God coming with the angel of his covenant beside him.

    Mark 1:2 quotes Malachi 3:1 and then Isaiah 40:3 under the words As it is written in Isaiah the prophet. Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, on 3:1, say the passage in Malachi rests on Isaiah 40:3, so Mark names the source of the prophecy; the King James Version, following later Greek copies, reads in the prophets.

  • What is the sun of righteousness of 4:2, and when was it first read of Christ?

    • Christ, at both his comings. Held by Theodoret of Cyrus in his Commentary on the Twelve Prophets, on 4:2, who applies the verse to the first coming, when he rose on the people sitting in darkness, and to the second.
    • Christ, to whom the church turns to pray. Held by Origen in his Homilies on Leviticus, homily 9, who tells the reader to look to the east where the Sun of Righteousness rises.
    • The image of the winged sun. Held by Andrew E. Hill, Malachi, Anchor Bible (1998).

    What the evidence does not settle: Whether Zechariah's song, with the Dawn that will visit from on high (Luke 1:78), already takes up 4:2, which would make the Christian reading as old as the New Testament; the verse itself speaks of the sun of righteousness.

    The argument in full

    Christ, at both his comings. The verse promises light and healing to those who fear the LORD on the day that burns the arrogant, and the church reads both in Christ.

    Christ, to whom the church turns to pray. The sun rises in the east, and the church's prayer toward the east is read as turning to Christ.

    The image of the winged sun. The sun disk with wings stood for a god's saving rule in the art of Persia and Egypt, and Malachi gives the image to the LORD, whose righteousness rises with healing.

  • Why does the English Old Testament end with Malachi and the Hebrew Bible with Chronicles?

    Who Decided the Canon→
    • The Hebrew order puts the Writings last. Held by the Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 14b, which lists the Writings ending with Chronicles, and by Jerome in his Preface to the Books of Samuel and Kings.
    • Jesus spoke of the Hebrew order. Held by Roger T. Beckwith, The Old Testament Canon of the New Testament Church (1985).
    • The Christian order ends on the promise. Held by John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765), on 4:6, and by Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871), on 4:6.

    What the evidence does not settle: When and why the Greek and Latin Bibles set the prophets last, since the great Greek copies do not agree on the order of the prophetic books.

    The argument in full

    The Hebrew order puts the Writings last. The Hebrew Bible runs Law, Prophets and Writings, and the Twelve stand among the Prophets, before the Psalms and Chronicles.

    Jesus spoke of the Hebrew order. Jesus names the blood of all the prophets from Abel to Zechariah (Luke 11:51), the first murder in Genesis and the last in Chronicles (2 Chronicles 24:20 and 21).

    The Christian order ends on the promise. The English Bible follows the Latin in putting the prophets last, so the Old Testament closes with Elijah promised and the New opens with his coming in John; Wesley notes that the Old ends with a curse and the New with a blessing.

The Text and the Spade

  • The administration of Persian Yehud: coins, stamped jar handles, and governors' sealslate 6th to 4th century BC

    Silver coins struck with the province name, jar handles stamped for the provincial administration, and sealings from a Judean archive published by Nahman Avigad (Bullae and Seals from a Post-Exilic Judean Archive, Qedem 4, 1976). They document the office Malachi points at when he tells the priests to try their blemished animal on a human official: 'Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?' (1:8). The word Malachi uses for governor is the Persian administrative title, which is one of the reasons the book is dated where it is.

  • The Elephantine papyri5th century BC, from the Judean military colony on Elephantine island in Egypt

    Aramaic letters and legal documents from a Judean community in Egypt, contemporary with Malachi. They bear on two of his charges at once. Marriage contracts from the colony record Judean men married to Egyptian women, which is the situation behind 'marrying the daughter of a foreign god' (2:11), and the colony's own temple with its offerings shows how far worship of Israel's God had already spread outside Jerusalem, which is the background to the debate over 1:11. The papyri also name a governor of Judah and a high priest in Jerusalem, confirming the two offices the book assumes.

  • Edom's decline, and the Aramaic ostraca from IdumeaEdomite highland sites in decline from the 6th century BC; the Idumean ostraca dated to the 4th century BC

    Malachi says of Edom that God 'made his mountains a wasteland' and that they will build and be thrown down (1:3 to 1:4). Excavation in the Edomite highlands, at Busayra above all, shows the settlements of the plateau thinning and its administrative centre losing its role after the sixth century, while hundreds of Aramaic ostraca record an Idumean population and economy west of the old Edomite heartland by the fourth century. The traditional reading, that Edom as a kingdom was broken and its people displaced into the Negev, is what the material record supports at the level of pattern. The dating is genuinely disputed: the causes and the pace of the highland decline are argued over, and the older claim that Nabataeans drove Edom out is now held more cautiously than it once was. The dispute is named here rather than settled.

The pages Malachi opens on

Studies34

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People and groups8

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Places3

Words6

Books beside it6

Sources for this page

The movements, the chapter entries, the figures and the Context are read off the text of Malachi. The works behind the readings under Where do readers disagree are the Greek Old Testament; the Targum of Jonathan on the Prophets; the Babylonian Talmud, tractates Megillah and Bava Batra; Origen, Homilies on Leviticus; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures; Jerome, Commentary on Malachi, and his preface to the books of Samuel and Kings; Theodore of Mopsuestia, Commentary on the Twelve Prophets; Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Twelve Prophets; John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748 to 1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765); Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible (1832); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament, 1832 to 1869; Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871); Joyce G. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi (1972); Roger T. Beckwith, The Old Testament Canon of the New Testament Church (1985); Pieter A. Verhoef, The Books of Haggai and Malachi (1987); Gordon P. Hugenberger, Marriage as a Covenant (1994); and Andrew E. Hill, Malachi (1998). Every verse quoted on this page is the Berean Standard Bible, read from the store.

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