Historical Setting
The message of Malachi reflected conditions associated with the period of pre-Ezra decline (c. 515–458 BC, i.e., between the completion of the second temple to the ministry of Ezra in Jerusalem). Jerusalem, which was likely a satrapy (or province) under the rule of a Persian governor, was small, struggling and insignificant—a social and political backwater in the vast Persian Empire. The ongoing petty hostilities with the Samaritans and the burdensome vassal status to Persia contributed to the skepticism and doubt that characterized popular response to Yahweh as God. The Persians themselves were engaged in a titanic contest against the Greeks for control of the west. It was against this dismal setting that Malachi prophesied in Jerusalem as God’s messenger.
Literary Setting
The obscurity of Malachi’s title verse has spawned a range of opinions as to the book’s author and its date of writing. The word Malachi is judged by some as simply being a title, “my messenger.” By contrast, more traditional Biblical scholars have regarded the title “Malachi” as a proper name identifying a prophetic figure rooted in postexilic Jewish history.
It is important to recognize that the position of the book of Malachi at the end of the OT in the English Bible has little bearing on the chronological placement of the book in Jewish history. Malachi predates other OT books such as Esther, Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles, with the date of its writing usually assigned to a time coinciding with the work of Ezra and Nehemiah in Jerusalem (c. 450–400 BC). This view is based largely on the parallel descriptions of religious and social decay in the postexilic community recorded in Malachi and the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. All three confront the problems of intermarriage with foreigners, divorce, abuses associated with the priesthood, temple services, the tithe, the Sabbath, and the oppression of the poor.
Careful study of the Hebrew language of Malachi, however, reveals that the book has considerable linguistic similarities with OT writings dated to the sixth century BC rather than the fifth century BC. Based on the detailed information gleaned from this kind of technical linguistic analysis of the postexilic Prophets, we conclude that Malachi was most likely composed in Jerusalem during the very early years of religious and social decline prior to the time of Ezra the scribe (c. 500–475 BC). Persian influence on the thought and language of Malachi can be seen in the prophet’s references to “a scroll of remembrance” (3:16; cf. Est 6:1; Da 7:10; 12:1) and “the sun of righteousness” (4:2). ◆
Key Concepts
• God does not need the worship of his people, but he is worthy of highest honor and praise and is rightly offended when he is treated with disdain.
• The prophets cry out for God’s people to respond to him and deal with their shortcomings.