Malachi was a prophet and a preacher called to minister to a diverse crowd. His audience included doubters (1:2–3), cynics (1:7; 2:2), the cold-hearted (2:16), cheaters (3:5), the indifferent (3:14–15), faithful (3:16–18), and the openly wicked (4:1). What does God’s prophet say to this flock? Malachi’s message is a variation on an old prophetic theme: God’s covenant love for Israel (1:2–3). As a stern prophet, he rebukes and warns priests and people alike of God’s impending judgment (3:2–4, 17–18; 4:1). As a compassionate pastor, he calls his audience to repentance and closes his sermon with words of encouragement and hope (2:10; 3:7; 4:1–3).
Author
The book is traditionally ascribed to a prophet named Malachi. His name means “my messenger,” and the form is repeated in 3:1. Since both prophets and priests were messengers of the Lord (cf. 2:7), some regard the term “Malachi” to be a title rather than a proper name. The Greek translation of the OT supports this view, translating “his messenger” in 1:1. The grammatical construction of 1:1 (“the word of the LORD to Israel by the hand of Malachi”) suggests that Malachi was the prophet’s name. Either Malachi himself or his disciples or others associated with the guild of the prophets composed the book in Jerusalem. Malachi’s audience included the leaders, priests, and people of postexilic Judah, essentially anyone within earshot.
Date
Malachi includes no date formula linking the prophet’s message to the reign of any particular king, unlike many other prophetic books (e.g., Hag 1:1; Zech 1:1). The book may be broadly dated between the completion of the second temple (516 or 515 BC) and the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah (ca. 450–430 BC). Traditionally, the book of Malachi is dated between 450 and 430 BC. It is assumed that Malachi was a contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah because he addressed the same religious concerns (e.g., a lax and corrupt priesthood, abuses in the sacrificial liturgy, neglect of the tithe) and social ills (e.g., mixed marriages, divorce, economic injustices) confronted by these two postexilic reformers. The Elephantine papyri (ca. 410–390 BC) portray a similar situation in terms of heterodoxy and marriage and divorce issues in the Jewish mercenary colony in Egypt.
The language of Malachi and the theological context of his message are similar to that of Haggai and Zechariah. Alternatively, it may be that Malachi was a later contemporary of these two prophets. His message may have been prompted by the titanic wars between the Persians and the Greeks, perhaps between 490 and 470 BC, in response to Haggai’s forecast of God’s overthrow of royal thrones (Hag 2:22).
Occasion and Purpose
The Jerusalem temple had been rebuilt at the encouragement of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah (Ezra 5:1–2; 6:14), but the corrupt worship offered there prompted God to raise up Malachi and call for its closure (1:10). The prophet goads the lax priesthood and apathetic people to restore pure temple worship by turning to God in repentance (3:7). This redirection of community loyalty will renew temple worship, transform social relationships, and bring about the covenant blessings the people have looked for since their return from exile (3:14; cf. Hag 1:6).
Genre and Structure
Like Haggai and Zechariah, Malachi’s sermons are broadly classified as prophetic literature. The setting and tone of the book is that of a courtroom. The discourse units are judgment or trial speeches since they accuse, indict, and pronounce God’s verdict against his audience in confrontational dialogue. As God’s spokesman, Malachi’s disputations generally feature four elements: (1) Malachi declares a truth claim; (2) the audience hypothetically (or actually?) rebuts the claim in the form of a question; (3) Malachi answers the audience’s rebuttal by restating his initial premise; and (4) Malachi presents additional supporting evidence.
Theology and Themes
The prophet reminds the people that God is a Covenant-maker who loves and has chosen Israel (1:2–3) and that he is a Father (1:6; 2:10) as well as Lord and King over the nations (1:6, 14).
Malachi’s message centers on the theme of Yahweh’s covenants, specifically the covenants of Jacob (1:2; cf. Gen 12:1–3; 28:10–15), the covenant of Levi (2:4–5), the covenant of marriage (2:14), and the covenant of Moses (4:4).
Outline
I. Superscription: Introducing the Prophet and His Message (1:1)
II. First Message: Israel Doubts God’s Love (1:2–5)
III. Second Message (1:6—2:9)
A. Breaking Covenant Through Blemished Sacrifices (1:6–14)
B. Additional Warning to the Priests (2:1–9)
IV. Third Message: Breaking Covenant Through Divorce (2:10–16)
V. Fourth Message: Breaking Covenant Through Injustice (2:17—3:5)
VI. Fifth Message: Breaking Covenant by Withholding Tithes (3:6–12)
VII. Sixth Message: The Coming Day of Judgment (3:13—4:3)
A. Israel Speaks Arrogantly Against God (3:13–15)
B. The Faithful Remnant (3:16–18)
C. Judgment and Covenant Renewal (4:1–3)
VIII. Conclusion: Remember the Law of Moses, Look for Elijah (4:4–6)
Alternate Outline:
The messages or disputations of Malachi may also be outlined rhetorically. The book demonstrates a chiasmic structure in which the emphases of the prophet’s disputes with the priests and the people are arranged in an inverted mirror pattern.
Superscription: Introducing the Prophet and His Message (1:1)
a First Disputation: God Declares His Covenant Love for Israel and Rejection of Esau (1:2–5)
b Second Disputation: Call to Restore Proper Sacrificial Worship in God’s Temple (1:6—2:9)
c Third Disputation: Indictment of Faithless People for Injustice of Divorce (2:10–16)
c´ Fourth Disputation: Indictment of Faithless People for Social Injustices (2:17—3:5)
b´ Fifth Disputation: Call to Return to God and Restore the Tithe in Worship (3:6–12)
a´ Sixth Disputation: God Declares His Compassion for the Righteous and Judgment for the Wicked (3:13—4:3)
Conclusion (4:4–6)
