The Book of Malachi

מַלְאָכִי

mal’āḵî “My messenger”

Time period of Nehemiah 13 430 – 420 BC

Speaking for God, Malachi stood at one of the most significant dividing points in history. Prophets had come and gone, but the culture about him didn’t bear the impress of their labors. The priests were corrupt (1.6-2.9), and the people, with some exceptions. were no better (2.10-4.3). But God was still on the throne­ sovereign. He was the father and the master (1.6) a great king (1.14), the heavenly governor (implied in 1.8), the giver of covenants and commandments (2.5; 4.4). As the God of judgment. He had brought about the doom of Edom אֱדוֹם
was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan, located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the south and east. Most of its former territory is now divided between present-day southern Israel and Jordan. Edom appears in written sources relating to the late Bronze Age and to the Iron Age in the Levant also another name for Esau the brother of Jacob (1.3, 4). His curse was upon the unfaithful priests (1.14; 2.2, 3.9) and those who had robbed Him (3.9). He would cut off those who intermarried with the nations (2.12). There would be swift judgment (2.17-3.5). The Day of YAHWEH יְהֹוָה‎
Hebrew Yəhōwā, one vocalization of the Tetragrammaton יהוה‎ (YHWH), the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. It is considered one of the seven names of God in Judaism and a form of God’s name in Christianity. Covenant making covenant keeping GOD. For more info click here
would consume the wicked (4.1, 3). Yet as the God of grace He would bless the faithful remnant, for a story of grace lay behind His love for Jacobיַעֲקֹב
(/ˈdʒeɪkəb/; Modern: Yaʿaqōv (help·info), Tiberian: Yaʿăqōḇ; Arabic: يَعْقُوب, romanized: Yaʿqūb; Greek: Ἰακώβ, romanized: Iakṓb) the name Yaʿaqōv יעקב is derived from ʿaqev עָקֵב “heel”, as Jacob was born grasping the heel of his twin brother Esau. (later called Israel) for more info click here (1.2), His covenant with Leviלֵוִי‎
(/ˈliːvaɪ/ LEE-vy; Modern: Levī,The Torah suggests that the name Levi refers to Leah’s hope for Jacob to join with her, implying a derivation from Hebrew yillaweh, meaning he will join, but scholars suspect that it may simply mean priest, either as a loan word from the Minaean lawi’u, meaning priest, or by referring to those people who were joined to the Ark of the Covenant. For more info click here (2.4, 5), His patience with the sons of Jacobיַעֲקֹב
(/ˈdʒeɪkəb/; Modern: Yaʿaqōv (help·info), Tiberian: Yaʿăqōḇ; Arabic: يَعْقُوب, romanized: Yaʿqūb; Greek: Ἰακώβ, romanized: Iakṓb) the name Yaʿaqōv יעקב is derived from ʿaqev עָקֵב “heel”, as Jacob was born grasping the heel of his twin brother Esau. (later called Israel) for more info click here (3.6), His offer to those who had been unfaithful stewards (3.10), the book of remembrance (3.16). the rising of the sun of righteousness (4.2). and the promised coming of Elijah (4.5, 6). The Day of YAHWEH יְהֹוָה‎
Hebrew Yəhōwā, one vocalization of the Tetragrammaton יהוה‎ (YHWH), the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. It is considered one of the seven names of God in Judaism and a form of God’s name in Christianity. Covenant making covenant keeping GOD. For more info click here was coming, said Malachi. It would be a glorious day for the righteous (3.16, 17; 4.2. 3), but a day of destruction for the wicked (4.1, 3). Yet between the lines can be read these words of grace: “Y’all turn, y’all turn from your evil ways; for why will y’all die, 0 house of Israel?” (Ezk 33.11).

The Author

Whether Malachi is a man’s name, or means, rather, “my messenger” or “a mission­ary,” is disputed. Since all the other Old Testament books of prophecy are authen­ticated by the presence of the authors’ names, however, and since the name “Mala­chi” is formed like certain other Hebrew proper names, it probably is the name of the prophet who wrote the book. In any event, history has preserved for us no certain information about the author. Malachi was probably written sometime in the quarter century following 450 B.C., since it mirrors conditions existing at the time of Nehe­miah’s second arrival in Jerusalem in 432 B.C.