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Malachi | |
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| מַלְאָכִי | |
 Malachi depicted in theBartolini Salimbeni Chapel,Florence | |
| Burial place | Tomb of the Prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, Jerusalem |
Malachi orMalachias (/ˈmæləkaɪ/ ⓘ;Hebrew:מַלְאָכִי,Modern: Malʾaḵī,Tiberian: Malʾāḵī, "my messenger") is the name used by the author of theBook of Malachi, the last book of theNevi'im (Prophets) section of theTanakh. It is possible thatMalachi is not aproper name, because it means "messenger"; it has been assumed to be apseudonym. According to Jewish tradition, the real identity of Malachi isEzra the scribe.
Some scholars[who?] argue that the Book of Malachi is the result of multiple stages of redaction;[1] most of its text originated in thePersian period, with the oldest stratum from around 500 BCE and redactions into theHellenistic period.[2]
The editors of the 1906Jewish Encyclopedia implied that Malachi, also known as Malachias,[3] prophesied after Haggai and Zechariah and speculated that he delivered his prophecies about 420 BC, after the second return ofNehemiah from Persia,[4] or possibly before his return. TheTalmud and the AramaicTargum ofYonathan ben Uzziel identify Ezra as the same person as Malachi. This is the traditional view held by most Jews and some Christians, includingJerome.[5][6][7] This identification is plausible, because "Malachi" reprimands the people for the same things Ezra did, such as marrying foreign pagan women. Malachi also focuses extensively oncorrupt priests who Ezra, a priest himself who exhorted the people to follow the law, despised. According toJosephus, Ezra died and was buried "in a magnificent manner in Jerusalem".[8] If the tradition that Ezra wrote under the name "Malachi" is correct, then Josephus meant that he was buried in theTomb of the Prophets, the traditional resting place of Malachi. This would also explain why Ezra does not refer to a prophet named Malachi, while he did refer to other prophets such asHaggai andZechariah.
Other potential identities includesZerubbabel and Nehemiah; others suggest that Malachi was a separate person altogether, possibly aLevite and a member of theGreat Assembly.[9]
Because the nameMalachi does not occur elsewhere in theHebrew Bible, some scholars doubt whether it is intended to be the personal name of the prophet. The formmal'akhi (literally "mymalakh") signifies "my messenger"; it occurs in Malachi 3:1[10] (compare to Malachi 2:7, but this form would hardly be appropriate as a proper name without some additional syllable such asYah, whencemal'akhiah, i.e. "messenger of Yah".[11] In theBook of Haggai,Haggai is designated the "messenger of theLORD."[12] Thenon-canonical superscriptions prefixed to the book, in both theSeptuagint and theVulgate, warrant the supposition that Malachi's full name ended with the syllable -yah.[11] The Septuagint translates the last clause of Malachi 1:1, "by the hand of his messenger",[13][better source needed] and theTargum reads, "by the hand of my angel, whose name is calledEzra the scribe".[11]G.G. Cameron suggests that the termination of the word "Malachi" is adjectival, and equivalent to the Latinangelicus, signifying "one charged with a message or mission" (a missionary).[14][better source needed]
Opinions vary as to the prophet's exact date, but nearly all scholars agree that Malachi prophesied during thePersian period, and after the reconstruction and dedication of theSecond Temple in 516 BC.[15] More specifically, Malachi probably lived and labored during the times of Ezra and Nehemiah.[15] The abuses which Malachi mentions in his writings correspond so exactly with those which Nehemiah found on his second visit to Jerusalem in 432 BC[16] that it seems reasonably certain that he prophesied concurrently with Nehemiah or shortly after. Bergstein suggests that he died in 312 BC.[9]
According toW. Gunther Plaut:[who?]
Malachi describes a priesthood that is forgetful of its duties, a Temple that is underfunded because the people have lost interest in it, and a society in which Jewish mendivorce their Jewish wives tomarry out of the faith.[17][better source needed]
Most commentators consider the book of Malachi to be the product of multiple redactional activities (see O'Brien 1990, 51–57; Kessler 2011, 59–61)…In sum, the oldest stratum of the book is likely to date to around 500. Most of the text originates from the Achaemenid period. In general, the Persians pursued a policy of peaceful and harmonious unification of nations under Persian domination. The writing of Malachi seems to accept the Persian rule. Kessler (2011) dates the final form of the writing of Malachi later, in the fourth century. Reflections of Hellenization in the wake of Alexander the Great are rare, however. Noetzel considers Ptolemaic influence for the idea that the "sun of righteousness" brings healing (2015). The appendix in 4:5–6 [Heb. 3:23–24], which refers to a profound generation conflict, resonates with the tensions between those who opened themselves to Hellenization and those who strictly rejected it. Ecclesiasticus 49:10 mentions the "twelve prophets" around 180 BCE, probably presupposing the Book of the Twelve Prophets as a scroll. At this time, the book of Malachi must have been almost finished.
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