Editing Book of Malachi (section)

==Authorship==
The identity of the author of the Book of Malachi is uncertain, although it has been suggested that the author may have been [[Levitical]]. Due to the similarities between Malachi and Ezra's emphasis on forbidding marriage to foreign [[Paganism|pagan]] women, the [[Talmud]] and certain [[Targum]]s, such as [[Targum Jonathan]], identify [[Ezra]] as the author of Malachi. This is the traditional view held by most Jews and some Christians.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Megillah.15a.5?lang=bi |title= Megillah 15a, the William Davidson Talmud (Koren - Steinsaltz)}}</ref><ref>Introduction to the Aramaic [[Targum]] of [[Jonathan ben Uzziel]] on the Prophet [[Malachi]] (Minor Prophets); [[Joshua ben Karha]] (''[[Megillah (Talmud)|Megillah]]'' 15a)</ref> The [[Catholic priest]] and historian [[Jerome]] suggests that this may be because Ezra was seen as an intermediary between the prophets and the "great synagogue." According to [[Josephus]], Ezra died and was buried "in a magnificent manner in Jerusalem".<ref>[[Antiquities of the Jews]], book XI, chapter 5, paragraph 5</ref> If the tradition that Ezra wrote under the name "Malachi" is correct, then he was likely buried in the [[Tomb of the Prophets]], the traditional resting place of Malachi, [[Haggai]], and [[Zechariah (Hebrew prophet)|Zechariah]].

The name "Malachi" occurs in the superscription at 1:1 and 3:1, although most consider it unlikely that the word refers to the same character in both references. According to the editors of the 1897 [[Easton's Bible Dictionary]], some scholars believe the name "Malachi" is not a [[proper noun]], but an abbreviation of "messenger of [[Jah|Yah]]."<ref name="Easton">''[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/easton/ebd2.html?term=Malachi Malachi]'' at the [[Easton's Bible Dictionary]]</ref> This reading could be based on Malachi 3:1, "Behold, I will send ''my messenger''...", if "my messenger" is taken literally as the name Malachi.<ref name="Malachi" /> Thus, many believe that "Malachi" is an anonymous pseudonym. Other scholars, including the editors of the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'', argue that the grammatical evidence leads us to conclude that Malachi is, in fact, a name, asserting: "We are no doubt in presence of an abbreviation of the name ''Mál'akhîyah'', that is Messenger of [[Elohim]]."<ref name="CathMalachi" />

Some scholars consider the authorship of [[Zechariah 9]]–[[Zechariah 14|14]] and Malachi to be anonymous, which explains their placement at the end of the Twelve Minor Prophets.<ref name="Malachi">{{cite book |last1=Eissfeldt |first1=Otto |title=The Old Testament: An Introduction |date=1965 |publisher=Basil Blackwell |location=Oxford |page=440}}</ref> [[Julius Wellhausen]], [[Abraham Kuenen]], and Wilhelm Gustav Hermann Nowack argue that [[Malachi 1:1]] is a late addition, pointing to [[Zechariah 9:1]] and [[Zechariah 12:1]] as evidence.{{citation needed|date=February 2011}} Another interpretation of the authorship comes from the [[Septuagint]] superscription {{lang|grc|ὲν χειρὶ ἀγγήλου αὐτοῦ}}, which can be read as either "by the hand of his messenger" or as "by the hand of his angel." The "angel" reading found an echo among the ancient [[Church Fathers]] and ecclesiastical writers. It even gave rise to the "strangest fancies," especially among the disciples of [[Origen]].<ref name="CathMalachi">A. VAN HOONACKER, [http://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Malachias "Malachias"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708123606/http://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Malachias |date=July 8, 2011 }}, ''The Original Catholic Encyclopedia'', retrieved 12 February 2011.</ref><ref name="Jerome">''[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf206.vii.iv.xii.html#vii.iv.xii-p32 Prefaces to the Commentaries on the Minor Prophets.]'', [[Jerome]], 406: ''[[Origen of Alexandria|Origen]] and his followers believe that (according to his name) he was an angel. But we reject this view altogether, lest we be compelled to accept the doctrine of the fall of souls from heaven.''</ref>