Editing Book of Malachi (section)

==Interpretations==
The Book of Malachi is divided into three chapters in the [[Hebrew Bible]] and [[Septuagint]] and four in the [[Latin Vulgate]]. The fourth chapter in the Vulgate consists of the remainder of the third chapter, starting at verse 3:19.

===Christianity===
The [[New Revised Standard Version]] of the [[Bible]] supplies headings for the book as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Verse/Chapter Headings in the NRSV
! Verse Reference !! Heading </tr>
| [[Malachi 1:1|1:1]]     || (Superscription) </tr>
| 1:2–2:9 || Israel Preferred to [[Edom]] </tr>
| 2:10–17 || The Covenant Profaned by [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]] </tr>
| 3:1–7   || The Coming Messenger </tr>
| 3:8–18  || Do Not Rob God </tr>
| [[Malachi 4:1|4:1]]–5 (3:19–24 in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]) || The Great Day of the Lord </tr>
|}

The majority of scholars{{Like whom?|date=April 2025}} consider the book to be made up of six distinct oracles. According to this scheme, the Book of Malachi consists of a series of disputes between [[Tetragrammaton|Yahweh]] and the various groups within the [[Israelite]] community. In the book's three or four chapters, Yahweh is vindicated, while those who do not adhere to the [[Mosaic Law]] are condemned. Some scholars have suggested that the book, as a whole, is structured along the lines of a judicial trial, a [[Suzerainty|suzerain treaty]], or a [[Covenant (biblical)|covenant]] — one of the major themes throughout the [[Hebrew Bible]]. Implicit in the prophet's condemnation of Israel's religious practices is a call to keep Yahweh's statutes.

The Book of Malachi draws upon various themes found in other books of the Hebrew Bible. Malachi appeals to the rivalry between [[Jacob and Esau]] and Yahweh's preference for Jacob contained in the [[Book of Genesis]] 25–28. Malachi reminds his audience that, as descendants of Jacob ([[Israel]]), they have been and continue to be favoured by God as God's chosen people. In the second dispute, Malachi draws upon the [[Holiness code|Levitical Code]] (e.g., [[Leviticus 1]]:3) in condemning the priest for offering unacceptable sacrifices.

In the third dispute (concerning divorce), the author of the Book of Malachi likely intends his argument to be understood on two levels. Malachi appears to be attacking either the practice of divorcing Jewish wives in favour of foreign ones (a practice which [[Ezra]] vehemently condemns) or, alternatively, Malachi could be condemning the practice of divorcing foreign wives in favour of Jewish wives (a practice which Ezra promoted). Malachi appears adamant that nationality is not a valid reason to terminate a marriage, "For I hate divorce, says the Lord . . ." (2:16).

In many places throughout the [[Hebrew Bible]] — particularly the [[Book of Hosea]] — Israel is figured as Yahweh's wife or bride. Malachi's discussion of divorce may also be understood to conform to this metaphor. Malachi could be urging his audience not to break faith in Yahweh (the God of Israel) by adopting new gods or idols. It is quite likely that since the people of [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]] were questioning Yahweh's love and justice (1:2, 2:17), they might have been tempted to adopt foreign gods. [[William Sanford LaSor]], an American Christian [[pastor]], suggests that because the restoration to the land of Judah had not resulted in anything like the prophesied splendour of the [[messiah|Messianic Age]], which had been foretold, the people were becoming quite disillusioned with their religion.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

[[File:Gustave Doré Malachiáš 3.1.jpg|thumb|220px|Illustration of the coming of God's Messenger in 3:1, by [[Franciszek Żmurko]]]]

Indeed, the fourth dispute asserts that judgment is coming in the form of a messenger who "is like refiner's fire and like fullers' soap ..." (3:2).

Following this, the prophet provides another example of wrongdoing in the fifth dispute: failing to offer full tithes. In this discussion, Malachi has [[Tetragrammaton|Yahweh]] request that the people "Bring the full tithe . . . [and] see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down on you an overflowing blessing" (3:10). This request offers the opportunity for the people to amend their ways. It also stresses that keeping the Lord's statutes will allow the people to avoid God's wrath and lead to God's blessing. It is this portion of Malachi that supports the view that tithing remains one of the Hebrew Biblical commandments Christians must observe.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

In the sixth dispute, the people of Israel illustrate the extent of their disillusionment. According to Malachi, they say, "'It is vain to serve God ... Now we count the arrogant happy; evildoers not only prosper, but when they put God to the test they escape'" (3:14–15). Once again, Yahweh assures the people that the wicked will be punished and the faithful will be rewarded.

In the light of what Malachi understands to be an imminent judgment, he exhorts his audience to "Remember the teaching of my servant [[Moses]], that statutes and ordinances that I commanded him at [[Mount Horeb|Horeb]] for all Israel" (4:4; 3:22, MT{{Expand acronym|date=April 2025}}). Before the [[Last Judgment|Day of the Lord]], Malachi declares that [[Elijah]] (who "ascended in a whirlwind into heaven ... [,]" 2 [[Books of Kings|Kings]] 2:11) will return to earth so that people might follow in God's ways.

The Book of Malachi is frequently referred to in the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[New Testament]] primarily because of its [[Old Testament messianic prophecies quoted in the New Testament|messianic promise]]. What follows is a brief comparison between the Book of Malachi and the New Testament texts that refer to it (as suggested in Hill 84–88{{cn|date=April 2025}}).

[[File:Lorch St.Laurenz - Fenster 2 Malachias.jpg|thumb|Quotation from Malachi 3:1 in an Austrian church: "The Lord shall come to his temple."]]

{| class="wikitable"
|+ References to the Book of Malachi in the [[New Testament]] ([[New Revised Standard Version|NRSV]])
|-
! Malachi !! New Testament
|-
| "Yet I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau." ([[Malachi 1:2|1:2]]–[[Malachi 1:3|3]])|| "'I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.'" ([[Epistle to the Romans|Romans]] [[Romans 9:13|9:13]])
|-
| "And if I am a master, where is the respect due me?" (1:6) || "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you?" ([[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] [[Luke 6|6]]:46)
|-
| "the table of [[Yahweh|YHWH]]" (1:7,12)  || "the table of the Lord" ([[First Epistle to the Corinthians|1 Corinthians]] [[1 Corinthians 10|10]]:21)
|-
| "For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations," (1:11) || "so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you" ([[Second Epistle to the Thessalonians|2 Thessalonians]] [[2 Thessalonians 1|1]]:12)
|-
|  || "Lord, who will not fear and glorify your name?" ([[Book of Revelation|Revelation]] [[Revelation 15|15]]:4)
|-
| "For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts," (2:7–8)  || "therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach" ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] [[Matthew 23|23]]:3)
|-
| "Have we not all one father?" (2:10) || "yet for us there is one God, the Father" ([[First Epistle to the Corinthians|1 Corinthians]] [[1 Corinthians 8|8]]:6)
|-
| "See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me" ([[Malachi 3:1|3:1]]) || "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way" ([[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] [[Mark 1:2|1:2]])
|-
|  || "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you" ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] [[Matthew 11:10|11:10]]†, [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] [[Luke 7|7]]:27)
|-
| "But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?" (3:2) || "for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" ([[Book of Revelation|Revelation]] [[Revelation 6|6]]:17)
|-
| "and he will purify the descendants of [[Levi]] and refine them like gold and silver" (3:3) || "so that the genuineness of your faith . . . being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire . . ." ([[First Epistle of Peter|1 Peter]] [[1 Peter 1|1]]:7)
|-
| "against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages" (3:5) || "Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud" ([[Epistle of James|James]] [[James 5|5]]:4)
|-
| "For I, [[Jehovah]], change not;" (3:6) || "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." ([[Epistle to the Hebrews|Hebrews]] [[Hebrews 13:8|13:8]])
|-
| "Return to me, and I will return to you," (3:7) || "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you" ([[Epistle of James|James]] [[James 4|4]]:8)
|-
| "But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise," (4:2) || "By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us," ([[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] [[Luke 1|1]]:78)
|-
| "Behold, I will send you [[Elijah]] the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come." (4:5) || "he is Elijah who is to come." ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] [[Matthew 11:14|11:14]])
|-
|  || "Elijah has already come," ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] [[Matthew 17|17]]:12)
|-
|  || "Elijah has come," ([[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] [[Mark 9|9]]:13)
|-
| "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah comes. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (4:5–6) || "With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous," ([[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] [[Luke 1|1]]:17)
|}

Although many Christians believe that the [[messiah|messianic]] prophecies of the Book of Malachi have been fulfilled in [[Jesus]]'s life, religious Jews, who do not share that belief with Christians, continue to await the coming of the prophet [[Elijah]], who will prepare the way for the [[Messiah in Judaism|Messiah]].