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Easton's Bible Dictionary
Messenger
or angel, the last of the minor
prophets, and the writer of
the last book of the Old Testament
canon ( Malachi
4:4 ,
4:5 ,
4:6 ). Nothing is known
of him beyond what is contained
in his book of prophecies. Some
have supposed that the name
is simply a title descriptive
of his character as a messenger
of Jehovah, and not a proper
name. There is reason, however,
to conclude that Malachi was
the ordinary name of the prophet.
He was contemporary with Nehemiah
(Compare Malachi
2:8 with Nehemiah
13:15 ; Malachi
2:10 - 16
with Nehemiah
13:23 ). No allusion is
made to him by Ezra, and he
does not mention the restoration
of the temple, and hence it
is inferred that he prophesied
after Haggai and Zechariah,
and when the temple services
were still in existence ( Malachi
1:10 ; 3:1
, 3:10
). It is probable that he delivered
his prophecies about B.C. 420,
after the second return of Nehemiah
from Persia ( Nehemiah
13:6 ), or possibly before
his return.
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible
Names
my
messenger; my angel
Smith's
Bible Dictionary(no
entry)
International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia
mal'-a-ki:
1. Name of the Prophet
The last book of the Old Testament.
Nothing is known of the person
of Malachi. Because his name
does not occur elsewhere, some
scholars indeed doubt whether
"Malachi" is intended to be
the personal name of the prophet.
But none of the other prophetic
books of the Old Testament is
anonymous. The form mal'akhi,
signifies "my messenger"; it
occurs again in Malachi
3:1; compare 2:7.
But this form of itself would
hardly be appropriate as a proper
name without some additional
syllable such as Yah, whence
mal'akhiah, i.e. "messenger
of Yahweh." Haggai, in fact,
is expressly designated "messenger
of Yahweh" (Haggai
1:13). Besides, the superscriptions
prefixed to the book, in both
the Septuagint and the Vulgate,
warrant the supposition that
Malachi's full name ended with
the syllable -yah. At the same
time the Septuagint translates
the last clause of Malachi
1:1, "by the hand of his
messenger," and the Targum reads,
"by the hand of my angel, whose
name is called Ezra the scribe."
Jerome likewise testifies that
the Jews of his day ascribed
this last book of prophecy to
Ezra (V. Praef. in duodecim
Prophetas). But if Ezra's name
was originally associated with
the book, it would hardly have
been dropped by the collectors
of the prophetic Canon who,
lived only a century or two
subsequent to Ezra's time. Certain
traditions ascribe the book
to Zerubbabel and Nehemiah;
others, still, to Malachi, whom
they designate as a Levite and
a member of the "Great Synagogue."
Certain modern scholars, however,
on the basis of the similarity
of the title (Malachi
1:1) to Zechariah
9:1; 12:1,
declare it to be anonymous;
but this is a rash conclusion
without any substantial proof
other than supposition. The
best explanation is that of
Professor G.G. Cameron, who
suggests that the termination
of the word "Malachi" is adjectival,
and equivalent to the Latin
angelicus, signifying "one charged
with a message or mission" (a
missionary). The term would
thus be an official title; and
the thought would not be unsuitable
to one whose message closed
the prophetical Canon of the
Old Testament, and whose mission
in behalf of the church was
so sacred in character (1-vol
HDB).
2. The Prophet's Times:
Opinions vary as to the prophet's
exact date, but nearly all scholars
are agreed that Malachi prophesied
during the Persian period, and
after the reconstruction and
dedication of the second temple
in 516 BC (compare Malachi
1:10 ; 3:1
, 3:10).
The prophet speaks of the people's
governor" (Hebrew pechah, Malachi
1:8), as do Haggai and Nehemiah
(Haggai
1:1 ; Nehemiah
5:14 ; 12:26).
The social conditions portrayed
are unquestionably those also
of the period of the Restoration.
More specifically, Malachi probably
lived and labored during the
times of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Serious abuses had crept into
Jewish life; the priests had
become lax and degenerate, defective
and inferior sacrifices were
allowed to be offered upon the
temple altar, the people were
neglecting their tithes, divorce
was common and God's covenant
was forgotten and ignored; just
such abuses as we know from
the Book of Nehemiah were common
in his day (compare Nehemiah
3:5 ; 5:1
- 13).
Yet, it is doubtful whether
Malachi preached during Nehemiah's
active governorship; for in
Malachi
1:8 it is implied that gifts
might be offered to the "governor,"
whereas Nehemiah tells us that
he declined all such (Nehemiah
5:15 , 18).
On the other hand, the abuses
which Malachi attacked correspond
so exactly with those which
Nehemiah found on his 2nd visit
to Jerusalem in 432 BC (Nehemiah
13:7) that it seems reasonably
certain that he prophesied shortly
before that date, i.e. between
445 and 432 BC. As Dr. J.M.P.
Smith says, The Book of Malachi
fits the situation amid which
Nehemiah worked as snugly as
a bone fits its socket" (ICC,
7). That the prophet should
exhort the people to remember
the law of Moses, which was
publicly read by Ezra in the
year 444 BC, is in perfect agreement
with this conclusion, despite
the fact that Stade, Cornill
and Kautzsch argue for a date
prior to the time of Ezra. On
the other hand, Nagelsbach,
Kohler, Orelli, Reuss and Volck
rightly place the book in the
period between the two visits
of Nehemiah (445-432 BC).
3 - 5. (SEE MALACHI,
THE BOOK OF)
RELATED:
Malachi,
the Book of
Copyright
Information: "Easton's
Bible Dictionary", Matthew
George Easton M.A., D.D., 1897;
"Hitchcock's Dictionary
of Bible Names", Roswell
D. Hitchcock, 1869; "International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia",
Orr, James, M.A., D.D., 1915;
and "Smith's Bible Dictionary",
Smith, William, Dr., 1901. are
public domain and may be freely
used and distributed.
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