THE CRITICAL INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF MALACHI (AUTHORSHIP AND DATE WRITTEN)

OLATUNDE ALLEN TIMILEHIN

23RD SEPTEMBER 2009

THE AUTHORSHIP OF THE BOOK OF MALACHI

Many scholars had anxiously and beautifully studied the book of Malachi to identify the nameless identity of the author. However, this critical study will sample the observation (research outcome) of conservative, traditional and evangelical view of scholars as to who wrote the book of Malachi.

 Sanford L. W. (1996, 415-416) explains thus, that the book of Malachi which means “my messenger” is not a personal name. It describes the anonymous agent who will be sent to prepare the way for God’s future coming. The Targum adds a phrase in Mal. 1:1 to read: “by the hand of my messenger whose name is called Ezra the scribe.” There is no solid evidence for attributing the book to Ezra: “if Ezra’s name was originally associated with the book, it would hardly have been dropped by the collections of the prophetic canon.” This reading nevertheless, does show that Jews in ancient times did not uniformly consider Mál'akhî to be a proper name. The LXX has angelan autou, “his messenger”, an indication that the Jews translated the Bible into Greek did not interpret “Malachi” as a proper name with the change from “my” to “his” is probably a Greek corruption. It is unlikely, that this book was written a prophet named Malachi. But these observations do not shed any light on who did write it.

Ilumina Gold Encyclopedia positioned her view on the authorship of Malachi baesd on the thought of some scholars that the word “messenger” appears in 3:1 that it is not a proper name at all and does not provide the name of the author of the book. According to one ancient tradition, the “messenger” was Ezra, the priest responsible for the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Yet it would be most unusual for the Jews to preserve a prophetic book without explicitly attaching to it the name of the author. All of the other major and minor prophets—including Obadiah—are named after a particular prophet. Moreover, “messenger of the Lord” would be a most appropriate name for a prophet (cf. 2 Chronicles 36:15-16; Haggai 1:13).

David Malick (online article writer) contributed to the critique of authorship of the book of Malachi on the listed observation derived:

§  The traditional understanding has been that the name of the author was Malachi 1:1

§  Nothing is known of Malachi apart from this book

§  Some have understood Malachi to be a title for the work and not the name of the prophet; these identify Malachi as anonymous (along with Zechariah 9 -14) because of the similar headings in Zechariah 9:1 and 12:1; but the similarities between the headings are not substantial. On the other hand, the title of Malachi is similar to all of the other Minor Prophets which would support the notion that Malachi is a name, not a title.

§  Although some have questioned the unity of the book, (especially with reference to the last three verses (4:4-6) which some think are an appendix to the book or the minor prophets as a whole), there is a close relationship between 4:4-6 and the rest of Malachi. Three other messengers besides the author are mentioned in the book: the priest (2:7); the forerunner of Messiah (3:1); and the Messenger of the Covenant (3:1).

Moreover, ExperienceFestival.com asserts that Book of Malachi, as the last of the twelve minor prophets (canonically) and the final book of the Christian Old Testament is commonly attributed to a prophet by the name of Malachi. Although the appellation Malachi has frequently been understood as a proper name, its Hebrew meaning is simply "my [i.e., god's] messenger" (or 'his messenger' in the Septuagint). This sobriquet occurs in the superscription at 1:1 and in 3:1, although it is highly unlikely that the word refers to the same character in both of these references. Thus, there is substantial debate regarding the identity of the author of the biblical book of Malachi. The Jewish Targum (The Targum of Jonathan) identifies Ezra (or Esdras) as the author of Malachi. St. Jerome suggests this may be due to the fact that Ezra is seen as an intermediary between the prophets and the 'great synagogue'. There is, however, no historical evidence to support this claim. Some scholars note affinities between Zechariah 9-14 and the book of Malachi". Zechariah 9, Zechariah 12, and Malachi 1 are all introduced as "Oracle, the word of Yahweh." Many scholars argue that this collection originally consisted of three independent and anonymous prophecies. Two were subsequently appended to the book of Zechariah (as what scholars refer to as Deutero-Zechariah) and the third became the book of Malachi. As a result, most scholars consider the book of Malachi to be the work of a single author who may or may not have been identified by the title Malachi. The present division of the oracles results in a total of twelve books of Minor Prophets – a number paralleling the sons of Jacob who became the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Craigie, Peter C. (1984, 224 – 226) remarks that the authorship of the book of Malachi is a matter of some debate. Some believe that Malachi is an anonymous oracle that was made into a book so that the number of prophets would coincide with the twelve tribes; others say that it is more logical to assume that it is an independent book written by Malachi himself. An argument for the book being the product of an anonymous oracle is that it is headed by “Oracle - The word of Yahweh.” This heading is seen two other times in the Old Testament—at the beginning of Chapter nine and Chapter twelve of Zechariah. Because of this, some believe that these three portions of scripture are three anonymous oracles added to the prophetic books (Smith, 297). Malachi, though, has some characteristics that set it apart from Zechariah nine through twelve.

The name Malachi never appears anywhere else in the Old Testament. However, this is also the case with the names Habakkuk and Jonah (Verhoef, 156). Many modern scholars believe that Malachi is the prophet’s proper name, and for the purposes of this paper, we will proceed with the belief that it is, and that the book that bears the name is not anonymous, but rather the product of Malachi himself. Little is known about Malachi the man – only what can be gathered from his short book.

THE DATE OF WRITING OF THE BOOK OF MALACHI

This work was composed by an anonymous writer shortly before Nehemiah's arrival in Jerusalem (445 B.C.). Because of the sharp reproaches he was leveling against the priests and rulers of the people, the author probably wished to conceal his identity. To do this he made a proper name out of the Hebrew expression for "My Messenger" (Malachi), which occurs in Malachi 1:1; 3:1. The historical value of the prophecy is considerable in that it gives us a picture of life in the Jewish community returned from Babylon, between the period of Haggai and the reform measures of Ezra and Nehemiah. It is likely that the author's trenchant criticism of abuses and religious indifference in the community prepared the way for these necessary reforms.

Verhoef (1987, 157) asserts that Malachi does not give any indication of the date of his ministry; this led to significant debate over dating of the book. There is no king named in the book, nor are there any battles or significant historical events that would reveal the date. However, Malachi uses a word for “governor” that was used during the Babylonian and Persian rules, so it must not have been written before the exile. It could not have been during the Babylonian exile because the temple has been rebuilt. The temple was finished in 515 B.C., which means that Malachi must have been written some time after this date because Israel’s temple worship had already had time to deteriorate significantly. Because of the similarities between the social and religious conditions of Israel in Malachi and Nehemiah, some place Malachi as Nehemiah’s contemporary in the early fifth century B.C. (Smith, 298). Let us assume, though, that Malachi ministered before Nehemiah. Peter Craigie supports this belief by asserting that “the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah…presuppose the foundational work done by the virtually unknown prophet, Malachi” (226).

However, AddThis.com observes that the prophetic activity of Haggai and Zechariah and the returned exiles under the leadership of their governor Zerubbabel finished the temple in 516 B.C. In 458 the community was strengthened by the coming of the priest Ezra and several thousand more Jews. Artaxerxes king of Persia encouraged Ezra to reconstitute the temple worship (Ezr 7:17) and to make sure the Law of Moses was being obeyed (Ezr 7:25–26). Fourteen years later (444) the same Persian king permitted his cupbearer Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls (Ne 6:15). As newly appointed governor, Nehemiah also spearheaded reforms to help the poor (Ne 5:2–13), and he convinced the people to shun mixed marriages (Ne 10:30), to keep the Sabbath (Ne 10: 31) and to bring their tithes and offerings faithfully (Ne 10:37–39). In 433 B.C. Nehemiah returned to the service of the Persian king, and during his absence the Jews fell into sin once more. Later, however, Nehemiah came back to Jerusalem to discover that the tithes were ignored, the Sabbath was broken, the people had intermarried with foreigners, and the priests had become corrupt (Ne 13:7–31). Several of these same sins are condemned by Malachi (see 1:6–14; 2:14–16; 3:8–11). The similarity between the sins denounced in Nehemiah and those denounced in Malachi suggests that the two leaders were contemporaries. Malachi may have been written after Nehemiah returned to Persia in 433 B.C. or during his second period as governor. Since the governor mentioned in 1:8 (see note there) probably was not Nehemiah, the first alternative may be more likely. Malachi was most likely the last prophet of the OT era (though some place Joel later). 

PERSONAL REVIEW ON THE BOOK OF MALACHI

The nameless author of this book created sharp doubt and ambiguity on the validity of the book because the other Minor Prophets authorship was not debated without the fact to the personalities behind the works. On assumption, the book of Malachi might have some element of faults wrapped up either by the Septuagint or the Hebrew canon system as I view it. Though the critics are on baseless assumption, yet no one could definitely assert the real author. I personally criticize the canonistic of the book if it was added because of making up twelve Minor Prophets to assume the twelve tribes of Israel.

I therefore stand on my position on this critical study into the book of Malachi that the authorship of the Book of Malachi is unknown and the dating is dated to the second missionary journey of Nehemiah after the rebuilding of Jerusalem Wall. In conclusion, the book of Malachi is an inspired word of God; whether the authorship is known or unknown, the message is still relevant to our generation thereby the authorship should not be a bone of contention to neglect the purpose of the book to the people of God.

WORKS CITED

1.     Craigie, Peter C. Twelve Prophets. Daily Study Bible. Volume II. Philadelphia: Westminster. 1984. 224 - 26.

2.     David Malick.  “An Introduction to the Book of Malachi.” http://www.Bible.org/byauthor/9.html

3.     Smith, Ralph L. “Micah – Malachi.” Word Biblical Commentary. Waco, Tex.:Word. 1984. 296 – 301.

4.     http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php

5.     http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Book_of_Malachi/id/1936029

6.     http://www.suite101.com/lesson.cfm/18327/1586/2

7.     http://www.illumina.com. Ilumina Gold Encyclopedia. Carol Stream, Orlando: Tyndale House Publishers.

8.     Sanford, Lasor W. Old Testament Survey, The Message, Form and Background of Old Testament, Second Edition. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1996.

9.     Verhoef, Pieter A. “The Books of Haggai and Malachi.” New International Commentary On The Old Testament.Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1987. 153 - 81.