Book of Malachi

The Book of Malachi (Hebrew: מַלְאָכִי, romanized: Malʾāḵī) is the last book of the Nevi'im in the Tanakh and canonically the final book of the Twelve Minor Prophets. In most Christian traditions, the prophetic books form the last section of the Old Testament, making Malachi the last book before the New Testament. The book has four chapters.

The author of Malachi may or may not have been identified by the title itself. While often understood as a proper name, its Hebrew meaning is simply "my messenger" (the Septuagint translates it as "his messenger"). It was not a proper name at the time of its writing. Jewish tradition states that the book was written by the Scribe Ezra.

Most scholars believe the book underwent multiple stages of redaction. The majority of its text originates in the Persian period; the oldest portions dating to c. 500 BCE. Later modifications occurred into the Hellenistic period.

The oldest surviving Hebrew manuscripts, containing some or all of this book, are found in the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), the Aleppo Codex (tenth century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008). Fragments containing parts of this book were also found among the Dead Sea Scrolls 4Q76 (150–125 BCE) and 4Q78 (75–50 BCE).

A translation of the Hebrew Bible into Koine Greek, known as the Septuagint, was made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (fourth century), Codex Sinaiticus (fourth century), Codex Alexandrinus (fifth century), and Codex Marchalianus (sixth century).

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 pagan women, the Talmud and certain Targums, such as Targum Jonathan, identify Ezra as the author of Malachi. This is the traditional view held by most Jews and some Christians. 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". 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.

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 Yah." 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. Thus, many believe that "Malachi" is an anonymous pseudonym. Other scholars, including the editors of the Catholic Encyclopedia, argue that the grammatical evidence leads to the conclusion that Malachi is a name, asserting: "We are no doubt in presence of an abbreviation of the name Mál'akhîyah, that is Messenger of Yah."

Some scholars consider the authorship of Zechariah 9–14 and Malachi to be anonymous which explains their placement at the end of the Twelve Minor Prophets. 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]} Another interpretation of the authorship comes from the Septuagint superscription 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.