[[malachi-01|[Next →]]] --- # Malachi, the Book of Malachi [Introduction](malachi-00.md) [1](malachi-01.md) [2](malachi-02.md) [3](malachi-03.md) ## The Book of Malachi This short book may have been written before Nehemiah’s first return to Jerusalem in 445 B.C.; it is also possible that it was written while Nehemiah was there, or even later. What seems to be the author’s name, *mal’ākî*, is found in [1:1] (“the word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi”), but many believe that this is a pseudonym based on *mal’ākî*, “my messenger,” in [3:1] and that the author’s real name is unknown. In any case, he shows us attitudes and behaviors characteristic of the Jewish community a few generations after the end of the Babylonian exile, and describes God’s response. God loves Israel ([1:2] – [5]), but the people return that love poorly. Taking advantage of the negligent attitude of the priests, they withhold tithes and sacrificial contributions ([3:6] – [11]) and cheat God by providing defective goods for sacrifice ([1:6] – [14]). People divorce their spouses and marry worshipers of other gods ([2:10] – [16]). Sorcerers, adulterers, perjurers, and people who take advantage of workers and the needy abound ([3:5]). Priests, who could strengthen discipline by their instruction, connive with the people, telling them what they want to hear ([2:1] – [9]). Underlying all this is a weary attitude, a cynical notion that nothing is to be gained by doing what God wants and that wrongdoers prosper ([2:17]; [3:14] – [15]). God condemns the wrongdoing and the underlying attitude, issuing a challenge to immediate reform ([3:10] – [12]), but also announcing a general reckoning at a future moment ([3:16] – [21]). The Book of Malachi may be divided as follows: 1. Israel Preferred to Edom ([1:2] – [5]) 2. Offense in Sacrifice and Priestly Duty ([1:6] – [2:9]) 3. Marriage and Divorce ([2:10] – [16]) 4. Purification and Just Judgment ([2:17]) 5. The Messenger of the Covenant ([3:1] – [5]) 6. Gifts for God, Blessings for the People ([3:6] – [12]) 7. The Need to Serve God ([3:13] – [21]) 8. Moses and Elijah ([3:22] – [24]) --- _New American Bible, revised edition_ (2010, 1991, 1986, 1970) Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C.