The Anchor Yale Bible: Malachi (AYB)
Overview
Admittedly, as the last book in the Old Testament, and a minor prophet at that, Malachi is often overlooked by Bible readers. Yet, Malachi’s passionate proclamations and the significance of what he had to say to his people capture the attention of even the casual reader. The message of Malachi came at a time of cultural and religious rethinking for Israel (roughly 500 BCE), when God’s people were scattered throughout the Near East, with most living in Mesopotamia under Persian rule. They could easily have disappeared from history had it not been for the prophetic call to repentance.
In his fresh new translation, notes, and comments on this brief prophetic book, Andrew E. Hill explains why we should pay attention to Malachi as God’s spokesperson. Hill places the book in its historical context to interpret the original meaning, as well as offer the modern reader insights into what it has to say to us today. With his translation and commentary, along with photographs, line art, and maps, he provides all the necessary details for the reader to understand and appreciate Malachi.
Logos Bible Software gives you the tools you need to use this volume effectively and efficiently. With your digital library, you can search for verses, find Scripture references and citations instantly, and perform word studies. Along with your English translations, all Scripture passages are linked to Greek and Hebrew texts. What’s more, hovering over a Scripture reference will instantly display your verse! The advanced tools in your digital library free you to dig deeper into one of the most important contributions to biblical scholarship in the past century!
- Offers original translations, including alternative translations, annotations, and variants
- Provides verse-by-verse commentary on the text
- Presents the reader with historical background, including analysis of authorship and dating
- Features an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary literature
- Superscription (1:1)
- First Oracle: Yahweh’s Covenant Love for Israel (1:2–5)
- Second Oracle: Faithless Priests Rebuked (1:6–2:9)
- Third Oracle: Faithless People Rebuked (2:10–16)
- Fourth Oracle: Judgment and Purification (2:17–3:5)
- Fifth Oracle: Call to Repentance (3:6–12)
- Sixth Oracle: Judgment and Vindication (3:13–21 [4:3])
- Appendixes: Appeals to Ideal OT Figures
- Appeal to Moses (3:22 [4:4])
- Appeal to Elijah (3:23–24 [4:5–6])
Top Highlights
“I concur with a majority of scholars who identify the literary form of Malachi as ‘disputation speech’” (Page 37)
“More common to discerning the larger structure of Malachi is the thematic approach which seeks to relate the content of the prophet’s six oracles to overarching theological ideas. Several major themes dominate the discussions here, including theology proper (i.e., Malachi as a theology of Yahweh), covenant relationship, religious purity and social justice, and eschatology.” (Page 28)
“A study of the internal evidence in Malachi yields three specific historical data traditionally discussed by biblical commentators: the destruction of Edom (1:2–5), the political oversight of Yehud by a ‘governor’ (Heb. peḥâ, 1:8), and the presence of Yahweh’s Temple in Jerusalem (1:10).” (Page 77)
“Talmudic legend places Malachi among the Jewish expatriates who returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian Exile under the leadership of Joshua and Zerubbabel (b. Zebaḥ 62a) and dates his oracles to the second year of Darius I (520 b.c./e.; cf. b. Meg 15a).” (Page 12)
“The early church regarded Malachi as an important theological bridge between the two dispensations, the Old and New Covenants (especially Mal 1:10–11 as an apologetic for a Gentile church, cf. Tertullian, Marc 4.8.1; Mal 3:1, 23–24 [4:5–6], as an apologetic for identifying John the Baptist as Malachi’s ‘forerunner’; cf. Origen, Comm in Jn 2.17; 6.13; Mal 3:20 [4:2, ‘sun of righteousness’] as a divine epithet for Jesus Christ; cf. Cyprian, Did 4.35; and Mal 3:22 [4:4] as a defense of the ‘goodness’ of Mosaic law as cited in ConstAp 6.4.19).” (Page 12)
- Title: Malachi
- Author: Andrew E. Hill
- Series: Anchor Yale Bible (AYB)
- Publisher: Yale University Press
- Publication Date: 1998
- Pages: 480
