Today in our journey through the 66 books of the Bible we are visiting the book of the minor prophet, Malachi. Author The name “Malachi” means “messenger”. In the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament, the name “Malachi” in chapter 1, verse 1, is translated as “his messenger” rather than as a proper noun. So, it may be that “Malachi” is the name of the author. Or it could be that the author is anonymous, that the author is simply a messenger of the Lord. Date The similarity between the sins denounced in the book of Nehemiah and those denounced in the book of Malachi suggest that the two leaders might have been contemporaries. The book of Malachi may have been written after Nehemiah returned to Persia in 433 BCE or during Nehemiah’s second period as governor. Malachi was, perhaps, the last prophet of the Old Testament era, writing about a half century after Haggai and Zechariah. Themes Several factors in the life of postexilic Judah probably influenced the theme
Today in our journey through the 66 books of the Bible we are visiting the book of the minor prophet, Zechariah. Author Like Jeremiah (1:1) and Ezekiel (1:3), Zechariah was not only a prophet (1:1) but also a priest. He was born in Babylonia and was among those who returned to Judah in 538 BCE under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua. Zechariah’s grandfather, Iddo, is named among the returnees in Nehemiah 12:4. At a later time, when Joiakim was high priest, Zechariah apparently succeeded Iddo (1:1,7) as head of that priestly family. (See Nehemiah 12:10-16). Since the grandson succeeded the grandfather, it has been suggested that the father, Berekiah (see 1:1,7), died at an early age. There is also a reference to Zechariah’s death in Matthew 23:35 where Jesus refers to Zechariah being murdered between the temple and the altar. Zechariah was a contemporary of Haggai (Ezra 5:1; 6:14) but Zechariah continued in ministry long after Haggai. (Compare 1:1 and 7:1 with Haggai 1:1. Se