{"id":79746,"date":"2020-09-08T21:07:55","date_gmt":"2020-09-08T18:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=79746"},"modified":"2020-09-08T21:07:55","modified_gmt":"2020-09-08T18:07:55","slug":"malachi-the-messenger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/malachi-the-messenger\/","title":{"rendered":"Malachi The Messenger"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"79746","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34243,"related_cahpter":"565","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Who was this last of the prophets?\r\n\r\n","content":"

On our honeymoon, we encountered a concierge at the Jerusalem Hilton hotel whose name tag identified him as Angelo. Wanting to impress my new bride, I told him that I bet I could guess his Hebrew name. I suppose he thought I was going to say Malachi, so he took the bet. When I told him I thought his name was Mordechai, he was flabbergasted. I was guessing that he was an Italian Jew (which he was) but knew with reasonable certainty that in their tradition Mordechai was identified with the biblical Ezra, whom a rabbinic tradition identified with the Prophet Malachi (see Targum Yonatan to 1:1), hence Angelo.<\/span><\/p>\n

I suppose this is a circuitous route to follow just to establish that identification, but it helps us situate a prophet about whom the text provides no information other than his name. In fact, it is highly possible that Malachi simply means \u201cMy (God\u2019s) messenger,\u201d and that the prophet remains anonymous. Considering this contingency, Ibn Ezra commented: \u201cSome say that he was Ezra. In my opinion, his name was as it is written. He was the last of the prophets, which is why he cautioned, \u2018Remember the Torah of Moses, My servant\u2019 (3:22), because on his death Israelite prophecy ceased.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Radak, too, tackled his identification, writing:<\/span><\/p>\n

Haggai, Zachariah, and Malachi prophesied during the Second Temple. The prophecies of Haggai and Zachariah are situated in time, while Malachi\u2019s is not. It is possible that he was the last among them because there\u00a0 is no reference in his words to the construction of the Temple [meaning, it was already built]\u2026 The Sages said that Malachi is Ezra, but we have never found him designated a prophet, rather Ezra the Scribe (<\/span>ha-sofer<\/span><\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\n

The most distinctive literary feature of the Book of Malachi is its dialogic structure. Seven dialogues are reported: 1:2-5; 1:6-2:4; 2:4-9; 2:10-16; 2:17-3:7; 3:8-12; and 3:13-21. Each consists of a stipulation, the listener\u2019s reaction, the substantiation of the stipulation or reaction, and concludes with a rebuke or promise. For instance, in 1:2, God stipulated: \u201cI have shown you love,\u201d evoking the reaction, \u201cHow have you shown us love?\u201d (2) Next came the substantiation: \u201cI have accepted Jacob\u2026 and rejected Esau\u201d (2-3) and, finally, the promise: \u201cThus said the Lord of Hosts, They [Edom] may build, but I will tear down\u2026\u201d (4-5).<\/span><\/p>\n

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