Malachi 1-2

Malachi is the last of the prophets of the Second Temple, and he ends the sequence of prophecy in the Tanakh. His time period is not mentioned explicitly in the book, but based on his prophecies it appears that he prophesied after Chaggai and Zechariah, while the Temple was standing, close to the time of Ezra and Nechemia. Malachi’s identity is not clear, his father’s name is not mentioned, and even the name “Malachi” may only be a description of the prophet as a messenger (malach). Malachi’s prophecies reflect the reality of his time, when the Temple was already built, but the services in it were neglected. The central purpose of the Temple was not realized, and respect for the Temple went down in the eyes of both the people and the priests. Central to his prophecies is his debate with the priests, and his criticism of their attitude to the Temple. An additional problem which arises in the prophecies of Malachi is the trend of the people to divorce the Israeli women and intermarry, which is mentioned in the book of Ezra as well. The concept of covenant is important to the book- between the nation and God, the covenant of the Levites, and the covenant between man and wife.