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Introduction
to Malachi
INTRODUCTION TO MALACHI
This
book
in the Hebrew copies
is called "Sepher Malachi"
the Book of
Malachi; in the Vulgate Latin version
"the Prophecy of Malachi"; in
the Syriac and Arabic versions
"the Prophecy of the Prophet
Malachi"; According to LactantiusF1De vera Sapientia
l. 4. c.
5. p. 279.
Zechariah was the last of the prophets; but the more commonly
received opinion
and the truest
is
that Malachi was the last; hence Aben
Ezra calls him Myaybnh Pwo
"the end of the prophets"; and by Kimchi
he is said to be
Mbv Nwrxa "the last of them"; and sometimes
by the
Rabbins
Myaybnh Mtwx
"the seal of the prophets"F2Nizzachon
p. 200. apud Hottinger. Thes. Phil. p. 489. ; by whom they are all sealed up
concluded
and finished. His name signifies "my angel"
as is
commonly said; though HillerusF3Onomastic. Sacr. p. 147
359
541.
makes it to signify "the angel of the Lord"; hence some have thought
that he was not a man
but an angel; and so the Septuagint render ykalm dyb
in
the first verse Malachi 1:1
"by the hand of his angel"; and others have thought that the book
takes its name
not from the author of it
but from the mention that is made of
the messenger or angel of the Lord
John the Baptist
in Malachi 3:1 but the
more prevailing opinion is
that Malachi is the name of a man
the writer of
the book
about whom the Jews have been divided. Rab Nachman says Malachi was
Mordecai; and that he was so called because he was second to the king. R.
Joshua ben Korcha contradicts him
and affirms Malachi is Ezra; and to him
agrees the Chaldee paraphrase on Malachi 1:1 which
says
that Malachi
his name is called Ezra the scribe; but
as Kimchi
observes
Ezra is never called a prophet
as Malachi is
only a scribe;
wherefore in the TalmudF4T. Bab. Megillah
fol. 15. 1.
where this
matter is debated
it is concluded thus; but the wise men say
Malachi is his
name; that is
it is the proper name of a man; there was a man of this name
that wrote this prophecy; not Mordecai
nor Ezra
nor Zerubbabel
nor Nehemiah
as some have thought; but Malachi: and if the accounts of EpiphaniusF5De
Prophet. Vita & Interitu
c. 22. and IsidoreF6De Vita &
Morte Sanct. c. 51. are to be credited
this prophet was born at Sapho
in the
tribe of Zebulun; and had his name from his beautiful form
and unblemished
life; and that he died very young
and was buried in his own field. The time of
his prophesying is not agreed on: the Jews commonly make him contemporary with
Haggai and Zechariah; they sayF7T. Bab. Megillah
fol. 15. 1. Seder
Olam Rabba
c. 20. p. 55. that Haggai
Zechariah
and Malachi
all of them
prophesied in the second year of Darius; and Ganz
their chronologerF8Ganz
Tzemach David
par. 1. fol. 18. 1.
places the death of these prophets
together in one year; but he seems to be later than they: Haggai prophesied
before the building of the temple; Zechariah about the time of it; and Malachi
after it
when the temple was rebuilt
and the worship of God restored and
settled; and when both priests and people were become very corrupt and
degenerate
of which he complains; so that it is possible that he might live a
century after the other prophets
and about four centuries before the coming of
Christ
during which time prophecy ceased; though some think he lived not long
before the times of Christ
which is not probable. Bishop UsherF9Annales
Vet. Test. A. M. 3589. makes him contemporary with Nehemiah
and places him in
the year 416 B.C.; and Mr. WhistonF11Chronological Tables
cent. 12.
in the year 400 B.C.; Mr. BedfordF12Scripture Chronology
p. 725. in
the year 424 B.C.: however
this book has been always accounted authentic
and
a part of the canon of the Scripture; and is confirmed by the passages cited
out of it
and the references made unto it
in the New Testament
Matthew 11:10. The
general design of it is to reprove the Jews for their ingratitude to the Lord
their neglect and contempt of his worship
and breach of his laws; and to raise
in the minds of the truly godly an expectation of the Messiah
and his
forerunner
John the Baptist.
Commentator
John Gill (November 23
1697-October 14
1771) was an English Baptist
a biblical scholar
and a staunch Calvinist.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism is a matter of academic debate.
He was born in Kettering
Northamptonshire.
In his youth
he attended Kettering Grammar School
mastering the Latin
classics and learning Greek by age eleven. The young scholar continued
self-study in everything from logic to Hebrew. His love for Hebrew would follow
Gill throughout his life.
At the age of about twelve
Gill heard a
sermon from his pastor
William Wallis
on the text
"And the Lord called
unto Adam
and said unto him
where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9). The message
stayed with Gill and eventually led to his conversion. It was not until seven
years later that young John made a public profession when he was almost
nineteen years of age.
His first pastoral work was as an intern
assisting John Davis at Higham Ferrers in 1718 at age twenty one. He was
subsequently called to pastor the Strict Baptist church at Goat Yard Chapel
Horsleydown
Southwark in 1719. In 1757
his congregation needed larger
premises and moved to a Carter Lane
St. Olave's Street
Southwark. His
pastorate lasted 51 years. This Baptist Church was once pastored by Benjamin
Keach and would later become the New Park Street Chapel and then the
Metropolitan Tabernacle pastored by Charles Spurgeon.
During Gill's ministry the church strongly
supported the preaching of George Whitefield at nearby Kennington Common.
In 1748
Gill was awarded the honorary degree
of Doctor of Divinity by the University of Aberdeen. He was a profound scholar
and a prolific author. His most important works are:
John Gill is the first major writing Baptist
theologian. His work retains its influence into the twenty-first century.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism in English Baptist life is a matter of
debate. Peter Toon has argued that Gill was himself a hyper-Calvinist
which
would make Gill the father of Baptist hyper-Calvinism. Tom Nettles has argued
that Gill was not a hyper-Calvinist himself
which would make him merely a
precursor and hero to Baptist hyper-Calvinists.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James Version Bible
NKJV
The
NKJV was commissioned in 1975 by Thomas Nelson Publishers.
One-hundred-and-thirty respected Bible scholars
church leaders
and lay
Christians worked for seven years with the goal of updating the vocabulary and
grammar of the King James Version
while preserving the classic style of the of
the 1611 version.
The
task of updating the English of the KJV involved many changes in word order
grammar
vocabulary
and spelling. One of the most significant features of the
NKJV was its removal of the second person pronouns "thou"
"thee"
"ye
" "thy
" and "thine." Verb
forms were also modernized in the NKJV (for example
"speaks" rather
than "speaketh").
Young’s
Literal Translation was completed in 1898 by Robert Young
who also compiled
Young’s Analytical Concordance. It is an extremely literal translation that
attempts to preserve the tense and word usage as found in the original Greek
and Hebrew writings. The online text is from a reprint of the 1898 edition as
published by Baker Book House
Grand Rapids
Michigan. Obvious errors in
spelling or inconsistent spellings of the same word were corrected in the
online edition of the text. This text is Public Domain in the United States.