Malachi (redirected from Malochi)

Malachi (mă`ləkī, –kē), book of the Bible, the last book in the order of the Authorized Version and 12th of the books of the Minor Prophets. Its title Malachi is taken from the opening verse of chapter 3 and means "my messenger." On internal evidence the book, a collection of prophetic oracles, is usually dated c.460 B.C., shortly before the reforms of Nehemiah and Ezra. After a protestation of God's love for Israel, the prophet rebukes the priests for their negligence and the people for their foreign marriages. Finally, there is a prophecy of the coming Day of Judgment, anticipated by the appearance of a messenger and the reappearance of Elijah.

Bibliography

See E. Achtemeier, Nahum–Malachi (1986); see also bibliography under Old Testament.

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Malachi

The anonymous author of the biblical book of Malachi and the last of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets. The name comes from a Hebrew word meaning “my messenger.” The book consists of dialogues in question-and-answer form, in which the prophet defends the justice of God to a community doubtful because its expectations of salvation for Israel are unfulfilled. Malachi calls for faithfulness to God's covenant and promises that the day of judgment will soon arrive. The book was probably written in the 5th century BC.