Malachi is book 39 of the 39 books of the Old Testament and belongs to the Minor Prophets section. See how it fits with the rest in our guide to all 66 books of the Bible.
Quick facts
- Section
- Old Testament · Minor Prophets
- Genre
- Prophecy: disputation speeches in question-and-answer form
- Author (traditional)
- Malachi, a prophet of the Persian period; his name means 'my messenger.'
- Other views on authorship
- Some scholars think 'Malachi' is a title drawn from 3:1 rather than a personal name, and that the book is anonymous; most still treat it as one prophet's work.
- Date (traditional)
- About 460–430 BC, around the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.
- Other views on dating
- Generally dated between 500 and 450 BC, after the second temple was completed in 516/515 BC.
- Chapters
- 4
- Verses
- 55
- Reading time
- About 9 minutes (1,709 words in the BSB)
What is Malachi about?
The temple had been rebuilt, but the excitement had faded. Priests offered blind and sick animals, people divorced their spouses, workers were cheated and tithes went unpaid. Many asked whether serving God made any difference at all.
Malachi structures the book as six disputes. God makes a statement, the people push back with a question — 'How have you loved us?' or 'How have we despised your name?' — and God answers. The pattern exposes how the people had grown cynical, and how God patiently argues with them instead of walking away.
The book looks forward. God will send his messenger to prepare the way, and then the Lord himself will come to his temple like a refiner's fire. Those who fear God are written in a book of remembrance. The final verses promise that Elijah will come before the great day of the LORD to turn the hearts of parents and children toward one another.
Outline of Malachi
| ChaptersCh. | Section |
|---|---|
| 1:1–5 | God's love for Israel God affirms his covenant love, contrasting Jacob and Esau. |
| 1:6–2:9 | Careless priests Defective sacrifices and failure to teach God's ways. |
| 2:10–16 | Faithlessness and divorce Broken covenants with God and with spouses. |
| 2:17–3:5 | The coming messenger God will send a messenger and come as a refiner to judge injustice. |
| 3:6–12 | Return and bring the tithes Return to God and test his faithfulness. |
| 3:13–4:6 | The day of the LORD and Elijah A book of remembrance, the sun of righteousness and the promise of Elijah. |
Key themes
- God's unchanging love. The book begins with 'I have loved you.' God's faithfulness is the reason Israel has not been consumed (3:6).
- Wholehearted worship. Offering God leftovers shows contempt. Malachi calls for worship that gives God the best, not the least.
- Faithfulness in relationships. Malachi treats marriage as a covenant God witnesses, and links faithfulness to spouses with faithfulness to God.
- Justice. The refiner will judge those who cheat workers, oppress widows and orphans and turn away foreigners.
- Preparing the way. The promised messenger and Elijah set up expectation that carries straight into the Gospels.
Key people and places
- Malachi — Traditionally seen as the last of the Old Testament prophets.
- The priests (sons of Levi) — Rebuked for careless sacrifices and poor teaching.
- Elijah — Promised to return before the day of the LORD.
- Jacob and Esau — Used to illustrate God's choosing love.
Places: Jerusalem, Judah, Edom.
Key verses in Malachi
Quoted from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB).
““I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you ask, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved,”
““Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.”
““Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.”
“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure.”
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.””
How Malachi fits the big story
In most Christian Bibles, Malachi is the last word of the Old Testament, and its closing promise of Elijah forms a bridge across about four centuries to the New Testament. Matthew, Mark and Luke all identify John the Baptist as the messenger who prepares the way, and Jesus says John is the Elijah who was to come. The problems Malachi addresses — careless worship, mixed marriages, unpaid tithes — match those in Nehemiah 13, showing that rebuilt walls and temples did not automatically produce renewed hearts. In the Jewish arrangement of Scripture, Malachi closes the Book of the Twelve, and Elijah's return is still remembered at the Passover table.
How to read Malachi
At 4 chapters a day you can read Malachi in 1 day — in one sitting. Look for the six question-and-answer patterns, where the people say 'How...?' Each one reveals an attitude the prophet is challenging.