Malachi

Malachi (meaning my messenger or my angel) was the last of the writing prophets of the Old Testament, active in Judah in the fifth century BC — probably during the governorship of Nehemiah (around 450–430 BC), given the identical conditions he describes (mixed marriages, neglect of tithes, corruption of the priesthood). Nothing is known of his personal history; some ancient interpreters, noting that malachi simply means "messenger," proposed that it was a title rather than a personal name, but most modern scholarship treats it as a proper name.

Malachi's prophetic book is structured as a series of disputations between God and Israel, addressing priestly corruption, divorce and unfaithfulness, neglect of tithes, and skepticism about divine justice. Its concluding verses (Malachi 4:4–6) call for remembrance of the law of Moses and announce the coming of Elijah before the great day of the LORD — a passage Jesus cites in reference to John the Baptist (Matthew 11:10, 14; 17:10–13; Mark 1:2), making Malachi the final voice of the Old Testament prophetic tradition and the bridge to the New Testament's announcement of the forerunner.