Footnotes

1. Malachi 1:1 tn The Hebrew term מַשָּׂא (massaʾ, “pronouncement”) is derived from the root נָשָׂא (nasaʾ, “to lift”) and probably connected to the phrase “to raise one’s voice” (HALOT 639 s.v. II מַשָּׂא), that is, the message that was raised or called out. See the note at Isa 13:1. The form may be absolute or construct. If absolute, the term stands alone (so NAB, NRSV), if construct it would be joined with what follows, “the burden [or “revelation”] of” (so KJV, NASB, ESV). Since the following phrase is a synonym, it is likely absolute, in apposition to “the Lord’s message.”
2. Malachi 1:1 tn There is some question as to whether מַלְאָכִי (malʾakhi) should be understood as a personal name (so almost all English versions) or as simply “my messenger” (the literal meaning of the Hebrew). Despite the fact that the word should be understood in the latter sense in 3:1 (where, however, it refers to a different person), to understand it that way here would result in the book being of anonymous authorship, a situation anomalous among all the prophetic literature of the OT.
3. Malachi 1:3 tn Heb “and I loved Jacob, but Esau I hated.” The context indicates this is technical covenant vocabulary in which “love” and “hate” are synonymous with “choose” and “reject” respectively (see Deut 7:8; Jer 31:3; Hos 3:1; 9:15; 11:1).
4. Malachi 1:3 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5. Malachi 1:3 tn Heb “I set his mountains as a desolation.”
6. Malachi 1:3 tn Or “inheritance” (so NIV, NLT).
7. Malachi 1:3 tn Heb “jackals of the wilderness.”
8. Malachi 1:4 sn Edom, a “brother” nation to Israel, became almost paradigmatic of hostility toward Israel and God (see Num 20:14-21; Deut 2:8; Jer 49:7-22; Ezek 25:12-14; Amos 1:11-12; Obad 10-12).
9. Malachi 1:4 sn The epithet Lord of Heaven’s Armies occurs frequently as a divine title throughout Malachi (24 times total). This name (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, y^ehvah ts^evaʾot), traditionally translated “Lord of hosts” (so KJV, NAB, NASB; cf. NIV NLT “Lord Almighty”; NCV, CEV “Lord All-Powerful”), emphasizes the majestic sovereignty of the Lord, an especially important concept in the postexilic world of great human empires and rulers. For a thorough study of the divine title, see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 123-57.
10. Malachi 1:4 tn Heb “and they will call them.” The third person plural subject is indefinite; one could translate, “and people will call them.”
11. Malachi 1:5 tn Or “Great is the Lord” (so NAB; similar NIV, NRSV).
12. Malachi 1:6 tn The verb “respects” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. It is understood by ellipsis (see “honors” in the preceding line).
13. Malachi 1:6 tn The pronoun “your” is supplied in the translation for clarification (also a second time before “master” later in this verse).
14. Malachi 1:7 sn The word table, here a synonym for “altar,” has overtones of covenant imagery in which a feast shared by the covenant partners was an important element (see Exod 24:11). It also draws attention to the analogy of sitting down at a common meal with the governor (v. 8).
15. Malachi 1:8 sn Offerings of animals that were lame or sick were strictly forbidden by the Mosaic law (see Deut 15:21).
16. Malachi 1:8 tn Heb “it” (so NAB, NASB). Contemporary English more naturally uses a plural pronoun to agree with “the lame and sick” in the previous question (cf. NIV, NCV).
17. Malachi 1:8 tc The LXX and Vulgate read “with it” (which in Hebrew would be הֲיִרְצֵהוּ, hayirtsehu, a reading followed by NAB) rather than “with you” of the MT (הֲיִרְצְךָ, hayirts^ekha). The MT (followed here by most English versions) is to be preferred because of the parallel with the following phrase פָנֶיךָ (fanekha, “receive you,” which the present translation renders as “show you favor”).
18. Malachi 1:9 tn Heb “seek the face of God.”
19. Malachi 1:9 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav conjunction indicates purpose (cf. NASB, NRSV).
20. Malachi 1:10 sn The rhetorical language suggests that as long as the priesthood and people remain disobedient, the temple doors may as well be closed because God is not “at home” to receive them or their worship there.
21. Malachi 1:11 sn My name will be great among the nations. In what is clearly a strongly ironic shift of thought, the Lord contrasts the unbelief and virtual paganism of the postexilic community with the conversion and obedience of the nations that will one day worship the God of Israel.
22. Malachi 1:12 tn Heb “fruit.” The following word “food” in the Hebrew text (אָכְלוֹ, ʾokhlo) appears to be an explanatory gloss to clarify the meaning of the rare word נִיב (niv, “fruit”; see Isa 57:19 Qere; נוֹב, nov, “fruit,” in Kethib). Cf. ASV “the fruit thereof, even its food.” In this cultic context the reference is to the offerings on the altar.
23. Malachi 1:13 tn Heb “from your hand,” a metonymy of part (the hand) for whole (the person).
24. Malachi 1:14 sn The epithet great king was used to describe the Hittite rulers on their covenant documents and so, in the covenant ideology of Malachi, is an apt description of the Lord.