God's Love for Jacob and Judgment on Edom
Malachi 1:1-5
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Mal.1.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- משא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ביד: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מלאכי: NOUN,m,pl,construct
Parallels
- Haggai 1:1 (verbal): Opening formula parallels: 'the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet'—similar prophetic superscription and the idea of the LORD's message delivered through a named prophet ('by the hand/of').
- Zechariah 1:1 (verbal): Comparable introductory formula: 'the word of the LORD came to Zechariah'—serves the same structural role as a prophetic superscription identifying the divine origin and prophetic carrier of the message.
- Micah 1:1 (structural): Like Malachi, Micah begins with a short superscription ('The word of the LORD that came to Micah...'), framing the book as an oracle delivered to/through a prophet.
- Isaiah 13:1 (verbal): Uses the noun משא (literally 'burden' or 'oracle') in the superscription ('The burden of Babylon'), matching Malachi's opening term and the prophetic tradition of titling oracles as 'burdens.'
- Nahum 1:1 (verbal): Another example of a prophetic book headed by משא ('The burden of Nineveh'), reflecting the same genre label and introductory formulaing of an oracle as in Malachi 1:1.
Alternative generated candidates
- The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel by the hand of Malachi.
- The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel by the hand of Malachi.
Mal.1.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אהבתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ואמרתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- במה: PREP+PRON,interr
- אהבתנו: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- הלוא: PART
- אח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ליעקב: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ואהב: CONJ+VERB,qal,ptc,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- יעקב: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Romans 9:13 (quotation): Paul directly cites Malachi ('Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated') to argue God's sovereign election — explicit verbal quotation of Mal 1:2–3.
- Genesis 25:23 (allusion): God's prenatal oracle to Rebekah about 'two nations' and the younger ruling the older establishes the foundational distinction between Jacob and Esau that Malachi invokes.
- Deuteronomy 7:6-8 (thematic): Speaks of God's choice of Israel out of love and covenant faithfulness, paralleling Malachi's theme of divine love/election rather than human merit.
- Hosea 11:1 (verbal): 'When Israel was a child I loved him' uses the language of divine love for Israel earlier in the prophetic tradition, echoing Malachi's opening claim 'I have loved you.'
- Obadiah 1:10-14 (thematic): Oracles against Edom (descendants of Esau) respond to Edom's hostility toward Jacob/Israel and reflect the historic and theological contrast between Jacob and Esau implicit in Malachi's address.
Alternative generated candidates
- I have loved you, declares the LORD. Yet you ask, “How have you loved us?” Was he not Esau, Jacob’s brother? declares the LORD; yet I have loved Jacob.
- “I have loved you,” says the LORD. “And you say, ‘How have you loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob's brother?” says the LORD; “yet I have loved Jacob.”},{
Mal.1.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואת: CONJ
- עשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- שנאתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- ואשים: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הריו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- שממה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ואת: CONJ
- נחלתו: NOUN,f,sg,abs,suff:3,m
- לתנות: VERB,qal,inf
- מדבר: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Romans 9:13 (quotation): Paul explicitly cites Malachi 1:2–3 ('Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated') to support the theme of divine election; he preserves the same language of 'hating' Esau.
- Genesis 25:23 (allusion): God's oracle to Rebekah ('two nations... the older shall serve the younger') provides the ancestral background for the Jacob/Esau distinction that underlies Malachi's declaration about Esau.
- Obadiah 1:10-14 (thematic): Obadiah pronounces judgment on Edom (Esau's descendants) for violence against Jacob and predicts the desolation of Edom's territory, paralleling Malachi's image of making Esau's mountains a desolation.
- Jeremiah 49:7-22 (thematic): Jeremiah's oracle against Edom depicts widespread ruin and loss of inheritance for Edom, echoing Malachi's theme of devastation and forfeiture of Esau's land.
Alternative generated candidates
- But I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and given his inheritance to the jackals of the desert.
Mal.1.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- תאמר: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אדום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רששנו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ונשוב: VERB,qal,imprf,1,m,pl
- ונבנה: VERB,qal,imprf,1,m,pl
- חרבות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צבאות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- המה: PRON,3,m,pl
- יבנו: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,pl
- ואני: PRON,1,sg
- אהרוס: VERB,qal,imprf,1,m,sg
- וקראו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- גבול: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- רשעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והעם: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- זעם: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Obadiah 1:10-14 (thematic): Direct prophetic judgment against Edom for violence toward Israel; predicts destruction, loss of fortresses and inability to recover—same theme of divine refusal to allow rebuilding.
- Jeremiah 49:7-16 (allusion): Pronounces doom on Edom/Seir with language of perpetual shame and desolation, paralleling Malachi’s announcement that they will be called a border of wickedness and suffer God’s enduring anger.
- Ezekiel 35:1-15 (thematic): Prophecy against Mount Seir/Edom for longstanding hostility toward Israel; God promises to make the land desolate and punish its inhabitants, echoing Malachi’s judgment motif.
- Amos 1:11-12 (verbal): Condemns Edom for pursuing kin with the sword and announces punitive destruction (cities burned, loss of strongholds), echoing the concrete punitive actions in Malachi’s oracle.
- Genesis 27:41-45 (structural): Narrative root of Israel–Edom enmity: Esau’s hatred of Jacob provides the historical/motivation background for prophetic condemnations like Malachi’s.
Alternative generated candidates
- For Edom says, “We are crushed, but we will return and rebuild the ruins.” Thus says the LORD of hosts: They may build, but I will tear down; they shall be called the border of wickedness—the people at whom the LORD is angry for all time.
Mal.1.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ועיניכם: NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss2mp
- תראינה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,pl
- ואתם: CONJ+PRON,2,pl
- תאמרו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- יגדל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מעל: PREP
- לגבול: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Malachi 1:11 (structural): Same prophet/book and chapter: both verses declare that the LORD's name will be great and honored beyond the borders of Israel among the nations.
- Isaiah 49:6 (thematic): The servant is appointed to be a light to the nations so that God's salvation and glory are known beyond Israel—parallel theme of God's fame extending to the nations.
- Ezekiel 36:23 (thematic): God declares he will sanctify his great name so that the nations will know that he is the LORD—directly parallels the idea of God's greatness being recognized outside Israel.
- Habakkuk 2:14 (thematic): The earth filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD mirrors Malachi's claim that God's greatness will be seen and acknowledged beyond Israel's borders.
- Psalm 67:2 (thematic): A prayer that God's way and saving power be known among all nations, echoing Malachi's vision of the LORD's renown reaching beyond Israel.
Alternative generated candidates
- Your eyes will see it, and you will say, “The LORD is exalted beyond the border of Israel.”
The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel by the hand of Malachi.
I have loved you, says the LORD. You say, “How have you loved us?” Was not Esau Jacob's brother? says the LORD; yet I have loved Jacob. But I hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and his inheritance a possession for the jackals of the wilderness.
For he says, “Edom has been reduced; we will return and rebuild the ruins.” —Thus says the LORD of hosts— “They will build, and I will tear down; and they will call them the border of wickedness, the people at whom the LORD is wroth forever.”
Your eyes shall see it, and you shall say, “Great is the LORD beyond the border of Israel.”