The second and third rebukes are connected through the theme
of covenants. Men are dealing treacherously with one other which also pollutes
the covenant of the fathers. The first problem is that Judah has defiled the
holiness of God by marrying foreign women, and then we find out that this is
after these men divorced the wives of their youth.
First issue: Judah marries a women of a foreign god
The prophet begins with a series of three rhetorical
questions. These are to motivate the hearers to change their conduct.[1]
It makes no sense given the brotherhood between the people that they would deal
treacherously with one another defiling the covenant of their fathers (Malachi 2:10).
What is he referring to? Judah acted treacherously, an
abomination was made, he married the daughter of a foreign god (Malachi 2:11).
Three verbs are connected to Judah בָּגְדָה (3fs) חִלֵּל (3ms) and וּבָעַל (3ms). These verbs change from
feminine to masculine as the Lord goes from talking about Judah, the nation to
the person.[2] Judah, the person, did marry the
daughter of a Foreign God (Genesis 38:2), and then slept with his daughter in
law as she was a temple prostitute. Malachi is using the Torah to explain what
is happening to the people now.
The prophet then
exclaims that whoever (עֵר וְעֹנֶה)[3] did this and is
continually bringing (וּמַגִּישׁ)[4] offerings to the Lord should
be cut off (יַכְרֵת, Hiphil jussive) from the
community of Israel. (מֵאָהֳלֵי יַעֲקֹב)[5]
Second issue: Divorcing the wife of their youth.
The prophet continues in verse 13 with a second part to the
rebuke. Talking in general to the people, who are covering the Lord’s altar
with tears (דִּמְעָה), weeping (בְּכִי) and groaning (וַאֲנָקָה) because there is no (מֵאֵין)[6] attention paid to their offering.
The tears can be seen as hypocritical.[7] The people
are seeking attention. They want to manipulate the Lord in feeling sorry for
them, and accepting their offering. The truth is that the Lord is not going to
turn to their offerings, and he will not be fooled. Offerings from their hand
are completely worthless. We have the third verbal exchange in Malachi. It
takes the smaller form (1.2.1). The people want to know why
the Lord would not accept their offering. The prophet answers that the Lord bears
witness between a man and the wife of his youth, against whom he has dealt
treacherously. His wife is called companion (חֲבֶרְתְּךָ) and the “wife of your
covenant” (וְאֵשֶׁת בְּרִיתֶךָ). The reason God does not accept their
offering is because they are not treating their wives well, acting
treacherously against them.
Malachi 2:15-16 are hard to translate. Gesenius identifies
Malachi 2:15 as abrupt with transition from one person to another, from the
second person to the third.[8]
Understanding Malachi 2:15-16
My paraphrase is that: a man who has not acted treacherously, is a man
in the right disposition, he is one seeking godly offspring. So keep yourselves
and do not act treacherously with the wife of your youth, because the Lord, the
God of Israel says he hates divorce. The one who divorces covers his garment
with violence says the Lord of Hosts, keep yourselves in good disposition and
do not act treacherously.
Verse 15
I am going to take these verses clause by clause. The first part of
verse 15 is in the third person. וְלֹא־אֶחָד עָשָׂה can be translated either taking “one” (אֶחָד) as the subject or as the
object: “not one has made” or “he did not make one”. Following verse 14 about
the man having acted treacherously against his wife, I take the one to be the
subject. וּשְׁאָר רוּחַ לוֹ translates
literally : “and a remnant of the spirit to him”. רוּחַ is a disposition of various kinds.[9] The first two
clauses give us: “No one with any good disposition left has done this.”
Still referring to this person (הָאֶחָד), the prophet asks the rhetorical question: “what is he
seeking?” The answer is “זֶרַע אֱלֹהִים” which is “offspring of God” or “godly offspring”.
There is then an abrupt change from the third person to the second: “and
keep yourselves in your spirit”[10] and
with the wife of your youth, “let him not act treacherously” (אַל־יִבְגֹּד). Gesenius believes we must “undoubtedly” read יִבְגֹּד as תִּבְגּׄד, to read: “and
you shall not act treacherously” to be consistent with the pronouns.[11]
I understand verse 15 to continue to be a critique of those who have
acted treacherously with their wives. They did not have any “spirit” (or right
disposition). Those who did not act treacherously against their wives, did have
the right disposition and by being faithful to their wives are seeking to have
godly children, faithful children. Malachi calls the men to keep themselves in
the right disposition and not acting faithlessly with their wives.
Verse 16
The call against acting treacherously is followed by a reason in verse
16. “Because the Lord, the God of Israel says he hates divorce.” We can also
assume for the first time that this is what they are doing. Acting
treacherously towards the wives of their youth means, they are sending them
way, getting divorced. Verse 16 is really hard to translate, but our
translation must make sense in the context of God rebuking those who are acting
treacherously towards the wives of their youth. Literally “כִּי־שָׂנֵא
שַׁלַּח” is
translated: “because he hates divorce”. Gesenius takes שָׂנֵאto be a participle with a missing
first person pronominal suffix,[12] so
it would translate “I am hating divorce”.
The Septuagint “ἀλλὰ ἐὰν μισήσας ἐξαποστείλῃς” translates: “if after hating
(participle, aorist) you send out (2nd person second aorist
subjective)…. you will cover.” In my translation, I am trying to stay faithful
to the first verb “שָׂנֵא” which is a perfect 3 person singular and
then “שַׁלַּח” which is an infinitive.
The end of the verse is straight forward. The one who divorces covers
his garment with violence says the Lord of Hosts, so he urges people to keep
themselves (וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּם) in a right disposition (Spirit) and to
not act treacherously. Both verses 15 and 16 are connected, ending in the same
way with a plea to keep themselves and to refrain from dealing treacherously
with the wives of their youth.
[1] Watson, Classical Hebrew
Poetry, 342.
[2]Gesenius,
Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, 392.
[3] עֵר וְעֹנֶה literally means
“the ones waking and answering” it is difficult to know what this means, but it
seems like it good refer to a teacher (one who wakes) and a pupil (one who
answers), or in the context of “the tents of Jacob” it could relate to the
practice of keeping guard in a camp with a person calling (the one who wakes)
and another answering. Whatever this meant, it is generally accepted that the
two terms formed a proverbial pair to include everybody. Clark and Hatton, A Handbook on Malachi, 414.
[4] מַגִּישׁ is an active
participle indicating that the person is “conceived as being in the continual
uninterrupted exercise of this activity” Gesenius, F.
W. (2003). Gesenius, Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, 356.
[5]
Literally meaning The tents of Jacob, this expression is also seen in Jeremiah 30:18 to refer back to the
nomadic times. In Malachi’s day it meant the community of Israel. Clark and Hatton, A Handbook on Malachi, 414.
[7]Brown,
Driver, Briggs, The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English
Lexicon, 199.
[8]Gesenius,
Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, 462.
[9]
Brown, Driver, Briggs, The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English
Lexicon, 925.
[10] וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּם is a niphal, and so translates to “guarding
oneself” or “taking heed” Brown, Driver, Briggs, The
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, 1037.
[11]Gesenius,
Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, 462.
[12]Gesenius,
Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, 462.
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