Poetic Syntax and Interpretation of Malachi

After an outline of the author’s theory of the verb in prose, the paper attempts to show that the same theory, specifically that of direct speech, is also valid for poetry. The prophecy of Malachi is examined as an example. First the complete Hebrew text is given with an English translation (based on the RSV with corrections). The Hebrew text is subdivided into poetic units and arranged according to the three temporal axes—present (esp. with non-verbal sentences), past (esp. with qatal and wayyiqtol), and future (with indicative yiqtol and weqatal and volitive imperative, sentence-initial yiqtol, weyiqtol verb forms). A syntactic and exegetical commentary follows. According to the author, the prophecy comprises two parts, each with five units, i.e., 1:2-5, 1:6-8, 1:9-14, 2:1-9, 2:10-16 in the first part; 2:17-3:7b, 3:7c-12, 3:13-18, 3:19-21 (Engl. 4:1-3), and 3:22-24 (Engl. 4:4-6) in the second part. The internal coherence of the text is then outlined. The prophecy switches from one temporal axis to the other according to various situ ations and intention. The dynamics of the text and its meaning result from the interplay of the various temporal axes.