Malachi

The treatments of Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi in McComiskey’s The Minor Prophets remain among the strongest detailed evangelical expositions of these books. The distinctive division between technical “Exegesis” and more accessible “Exposition” allows readers to examine the Hebrew grammar, textual questions and interpretive alternatives before moving to theological synthesis and application. Motyer is concise but penetrating on Haggai, especially its Davidic and messianic hope; McComiskey provides substantial independent grammatical work and a strong redemptive-historical reading of Zechariah; and Stuart offers an especially valuable treatment of Malachi’s difficult passages. The three-author format means that the work lacks the unity of Petterson’s volume, but the quality of the individual contributions and the balance between technical detail and theological usefulness make it indispensable.

The commentary on Malachi in this volume was written by Douglas Stuart, whose WBC volume on Hosea - Jonah is outstanding. This commentary continues that excellence. One only wishes he would write commentaries on the rest of the Minor Prophets. As mentioned in previous posts, the McComiskey volume is somewhat technical [Full Review]