The purpose of this study is to describe the final editor"s view of prophet Elijah tradition as reflected by the original book of Malachi.
Nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible is it stated or implied that a human figure of Israel"s past would return and play a decisive role in Israel"s future as well. For the final verses of Malachi(4:4-6) do not refer to the coming of an Elijah-like figure, but rather to the arrival
of Elijah himself. The story in 2Kings 2 about Elijah"s escape from death through heavenly ascension meant that he alone among the heroes of old was capable of returning to earth again someday. Yet many factor other than simply this belief in the prophet"s eternal existence contributed to the creation of an entirely new role for the figure of Elijah. Since the announcement of Elijah"s imminent return to earth serves as the source for all the later traditions about him as an eschatological prophet, it is necessary to be as clear as possible
about what sort of figure Elijah represents in the Book of Malachi and what are his duties for the end-time.
The appendix in Mal 4:4-6, which was added to the text sometime in the later Persian period, specially identifies YHWH"s messenger(3:1a) as the prophet Elijah using the deuteronmic languages. Clearly, Mal 4:5-6 is a reinterpretation of Malachi"s original oracle. The concern for covenant obedience and the language of covenant, which are only implicit in the original oracle, are made explicit in the appendix. The Torah of Moses and the prophet Elijah are mentioned in tandem. Law and Prophecy have conjoined. The final editor who penned these final verses obviously understood the messenger"s task of clearing way in the metaphorical manner. Elijah, then, is to make the people repent and to bring them back to the Torah of Moses and to the covenant relationship of their forefathers, else on the Day of Judgment those whose heart have not turned will feel the awesome and terrible wrath of God. Elijah is the last hope for God"s people. He was the first in the line of the prophets who resembled Moses and it is only fitting that he should also be the last. For the editor of the appendix, Elijah is the final and decisive figure before the end time.
Through the above investigation, this study concludes that the later editor of Book of Malachi utilized Elijah"s tradition to validate Judah"s Persian Period and to help his people have hope.