Malachi 4:4-5

Restoration through the Lord

4:4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, to whom at Horeb ¹  I gave rules and regulations for all Israel to obey. ²  4:5 Look, I will send you Elijah ³  the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord arrives.

[4:4]  ¹ sn Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai (cf. Exod 3:1).

[4:4]  ² tn Heb “which I commanded him in Horeb concerning all Israel, statutes and ordinances.”

[4:5]  ³ sn I will send you Elijah the prophet. In light of the ascension of Elijah to heaven without dying (2 Kgs 2:11), Judaism has always awaited his return as an aspect of the messianic age (see, e.g., John 1:19-28). Jesus identified John the Baptist as Elijah, because he came in the “spirit and power” of his prototype Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36).