VOLUME 17 OLD TESTAMENT NEW COLLEGEVILLE THE BIBLE COMMENTARY JOEL OBADIAH HAGGAI ZECHARIAH MALACHI John J. Collins SERIES EDITOR Daniel Durken, O.S.B. LITURGICAL PRESS Collegeville, Minnesota www.litpress.org Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert Harren, Censor deputatus. Imprimatur: Most Reverend John F. Kinney, J.C.D., D.D., Bishop of St. Cloud, Minnesota, October 12, 2012. Design by Ann Blattner. Cover illustration: Detail of Rejoice! by Hazel Dolby © 2007 The Saint John’s Bible, Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Photos: pages 10, 27, 54, and 60, Wikimedia Commons; pages 34, 82, 102, 128, and 140, Thinkstock Photos. Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. © 2013 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, microfilm, micro fiche, mechanical recording, photocopying, translation, or by any other means, known or yet unknown, for any purpose except brief quotations in reviews, without the previous written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint John’s Abbey, P.O. Box 7500, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-7500. Printed in the United States of America. 123456789 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Collins, John Joseph, 1946– Joel, Obadiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi / John J. Collins. p. cm. — (The new Collegeville Bible commentary. Old Testament ; 17) Includes index. ISBN 978-0-8146-2851-5 1. Bible. O.T. Minor Prophets—Commentaries. I. Title. BS1560.C65 2012 224'.9077—dc23 2012033893 CONTENTS Abbreviations 5 THE BOOK OF JOEL Introduction 7 Text and Commentary 13 The Plague of Locusts (Joel 1:2–2:27) 13 The Day of Judgment (Joel 3:1–4:21) 23 THE BOOK OF OBADIAH Introduction 30 Text and Commentary 33 Oracles against Edom (Obadiah 1:1-14) 33 The Judgment of the Nations (Obadiah 1:15-21) 37 THE BOOK OF HAGGAI Introduction 41 Text and Commentary 47 The First Oracle (Haggai 1:1-14) 47 The Second Oracle (Haggai 2:1-9) 51 The Third Oracle (Haggai 2:10-19) 55 The Prophecy to Zerubbabel (Haggai 2:20-23) 56 THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Introduction 59 Text and Commentary 68 Proto-Zechariah (Zechariah 1–8) 68 Deutero-Zechariah (Zechariah 9–14) 99 Contents THE BOOK OF MALACHI Introduction 121 Text and Commentary 125 The First Disputation (Malachi 1:2-5) 125 The Second Disputation: The Critique of the Priesthood (Malachi 1:6–2:9) 127 The Third through Sixth Disputations (Malachi 2:10–3:21) 133 The Epilogues (Malachi 3:22-24) 142 Review Aids and Discussion Topics 145 Index of Citations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church 149 4 ABBREVIATIONS Books of the Bible Acts—Acts of the Apostles 2 Kgs—2 Kings Amos—Amos Lam—Lamentations Bar—Baruch Lev—Leviticus 1 Chr—1 Chronicles Luke—Luke 2 Chr—2 Chronicles 1 Macc—1 Maccabees Col—Colossians 2 Macc—2 Maccabees 1 Cor—1 Corinthians Mal—Malachi 2 Cor—2 Corinthians Mark—Mark Dan—Daniel Matt—Matthew Deut—Deuteronomy Mic—Micah Eccl (or Qoh)—Ecclesiastes Nah—Nahum Eph—Ephesians Neh—Nehemiah Esth—Esther Num—Numbers Exod—Exodus Obad—Obadiah Ezek—Ezekiel 1 Pet—1 Peter Ezra—Ezra 2 Pet—2 Peter Gal—Galatians Phil—Philippians Gen—Genesis Phlm—Philemon Hab—Habakkuk Prov—Proverbs Hag—Haggai Ps(s)—Psalms Heb—Hebrews Rev—Revelation Hos—Hosea Rom—Romans Isa—Isaiah Ruth—Ruth Jas—James 1 Sam—1 Samuel Jdt—Judith 2 Sam—2 Samuel Jer—Jeremiah Sir—Sirach Job—Job Song—Song of Songs Joel—Joel 1 Thess—1 Thessalonians John—John 2 Thess—2 Thessalonians 1 John—1 John 1 Tim—1 Timothy 2 John—2 John 2 Tim—2 Timothy 3 John—3 John Titus—Titus Jonah—Jonah Tob—Tobit Josh—Joshua Wis—Wisdom Jude—Jude Zech—Zechariah Judg—Judges Zeph—Zephaniah 1 Kgs—1 Kings 5 INTRODUCTION Joel The book of Joel appears second in the book of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, between Hosea and Amos. In the Greek trans- lation of the Bible, called the Septuagint, it is placed fourth. In general, the arrangement of the book of the Twelve follows a rough chronological order. The eighth-century prophets Hosea and Amos are placed at or near the beginning, while the postexilic prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi are at the end. Joel seems to be an exception to this rule, however. While the book provides little specific evidence of its date, it is generally agreed that it is postexilic. Two considerations favor a late date. First, according to Joel 4:6, some Judeans were sold as slaves to Greeks. This reference suggests a date after the Babylonian exile, when Judah was weak and contacts with Greece were increasing. (It does not necessarily require a date after the conquests of Alexander the Great in approximately 330 b.c.) Second, the portrayal of the day of the Lord and the judgment of the nations resembles the kind of eschatological expectation found in other postexilic texts (e.g., Isa 24–27; Ezek 38–39; Zech 14). There are also several echoes of earlier prophetic books, which suggest that Joel was a latecomer in the prophetic tradition. A date about 400 b.c. is a reasonable guess. If this is correct, Joel may be the latest of the prophets, except for the book of Daniel. In any case, it is likely to be one of the latest books in the prophetic corpus. The reason for its place in the Hebrew Bible is that it has thematic links with the book of Amos. Joel 4:16, “The Lord roars from Zion, / and from Jerusalem raises his voice,” corresponds to Amos 1:2, and the two books also share the theme of the day of the Lord. Structure and composition The book falls into two quite distinct parts. 1:1–2:17 contains a descrip- tion of a plague of locusts and calls on the priests to perform penitential rituals. This is followed by a reply and reassurance from God in 2:18-27. The remainder of the book is concerned with a future time when God will pour out his spirit, save a remnant of the people, and judge the nations. 7 Introduction to the Book of Joel The NABRE follows the Hebrew in distinguishing two more chapters, 3 and 4. Other translations, such as the NRSV, absorb the short chapter 3 into chapter 2 (as 2:28-33). The two parts of the book are linked by the motif of the day of the Lord, but it carries different implications in each section. In the first part of the book, it refers to the plague of locusts. In the second, it is the day of judgment and salvation. There is a clear analogy between the two parts of the book, and it may all be the work of a single prophet. Many scholars, however, think that chapters 3 and 4 are later additions. The plague of locusts Locusts have been an affliction in the Near East down to modern times. They are found in North Africa and the Near East, especially in desert re- gions such as the Sahara and the Arabian peninsula, and also in the Sinai peninsula and the Judean desert. In certain circumstances that are still not fully understood, they swarm and migrate in search of food. The effect of a swarm of locusts is catastrophic. They figure in a vision of Amos (7:1-3), where they eat up all the grass of the land and move the prophet to intercede for the helpless people. Joel gives a particularly vivid account of the plague, comparing the locusts to an invincible army invading the land. We do not know when this particular plague occurred. The account in Joel is remark- able in two respects. First, since the people have no human means of dealing with the locusts, they resort to ritual. The prophet calls on the priests to perform rituals of mourning and cry to the Lord. It is unusual in the Old Testament to find a prophet exhorting priests to perform rituals. More often the prophets were critical of ritual, on the grounds that the true measure of religion was the practice of justice in the marketplace and in social rela- tions. In the postexilic period, the temple cult was of central importance, and we shall see that Haggai and Zechariah were also active in their support of the temple. In face of the plague of locusts, in any case, there was little either priest or prophet could do but cry to the Lord. It is noteworthy, however, that the ritual does not include any confession of sin. The prophets often view catastrophes, such as the destruction of Jerusalem, as punishment for the sin of the people. In this case, the affliction is certainly viewed as an act of God, but there is little suggestion that it is a punishment for sinful behavior. The only passage that might ground such an interpretation is found in Joel 2:12-13, where the prophet, speaking in the name of God, calls on the people to “return to me with your whole heart.” The exhortation to “[r]end your hearts, not your garments” recalls the distrust of ritual that is typical of the preexilic prophets.