Wakening a Sleeping Metaphor: A New Interpretation of Malachi 1:11

Abstract

From the early history of the Christian church and onwards, interpreters have suggested that Malachi 1:11 presents a universalism, i.e., that the surrounding nations of post-exilic Judah actually worshipped YHWH as the one true God by their sacrifices. In this article I propose that neither this solution, nor any other previously proposed solution does sufficient justice to Malachi 1:11. Instead, I propose that we focus on how the author uses metaphorical language to strengthen his argument. In doing so, however, the author creates a new metaphor that continues to challenge the understanding of the reader.