tribe of Zebulon; and had his name from his beautiful
form, and unblemished life; and that he died very
~oung, and was buried in his own field. The time of
is prophesylag is not agreed on: the Jews commonly
make him cotemporary with Hsggai and Zechariah;
they say s that Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, all
of them prophesied in the second year of Darius; and
Ganz, their chronologer {}, places the death of these
prophets together in one year; but he seems to be later
than they: Haggai prophesied before the building of
the temple; Zechariah about the time of it; and Ma-
lachi after it, when the temple was rebuilt, and the
worship of God restored and settled; and when both
priests and people were become very corrupt and de-
generate, of which he complains; so that it is possible
that he might live a century after the other prophets,
and about four centuries before the coming of Christ,
during which time prophecy ceased; though some
think he lived not long before the times of Christ,
which is not probable. Bishop Usheri makes him co-
temporary with Nehemiah, and places him in the year
betbre the Christian era 4t6; and Mr. Whiston {k} in the
year 400; Mr. Bedford {l} in the year 424 i however,
t'his book has been always accounted authentic,. and a
part of the canon of the Scripture; and is confirmed
by;the passages cited out of it, and the references made
unto it, in the New Testament, Matt. xi. 10. Mark i.
2. Rom. ix. 1. Matt. xv:,i. 12. Mark ix. 11, lo.. Luke
i. 17. The general design of it is to reprove the Jews
for their ingratitnde to the Lord, their neglect and
contempt of his worship, and breach of his laws; and
to raise in the minds of the truly godly an expecta-
tion of the Messiah, and' Iris forerunner, John the
Baptist.

In this chapter the Lord declares .his love to the peo-
ple of Israel, and proves it; and complains that the
honour due unto him was not given him; which he
demonstrates by various instances. The inscription .is
in vet. 1. shewing the name and nature of the pro-
phecy; the author of it; the people to whom it was
sent; and the name of the person by whom. In ver. 2
the Lord affirms his love to the people of Israel, which
they called in .question; and proves it to be real, spe-
cial, and distinguishing, by the instanceof Jacob and
Esau, two brothers; yet one, their ancestor, was
loved, and the other hated; which latter is proved by
the desolations made in his country, and by the fruit-
less attempts made to repair and rebuild; which was so
clear a proof of the Lord's indignation ,against him,
that the Israelites could not but see it, and would be
.obliged to confess it, to the glory of God, ver. 3, 4, 5.
hence he passes on to observe the honour arid fear
that were due to him as a father and .master, which
were not shewn him; but, instead thereof, he was de-
spised, and even by the priests themselves, with which
they are charged, ver. 6. and which being objected to
by them, is proved by offering polluted bread on his
altar; and by polluting him. in saying his table was
ú .contemptible; and by sacrificing the blind, the lame,
.and the sick, unto him; things which would be justly
resented, if offered to a temporal prince and governor,
yet. 7. 8. wherefore they are called upon by the prophet
to pray to the Lord for grace and mercy for the people,
seeing it was by their means (the priests) that these
flyings were done; though it was questionable whether
the Lord would have any regard to them, yet. 9. their
sins being so dreadfully aggravated; and particularly,
inasmuch as they did not serve in the temple, not so
much as shut a door, or kindle a fire .on the altaro for
nothing, without being paid for it.; hence the Lord
declares he had no pleasure in them, nor would heaccept
their offerings; but would call the Gentiles by his
grace, among whom his name wodld be great from
one end of the earth to the other; and incense and
pure offerings would be offered by them to him, vet,
10, 11. and then h6renews the charge against them,
that they had profaned his name, by saying that his
table, and the fruit thereof, were polluted, and his
meat contemptible; by expressing a weariness in his
worship, . and a contempt of it; and by bringing the
torn, the lame, and sick, as an offering to him, vet.
12, 13. upon which such sacrificers are declared de-
ceivers, and pronounced accursed, which they might
assure themselves was and would be their case; since
he was a great King, and his name dreadful among the
Heathen, ver. 14.
Ver. 1. The burden of the word of the Lord, &c.]
By which is meant the prophecy of this book, so
called, not because heavy, burdensome, and distress-
ing, either for the prophet to carry, or the people to
bear; for some part ot it, which respects Christ, and.
his forerunner, was matter of joy to the people of
God; but because it was a message sent by the Lord,
and carried by the prophet to_t, he people; see the
notes on Zech. ix. 1. and xii. 1. and this was not the
wordof man, but of God, a part of Scripture, by di-
vine inspiration. The Syriac version is, the vision of
the words .of the Lord: and the Arabic version, the re-
velation of the word of the Lord; and the Septuagint
version, the assumption of the word of the Lord; it was
what was revealed, made known, and deliv. ered by the
Lord to the prophet, and take_n up by him, and car-
ried to Israel,- which was the general name of all the
twelve tribes, when under one. prince; but when the
kingdom was divided, in Rehoboam's time, it was pe-
culiar to the ten tribes, as Judah was to the two tribes
of Benjamin and Judah; but after the return of these
two from the Babylonish captivity, in which they
were joined by some. of the other tribes, it was given
unto them as here: by Malachi; or, by the hand of


{g} T. Bab. Megillah, fol. 15. 1. Seder Olam Rabba, c. 20. p. 55.
{h} Ganz, Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 18. 1.
{i} Annales Vet. Test. A. M. 3589.
{k} Chronological Tables, cent. 12.
{l} Scripture Chronology, p. 725.