The Old Testament of the canonical, Protestant Bible shares nearly identical content as the Jewish Tanakh, yet the two collections differ in the ordering and placement of their books. The Christian Old Testament orders the Jewish sacred scriptures generally into four categories: the Pentateuch, the Historical Books, the Poetical/Wisdom Books, and the Prophetic Books. In contrast, the Jewish Tanakh orders the Hebrew scriptures into three major sections: the Torah (Law/Instruction), the Nevi’im (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings). In light of these differences, the placement of the last book, namely, Malachi in the OT and Chronicles in the Tanakh, is particularly important because it reveals the different ways in which Christian and Jewish communities perceive the Hebrew Bible and communicate its significance.
The Christian Old Testament ends with the book of Malachi, a prophetic book that contains disputation speeches from YHWH to postexilic Israel. After a series of indictments from YHWH, the book concludes with an oracle of doom for “the arrogant and evildoers” (Malachi 4:1) and an oracle of salvation for those “who revere [YHWH’s] name” (Malachi 4:2). Then, YHWH says that He will send the prophet Elijah to Israel before the “day of the LORD” (Malachi 4:5).
With this conclusion, the Christian New Testament begins with multiple mentions of this supposed “Elijah” figure in the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. For example, Mark opens up with a combination of prophecies from Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3 about a prophesized messenger:
“As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” (Mark 1:2-3).
Mark splices Isaiah and Malachi possibly because both texts mention someone “preparing” a way for the Lord. Mark then introduces John the baptizer in the preceding verse with particular attention to his appearance, which resembles the appearance of the prophet Elijah. The Gospel of Mark seems to be claiming that John the baptizer is the fulfillment of the messenger figure (Elijah) from the Malachi prophecy.
Jesus expounds this Christian interpretation of Malachi’s prophecy clearer in the Gospel of Matthew:
“And [Jesus] answered and said, ‘Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.’ Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist” (Matthew 17:11-13; similarly, in Luke 7:27 and Matthew 11:7-10).
Additionally, the angel Gabriel comments on this relationship between Elijah and John the baptizer in Luke:
“With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17).
The author of Mark, Jesus, and the angel Gabriel all appear to claim that John the baptizer was the metaphorical Elijah figure prophesied in the Old Testament.
The Christian communities likely placed Malachi at the end of the Old Testament because they recognized that John the baptizer was the direct fulfillment of the Malachi prophecy. By placing Malachi immediately before the canonical Gospels, the Christians presented a direct transition into the New Testament. Furthermore, Christians may have been inclined to believe that John was the metaphorical Elijah since there are noticeable parallels between the two figures.
For example, both of these figures had similar “hairy” appearances (2 Kings 1:8 and Matthew 3:4), preached a message of repentance (1 Kings 21:27 and Matthew 3:2), and confronted kings (1 Kings 18 and Matthew 14). Additionally, since “Elijah” is said to come before the day of the LORD in Malachi, and John the baptizer (the “Elijah” figure according to Christians) comes before the ministry of Jesus Christ, Christians seem to recognize and bolster their message that Jesus Christ is Lord, which is in accordance with other New Testament teachings (e.g. Philippians 2:11, John 20:28, and Romans 10:9).
Finally, Jesus acknowledges and asserts that this Christian interpretation of seeing John the baptizer as “Elijah” takes willingness to believe:
“And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come” (Matthew 11:14).
For Christians who believe in Jesus, John the baptizer functions as the Elijah/messenger figure from Malachi, but for the Jewish leaders who don’t believe in Jesus, John the baptizer was not the fulfillment of the Malachi prophecy. Instead, most Jews believed (and still believe) that the literal Elijah will come and announce the arrival of the Messiah.
While the Christian Old Testament ends with the book of Malachi, the Jewish Tanakh concludes with the last book of the Ketuvim: the Chronicles (written as a combination of 1, 2 Chronicles). The last chapter of 2 Chronicles documents the decline of Judah and the end of YHWH’s patience towards the Jews because they had rejected the prophets (2 Chronicles 36:15-17). Then, the Chaldeans/Babylonians destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, killed some Jews while exiling others, and relocated the treasures of Jerusalem to Babylon. However, the story does not end there. The Chronicler time shifts ahead to the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, who declares the end of the exile and the return of the Jews to Jerusalem, encouraging them to rebuild their temple:
“‘Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the LORD his God be with him! Let him go up’” (2 Chronicles 36:23).
It is also important to note that the Chronicler mentions how the return from exile is “in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah” (2 Chronicles 36:22). This interpretive comment likely served to reassure and remind the Judean exiles of God’s sovereign rule and promise-keeping throughout history.
Because the Jewish ordering of sacred scriptures was finalized after the second destruction of the temple in Jerusalem by the Romans, the Jewish communities likely placed the optimistic conclusion of the Chronicles at the end of the Tanakh to comfort the Jews whose temple had been destroyed again. Recalling YHWH’s faithfulness in the past would provide hope for future Jews who would long for the rebuilding of their temple. Furthermore, by ending with the fulfillment of a prophecy from Jeremiah, Jewish communities likely wanted to reemphasize the power of prophetic words a final time. Naturally, this would also prompt the Jews to recall the central message of the Tanakh: YHWH will keep His eternal covenant with the people of Israel and send the Messiah, the redeemer of the Jewish people.
On the other hand, in the Christian Old Testament, 1 and 2 Chronicles is placed within the Historical Books because of their close, historical association with 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and postexilic books like Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.
Christians likely bridge the gap between the Old Testament and New Testament with the book of Malachi so that the prophecy of “Elijah” can be easily alluded to in the Synoptic Gospels, since they believe that Malachi’s prophecy is not literally about Elijah’s return but about the return of one who is like Elijah in appearance and role as a prophet. This ordering is quite fitting and understandable because Christians interpret the Jewish Scriptures with a Christocentric focus, exegeting texts using typologies and allegories.
On the other hand, the Jewish Tanakh ends with the Chronicles (which is placed among the Historical Books in the Christian tradition) possibly so that Jewish communities could better cope with their disheartening circumstances (i.e. destruction of their temple by the Romans). Remembering the faithfulness of YHWH through King Cyrus’s promising edict would strengthen the Jews’ faith that their temple would once again be rebuilt.
Ultimately, the Christian and Jewish communities likely had specific intentions (of which one can only speculate) for the placement of the final book in the Hebrew Bible. Driven by faith and conviction, both communities likely sought to use every means possible, such as the ordering of the Hebrew Scriptures, to further communicate their message to the world.