Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Malachi 4:6 as Possible Evidence for Open Theism

  

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. (Mal 4:6 [Heb 3:23])

 

Commenting on this well-known Old Testament prophecy, Pieter Verhoef (at the time of writing, Professor Emeritus of the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa) wrote the following, showing that the prophecy reflects a rather “Open” view of the future:

 

The seriousness of Elijah’s mission must be conceived of in the light of the possibility that he might not succeed. The consequences are introduced by the “conjunction of rejection,” Heb. pen, “lest,” “otherwise” (see Driver, Tenses, § 41; GKC, § 107q). (Pieter A. Verhoef, The Books of Haggai and Malachi [NICOT; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1987], 343)

 

With respect to the grammatical sources he cites supporting this reading, here they are reproduced for reference:

 

Lastly, the imperfect is used after final conjunctions, as לְמַֽעַן, בְַּעַבוּר in order that, פֶּן lest; further, after אוּלַי perhaps, the other similar words. S.R. Driver, A Treatise on the Use of the Tenses in Hebrew [1874], § 41)

 

(3) In dependent clauses after final conjunctions (§ 165 b), as אֲשֶׁר, Gn 11:7 (אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִשְׁמְעוּ that they may not understand); בַּֽעֲבוּר Gn 21:30, 27:4, 19, Ex 9:14, &c.; לְמַ֫עַן אֲשֶׁר Nu 17:5; לְמַ֫עַן Dt 4:1, Ps 51:6, 78:6, and אֲשֶׁר יַעַ֫ן Ez 12:12, in order that; לְבִלְתִּי thatnot, Ex 20:20, 2 S 14:14; also after פֶּן־ that not, lest, Gn 3:22, 11:4, 19:15, &c.; cf. also the instances introduced by וְלֹא in § 109 g.—In Lv 9:6 such an imperfect (or jussive? see the examples in § 109 f) is added to the expression of the command by an asyndeton, and in La 1:19 to the principal clause simply by וְ: while they sought them food וְיָשִׁ֫יבוּ אֶת־נַפְשָׁם to refresh their souls (cf. also La 3:26, it is good and let him hope, i.e. that he should hope); so after an interrogative clause, Ex 2:7. Finally also in a relative clause, Ps 32:8 בְּדֶ֫רֶךְ־זוּ תֵלֵךְ in the way which thou shouldst go. (Friedrich Wilhelm Gesenius, Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar [ed. E. Kautzsch and Sir Arthur Ernest Cowley; 2d English ed.; Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1910], 318 [§ 107q])