Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Åke Viberg on Malachi 1:11

  

For YHWH Elyon is feared,

a great king over all the earth. (Psa 47:3)

 

For God is king of all the earth. (Psa 47:8)

 

God rules over the nations;

God sits on his holy throne. (Psa 47:9)

 

For YHWH is a great God,

a great king over all gods. (Psa 95:3)

 

For YHWH is great; and greatly to be praised;

he is feared above all gods. (Psa 96:4)

 

In his 1994 article, on Malachi 1:11, Åke Viberg enlisted the above texts from the book of Psalms to argue for a metaphorical reading of Mal 1:11:

 

The similarity between these Psalms and the language used in Malachi 1:11 makes it likely that the cultic situation has generated the basic form of the latter metaphorical expressions. Since the metaphor in v. 11 concerns the sacrificial system, and since the particular terminology used in forming the metaphor in v. 11 has its origin and probably its most well-known use in the Israelite cult, this conclusion becomes all the more likely.

 

The author of Malachi 1:11 has elaborated upon the standard metaphor 'YHWH is king' to suit his particular context, which is his polemic against the negligent priests. In such a case the metaphor takes on a new and innovative aspect, and hence becomes more difficult to understand. We could say that the author has wakened a slumbering metaphor and transformed it into a new and challenging one, while at the same time hindering the readers' capacity to comprehend. This is why, in constructing a novel metaphor, the difficult path must be taken between the unique and challenging on the one hand and the incomprehensible on the other. This tenuous balance between incomprehensibility and provocativeness can be seen in certain adjustments the author has made in the construction of v. 11, both in the elaborations that were described above, but also in the vocabulary that is chosen to describe the sacrifices. The author found it too disrespectful to use conventional sacrificial terminology in this figurative sense, and therefore selected synonymous forms that did not bear the same connotations as the more technical terminology. This same reticence is seen in the author's reference to incense offerings instead of cereal and meat offerings. The author considered it improper to use the latter sacrifices in his metaphor. Another adjustment is found in the passive construction that the author uses to describe the sacrificial act. The author refrains from explicitly stating that the nations perform these sacrifices, though this conclusion is clearly implicit in the metaphor. . . .In v. 11 the author applies this basic metaphor from v. 14 to the area of cultic life by means of certain elaborations, as was shown above. He thereby achieves a more complex metaphor in v. 11 with the meaning 'YHWH is the great king who should be worshipped as such.' Verse 11 therefore provides the basis for the demands that YHWH makes regarding proper cultic practice in vv. 7-10. The nations are merely used as an instrument to enhance the image of YHWH as the reigning God, an instrument that is part of the vehicle that conveys a certain message concerning the topic, i.e., YHWH, by means of metaphor.

 

. . .

 

The narrative that surrounds v. 11 presents a particular narrative problems, as was shown above in the review of earlier interpretations. To neglect the figurative character of a metaphorical statement and instead attempt to interpret the metaphor literally cannot but create acute problems with the context that gave the statement its metaphorical character in the first place. This development is precisely what can be seen in the history of interpretation of Malachi 1:11. (Åke Viberg, “Wakening A Sleeping Metaphor: A New Interpretation of Malachi 1:11,” Tyndale Bulletin 45, no. 2 [1994]: 314-16)

 

 

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