Is Malachi 4 Fake? How Stephen Langton Changed Your Bible Forever

The Return of Elijah – Misconstrued Through 13th-Century Fiddling

Scripture:
Mattityahu (Mat) 17:10 CJB [10] The talmidim asked him, “Then why do the Torah-teachers say that Eliyahu must come first?”
See on Complete Jewish Bible on Bible.com

Have you ever wondered exactly where the Elijah prophecy is that the disciples were referring to? If you are reading the scriptures in the original Hebrew, it is found in Malachi 3—but not in many English translations!

Who Dared Cut Holy Scriptures Apart?

Table of Contents

• How Eliyahu’s Return Got Shifted
• The Impact of Man-Made Breaks
• Recommended Translations

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How Eliyahu’s Return Got Shifted to Malachi 4 (and the Misunderstandings This Causes)

In the 13th century, the Bible was translated from the original languages into Latin. A few centuries later, an instructor—trying to keep all his students on the same page—came up with the idea of numbering the chapters in the Latin Vulgate. Unfortunately, rather than preserving the breaks in the Hebrew scriptures, he sometimes broke the writing into sections in some very strange ways. These man-made breaks still cause problems for people today.

A satirical illustration of Archbishop Stephen Langton (c. 1150–1228) "editing" the Bible. Known for introducing the modern chapter divisions we use today, Langton is depicted here physically cutting the text of Malachi to create a man-made break, which the artist suggests obscures the prophetic connection between the Old and New Testaments.

One of the scriptural passages that underwent this chopping was Malachi 3. This chapter contains a very important prophecy about the return of Eliyahu (also known as Elijah).

In his supposed efforts to make the scriptures easier to understand, Stephen Langton overstepped his authority and lopped six verses off the end of Malachi 3. He then used them to start "Malachi 4," beginning with those all-important words about the return of Elijah. Whatever possessed him to monkey around with scripture order that had been carefully preserved for centuries totally baffles me.

Many people reading a version of the Bible based on the Latin Vulgate numbering cannot be blamed for thinking that Malachi 3 is a separate and distinct prophecy from the return of Elijah.

In addition to this major misunderstanding, the contrast between the fate of people who worship the Creator and those who do not totally loses its impact. Why? Because the Latin Vulgate numbering system starts Malachi 4 with the description of what will befall others, physically separating it from the context of the preceding verses.

If reading scriptures in a translation closer to the original numbering is as important to you as it is to me, you might want to pick up a copy of one of these:

• The Complete Jewish Bible (CJB): This version explicitly follows the Hebrew chapter divisions, ending Malachi at chapter 3.
• The Scriptures (ISR): A Messianic translation that restores the original Hebrew order and maintains Malachi as a three-chapter book.
• The Israel Bible: A Tanakh translation that keeps the prophecy within its original contextual flow in Malachi 3.

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How do you read the Word? Does the chapter numbering change how you see the connection between these prophecies? Share your thoughts in the comments below!