The Meaning of Malachi 2:10 Explained

Malachi 2:10

KJV: Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?

YLT: Have we not all one father? Hath not our God prepared us? Wherefore do we deal treacherously, Each against his brother, To pollute the covenant of our fathers?

Darby: Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us? Why do we deal unfaithfully every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?

ASV: Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?

Discover Malachi 2:10

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Malachi 2:10?

MEANING: What does Malachi 2:10 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Malachi 2:10 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Malachi 2:10?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Have we not all one  father?  hath not one  God  created  us? why do we deal treacherously  every man  against his brother,  by profaning  the covenant  of our fathers? 

What does Malachi 2:10 Mean?

Study Notes

Have we not all one
Cf. Acts 17:24-29 . In both instances the reference is to creation, not the new birth.

Verse Meaning

In view of their common brotherhood in the family of God, it was inappropriate for the Israelites to treat each other as enemies and deal treacherously with each other. They should have treated each other as brothers and supported one another ( Leviticus 19:18). By dealing treacherously with each other they had made the covenant that God had made with their ancestors virtually worthless; they could not enjoy the blessings of the Mosaic Covenant.
". . . the Mosaic covenant was by Malachi"s time understood as a quaint, archaic document too restrictive to be taken seriously and inapplicable to a "modern" age-virtually the same way that most people in modern Western societies view the Bible today." [1]
The Lord addressed the entire nation of Israel in this address, not specifically the priests as in the former one. His concern, as expressed through His messenger Malachi , was the peoples" indifference toward His will. They were blaming their social and economic troubles on the Lord"s supposed injustice and indifference to them ( Malachi 2:17). Furthermore they were being unfaithful to one another, especially their wives whom the husbands were apparently abandoning for foreign women. These conditions profaned the temple and the Mosaic Covenant ( Malachi 2:10-15 a). The Lord"s command, which lies in the center of the section (as in the first and third exhortations), was for the people to stop their treachery toward one another ( Malachi 2:15-16). Thus the major emphasis of this second main section of Malachi is social responsibility (love for and relationship with people), whereas the major emphasis of the first major section was theological (love for and relationship with God). First positive and, later, negative motivations act as bookends surrounding the Lord"s command (cf. Malachi 1:2-5; Malachi 2:1-9; and Malachi 3:10-12; Malachi 3:16 to Malachi 4:3).
"The style of the third oracle [1] differs from the others. Instead of an initial statement or charge followed by a question of feigned innocence, this oracle begins with three questions asked by the prophet. However, as at the beginning of each of the other oracles, the point is presented at the outset." [2]

Context Summary

Malachi 2:1-17 - The Transgression Of The Covenant
As a contrast to the disgraceful attitude which the prophet had described as characteristic of the priesthood, he paints the picture of the noble priest, whose burning zeal for God's honor averted evil and punishment from the people. It is desirable that each servant of God should seek to exemplify these traits of character, for it is only they who walk with God in peace and equity who can turn away "many from iniquity." The prophet reproves those who had put away their Jewish wives and had contracted marriage with foreigners. In doing this they had ignored the fact that God was the Father of the Hebrew race, of the women as well as the men, in an especial sense in which He was not the Father of the heathen. In answer to the argument of the Jews, who demanded a plurality of wives, Malachi says that God originally made only one woman for one man, though He could have made many. It was a sin, therefore, against the original constitution of the race for a man to have more than one wife, and this is the argument that our Lord employed in Matthew 19:4. The one man for the one woman is the secret of a happy home-life and of a godly seed. [source]

Chapter Summary: Malachi 2

1  He sharply reproves the priests for neglecting their covenant;
10  and the people for marrying strange wives;
13  and for putting away their former ones,
17  and for infidelity

What do the individual words in Malachi 2:10 mean?

Have we not Father one all Has not God one created us why do we deal treacherously one with another by profaning the covenant of the fathers
הֲל֨וֹא ؟ אָ֤ב אֶחָד֙ לְכֻלָּ֔נוּ הֲל֛וֹא אֵ֥ל אֶֽחָ֖ד בְּרָאָ֑נוּ מַדּ֗וּעַ נִבְגַּד֙ אִ֣ישׁ בְּאָחִ֔יו לְחַלֵּ֖ל בְּרִ֥ית ؟ אֲבֹתֵֽינוּ

הֲל֨וֹא  Have  we  not 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
؟ אָ֤ב  Father 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
אֶחָד֙  one 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: אֶחָד  
Sense: one (number).
הֲל֛וֹא  Has  not 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
אֵ֥ל  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֵל 
Sense: god, god-like one, mighty one.
אֶֽחָ֖ד  one 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: אֶחָד  
Sense: one (number).
בְּרָאָ֑נוּ  created  us 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular, first person common plural
Root: בָּרָא 
Sense: to create, shape, form.
מַדּ֗וּעַ  why 
Parse: Interrogative
Root: מַדּוּעַ  
Sense: why?, on what account?, wherefore?.
נִבְגַּד֙  do  we  deal  treacherously 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common plural
Root: בָּגַד  
Sense: to act treacherously, deceitfully, deal treacherously.
אִ֣ישׁ  one 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
בְּאָחִ֔יו  with  another 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָח  
Sense: brother.
לְחַלֵּ֖ל  by  profaning 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Piel, Infinitive construct
Root: חָלַל 
Sense: to profane, defile, pollute, desecrate, begin.
בְּרִ֥ית  the  covenant 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: בְּרִית  
Sense: covenant, alliance, pledge.
؟ אֲבֹתֵֽינוּ  of  the  fathers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common plural
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.

What are the major concepts related to Malachi 2:10?

Loading Information...

Similar Scriptures for Malachi 2:10

Psalms 100:3 [22]
Malachi 2:11 [16]
1 Corinthians 8:6 [8]
Ephesians 4:6 [7]
Isaiah 64:8 [5]
John 8:41 [5]
Isaiah 63:16 [5]
Jeremiah 9:4-5 [4]
Isaiah 51:2 [3]
Ezekiel 33:24 [3]
Matthew 3:9 [3]
read more (32)
Luke 1:73 [3]
Ezra 9:11-14 [3]
Micah 7:2-6 [3]
Isaiah 43:1 [3]
John 8:56 [3]
Isaiah 43:15 [3]
Exodus 34:10-16 [3]
1 Thessalonians 4:6 [3]
Luke 3:8 [3]
Matthew 22:16 [3]
Hebrews 12:9 [3]
Malachi 2:14-15 [3]
Romans 4:1 [3]
John 8:39 [3]
Joshua 24:3 [3]
Exodus 19:5 [3]
Romans 9:10 [3]
Acts 7:2 [3]
Malachi 2:8 [3]
Joshua 23:12-16 [3]
Malachi 1:6 [3]
Isaiah 44:2 [3]
1 Corinthians 6:6-8 [3]
John 8:53 [3]
Isaiah 43:7 [3]
Acts 7:26 [3]
Ezra 10:2-3 [3]
Matthew 10:21 [3]
Ephesians 4:25 [3]
Job 31:15 [3]
Nehemiah 13:29 [3]
Acts 17:25 [3]
read less