Keywords
Book of the Twelve
Elijah
Phineas
Allusion
Second Temple
How to Cite
Abstract
This article demonstrates that the figures of Phineas and Elijah are conflated within the Hebrew Bible. This conflation occurs via literary connections between portrayals of Elijah in Kings and Phineas in Numbers. The conflation is shown to be assumed by the book of Malachi and is considered important for understanding key texts within the book of Malachi. This conflation makes sense of the eschatological Elijah tradition found in the appendix of Malachi which is otherwise unprecedented within the Hebrew Bible. The resulting priestly Elijah via the conflation of the prophet with the priest Phineas is shown to have rhetorical power for the book of Malachi which castigates corrupt priests serving in the second temple. The tradition of conflating Elijah and Phineas is shown to be present in other Second Temple Jewish texts which enhances the plausibility that Malachi shares in this tradition.
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