to give · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
fear
מוֹרָ֖אmo.Ra'
H4172
fear · noun, common masculine singular absolute
feared
וַיִּֽירָאֵ֑נִיvai.yi.ra.'E.ni
H3372
to fear · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
afraid
נִחַ֥תni.Chat
H2865
properly · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
before
וּמִפְּנֵ֥יu.mi.pe.Nei
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
name
שְׁמִ֖יshe.Mi
H8034
an appellation · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Numbers 25:12-13 Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:
Ezekiel 37:26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them,…
Ezekiel 34:25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the w…
Exodus 32:26-29 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered thems…
Numbers 16:9-10 Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himse…
Numbers 3:45 Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the L…
Numbers 8:15 And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them…
Numbers 18:8-24 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Malachi 2:1-9
What was said in the foregoing chapter was directed to the priests (Mal 1:6): Thus saith the Lord of hosts to you, O priests! that despise my name. But the crimes there charged upon them they were guilty of as sacrificers, and for those they might think it some excuse that they offered what the people brought, and therefore that, if they were not so good as they should be, it was not their fault, but the people's; and therefore here the corruptions there complained of are traced to the source and spring of them - the faults the priests were guilty of as teachers of the people, as expositors of the law and the lively oracles; and this is a part of their office which still remains in the hands…
He describes the promises, and also the conditions of the covenant; Levi's observance of the conditions and reward (compare Num 25:11-13, Phinehas' zeal); and on the other hand the violation of the conditions, and consequent punishment of the present priests. "Life" here includes the perpetuity implied in Num 25:13, "everlasting priesthood." "Peace" is specified both here and there. MAURER thus explains it; the Hebrew is, literally, "My covenant was with him, life and peace (to be given him on My part), and I gave them to him: (and on his part) fear (that is, reverence), and he did fear Me," &c. The former portion of the verse expresses the promise, and Jehovah's fulfilment of it; the latter…
My covenant was with him of life and peace,.... Not with Aaron, nor with Phinehas; nor is it to be understood of a covenant, promising temporal life and outward prosperity to either of them; Aaron living a hundred and twenty three years, Numbers 33:39 and Phinehas, according to some Jewish writers, above three hundred years, which they gather from Judges 20:28 but of the covenant made with Christ from everlasting, called "a covenant of life", because it was made with Christ the Word of life, who was with the Father from all eternity, and in time was made manifest in the flesh; and was made in behalf of persons ordained to eternal life, and in which that was promised and given to them in him;…
The Church Fathers
A little further on Malachi speaks of Christ, again in the person of God: "My covenant was with him of life and peace, and I gave him fear; and he feared me, and he was afraid before my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and equity and turned many away from iniquity. For the lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the laws at his mouth because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts." No one should be astonished to hear Christ spoken of as "the angel of the Lord of hosts." He was called his servant because he came to humanity in the form of a servant; similarly he was called an angel because of the evangel, which he brought to humankind.
(Verse 5 onwards) My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave him fear, and he feared me, and trembled at the presence of my name. LXX: My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave him fear to fear me, and he was in awe of the presence of my name. It is described from the perspective of God, the perfect duty of a priest, what he should be like, and how God wanted him to be, whom he commanded to be. For He had said above, 'On account of the pact between Me and Levi,' says the Lord of Hosts, 'and it was through Levi the Patriarch that the pact reached his descendants, Aaron, Eleazar, Phinehas, and others who were generated from his lineage. But now in the end, He says, 'You have made void the pact with Levi,' says the Lord of Hosts. From this, it is clear that everything that is said about Levi pertains to the priests and specifically to the high priest. We read in Numbers about Phinehas, who killed Zimri and the Midianite woman with a sword. Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, caused My fury to rest upon the Israelites because he was zealous for My honor and did not let Me destroy the Israelites in My anger. Therefore, I said, 'Behold, I will give him the covenant of peace, and it shall be for him and his descendants after him a covenant of eternal priesthood.' This is because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.' (Numbers 25:11) But let us not consider the testament or pact of life to be that which is common to us with animals and all living creatures, but that which says: I am the life (John 14:7). For indeed our life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3): of whom we can say that he himself is our peace, as the Apostle affirms: For he himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:14). Therefore, the Lord gave to Levi and through him to his descendants, that they might fear him; for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10), and they should fear and withdraw themselves from his presence, showing the fear of the mind by the horror of the body, according to what is written: On whom shall I rest, except on the humble and quiet and trembling one who keeps my words? (Isaiah 66:2) Some falsely think that what is said about Levi and through Levi to the priests should be understood about Christ, not considering the things that follow, which are contrary to the person of Christ.
Dictionary and topics
Adultery · 29:22,23; — 29:22,23;
Jews, The · Had an ecclesiastical establishment — Had an ecclesiastical establishment
Levites · Religious zeal of — Religious zeal of
Peace · SPIRITUAL — SPIRITUAL
Peace, Spiritual · Established by covenant — Established by covenant
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Malachi 2:5
5. My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.
5. Foedus meum fuit cum eo vitae et pacis; et dedi illi timorem; et timuit me, et a facie nominis mei contritus fuit.
The Prophet now proves more clearly how God violates not his covenant, when he freely rebukes the priests, and exposes also their false attempts in absurdly applying to themselves the covenant of God, like the Papal priests at this day, who say that they are the Church. How? because they have in a regular order succeeded the apostles; but this is a foolish and ridiculous definition; for he who occupies the place of another ou…
To explain and show the reason for this thought, the real nature of the covenant made with Levi is described in Mal 2:5-7; and Mal 2:8 and Mal 2:9 then show how the priests have neutralized this covenant by forsaking the way of their fathers, so that God is obliged to act differently towards them now, and deliver them up to shame and ignominy. Mal 2:5. "My covenant was with him life and salvation, and I lent them to him for fear, and he feared me and trembled before my name. Mal 2:6. Law of truth was in his mouth and there was no perversity on his lips, he walked with me in salvation and integrity, and brought back many from guilt. Mal 2:7. For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and me…
my covenant with the Levites: If the Levites would give themselves to serving God and forsake their own glory, God would give them life and peace (2:5; cp. Num 8:5-26; 25:12-13). Their special responsibility was to teach God’s instructions (Mal 2:7).
