I hear occasionally over pulpits and on the internet that 400 years of silence persisted between the Old and New Testaments. This allegedly marks the time between Malachi’s prediction of the future coming of Elijah (Malachi 4:5–6) and the arrival of John the Baptist, interpreted as the coming of the new Elijah (Matt 11:13–14; Mark 9:11–13; Luke 1:17).
However, nowhere in Scripture does the Bible clearly speak of a period of four hundred years of silence between Testaments, whether in Malachi, the Gospels, or somewhere else.
Most scholars these days date Malachi during Darius’s reign in the late 400’s BCE (rather than at the end of Artaxerxes’s reign c. 424 BCE). The entire range of options, depending on which scholar, is normally between 515 to 445 BCE (see Paul L. Redditt, Haggai Zechariah, Malachi, NCBC, 150). Hence, the duration of 400 years is not exactly an accurate figure.
Sometimes what is meant by the alleged silence is not altogether clear. Does this mean that the Holy Spirit departed from God’s people during this period? Or does it mean that no prophetic word existed? Does it mean that after Malachi no other inspired writings took place until the New Testament?
Regardless of which of these questions we might raise, the results are the same—evidence does not generally support a period of silence of this magnitude.
The Spirit and Prophetic Word Missing between Malachi and the Gospels?
It is true that in the Synoptic Gospels John the Baptist is considered the new Elijah (e.g., Matt 11:13-14, but see my post on the counter-evidence in John 1:21). This does not mean, however, that no one possessed the Spirit or prophetic gifts between Malachi and John.
John R. Levison’s studies on the Holy Spirit during the Second Temple period prompt him to assert that: “Four of the most substantial extant sources, in fact—Ben Sira, Philo, Josephus, and the Dead Sea Scrolls—contain vivid claims to experiences of the Spirit during the Second Temple period [c. 516 BCE—70 CE]. Ben Sira … depicts the scribe who, ‘filled with (a) spirit of understanding,’ pours out words of wisdom (Sir 39:6–8).” (“Spirit, Holy,” in the Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism, 2:755; further, Levison, The Spirit in First Century Judaism, Leiden: Brill, 1997).
In addition, “Philo Judaeus more than once attributes his allegorical interpretation to the Spirit (Somn. 2.252; Spec. 3:1–6; Cher. 27–29). Similarly, Josephus experiences dreams by which he claims to receive the inspired ability to interpret prophecies (J.W. 3.351–53).” (ibid.)
And not to be outdone, “The author of the hymns in the Dead Sea Scrolls thanks God for the Spirit, which inspires him to understand divine mysteries (e.g. 1QH xx 11–12).” (ibid.)
It is also noteworthy that many Jewish writings during this same period include the markings of prophetic and apocalyptic genres, such as 1 Enoch, Jubilees, Psalms of Solomon, the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs (early version), the War Scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls, and so on. Regardless of these being mostly non-canonical books, many Jews who knew of such works would hardly consider them to be silent regarding prophecy!
John Hyrcanus and His Prophetic Gift
During this same period John Hyrcanus (c. 164–104 BCE), an Israelite leader during the Hasmonean dynasty, became governor and high priest. According to Josephus, he conversed with God and had “the gift of prophecy” (Josephus, Jewish Wars 1.68–69).
Josephus writes further about him that he “was esteemed by God worthy of the three privileges,—the government of his nation, the dignity of the high priesthood, and prophecy; for God was with him, and enabled him to know futurities; and to foretell this in particular, that, as to his two eldest sons, he foretold that they would not long continue in the government of public affairs…” (Antiquities 13.299–300; Flavius Josephus, The Works of Josephus, tr. William Whiston, Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987: 355).
No Inspired Writings during this Time?
Of course, we open up a can of worms by the claim that the Apocrypha was written during the alleged silent period. Both the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church include these books in their Bibles, such as 1 and 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Sirach, Wisdom of Solomon, and others.*
Nevertheless, if we are speaking about the modern American Protestant biblical canon, or the Jewish Torah, both of these have only 39 Old Testament books; they exclude the Apocrypha (However, in the Hebrew Bible, unlike the Protestant Bible, 2 Chronicles rather than Malachi ends the canon.)
But even if we limit the canon to 39, it is still not clear that all these books were written in their completed form before 400 BCE. For example, one of the foremost apocalyptic authorities, John J. Collins, writes regarding the Book of Daniel, “The visions in Daniel 7–12 were composed in the years 167–163 b.c.e. All but the epilogue in 12:5–13 was composed before the rededication of the temple and before the news of Epiphanes’ death became known in Jerusalem, and so before the end of 164” (Collins, Daniel, Hermenia, 1993:61).
E. C. Lucas provides the current scholarly opinion regarding Daniel: “Although most scholars favor a Maccabean date [167–63] for the final form of Daniel, there are still those who argue for a sixth-or early fifth-century date” (E. C. Lucas, “Daniel: Book of,” Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets, IVP, 2012:119 [110–23.]).
But even if we, against the majority of scholars, were to consider Daniel to be entirely written prior to 400 BCE, there is still another problem:
The Septuagint
The Septuagint (LXX), the Greek version of the “Old Testament,” was written during the alleged silent years in the reign King Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Alexandria (c. 285–247 BCE). For the story of this translation, see the Letter of Aristeas (in J. H. Charlesworth, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha).
Virtually every scholar recognizes that this is the “Bible” most often quoted by New Testament authors, including the Apostle Paul. The reason is clear enough—most of the original audiences were gentiles who did not know the Hebrew and Aramaic languages. When 2 Timothy 3:16 claims that “Scripture” is “inspired by God,” the Septuagint is probably foremost in view.
So why does the View about the 400 Silent Years Persist?
Levison explains in relation to the Spirit reportedly leaving Israel that “negative assessment of Judaism is based upon a misreading of a passage in Tosefta Sotah 13:2–4 and a smattering of other texts (Ps 74:9; Pr Azar 15; 1 Macc 4:46, 9:27, 14:41; Josephus, Ag. Ap. 1.37–41; 2 Bar 85:3).” Such texts in different ways may be represented by the psalmist who despairs that “there is no longer a prophet” at the particular time of the writing.
Josephus, Against Apion, wrote, “It is true, our history hath been written since Artaxerxes very particularly, but hath not been esteemed of the like authority with the former by our forefathers, because there hath not been an exact succession of prophets since that time; and how firmly we have given credit to those books of our own nation, is evident by what we do; for during so many ages as have already passed, no one has been so bold as either to add anything to them, to take anything from them, or to make any change in them” (1.41–42; cf. 1.8).
But this does not appear to be claiming that there were no prophets or people prophesying during this period. Rather, there was not a thorough or “exact succession” of prophets. The fact that Josephus considers John Hyrcanus to have the gift of prophecy helps my explanation. All the same, later Christians apparently interpreted such texts to support the silent view.
Conclusion
As we have just demonstrated, the view that 400 years of silence existed between the time of Malachi and John the Baptist is found wanting. If you happen to know of anyone promoting it, feel free to send this blog their way. Sometimes the best way to correct misinformation is by giving better information that might prompt people to think twice about what they are claiming.
Notes
* This news should not unsettle anyone’s faith nor cause them to question biblical inspiration—all the 39 Old Testament books are accepted as sacred both by Judaism and Christianity (whether Protestant, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and so-called “non-denominational” churches). The question arises as to whether more books, such as in the Apocrypha, should be included. That is where differences arise between the major groups of Christianity. If for whatever reason you might feel deprived that you have not read such books, here is my solution:
1) First, read all the books in your Bible in their entirety! This includes the 39 Old Testament books discussed here, and also the 27 New Testament books.
2) Use a study Bible (e.g., The ESV Study Bible; The New Oxford Annotated Bible), so this way you can understand better what you are reading.
3) Read an informative article about the Canon of Scripture. Such should be found in a good study Bible. From there if you want to read more, see for example, F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture; Michael J. Kruger, The Question of Canon; Roger Beckwith, The Old Testament Canon of the New Testament Church.
4) After reading the entire Bible and learning about the canon, if you still think you have been deprived or simply want to know more about ancient Jewish literature, read the disputed canonical books such as found in the Apocrypha.
5) You can also read the Septuagint Bible.
6) You can then read other ancient Jewish literature such as found in the Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls, Josephus, and Philo. Keep in mind, though, that almost everything you read from this literature has never been (and never will be) considered canonical biblical material.
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