Summary
Date: 5th Century B.C.E.
The book of Malachi is set in a period when the Second Temple was rebuilt and sacrificial worship was resumed. It was composed in the Persian period, and is addressed originally to the inhabitants of the Persian province of Yehud (Judah). Because of the reference to intermarriage, some modern scholars assume that it belongs to a time closely preceding that of Ezra's actions on the matter.