56 Dimensions of Baptism
root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut
down and thrown into the fire' (Mt. 3.10 = Lk. 3.9). The reference to
'root' and 'fire' echoes the language of the oracle in Malachi. Moreover,
John also says that the 'chaff will be burned up in an unquenchable fire
(Mt. 3.12 = Lk. 3.17), again echoing Malachi's graphic description of evil-
doers as 'stubble' who shall be burned up in the oven in the coming day ofjudgment (Mai. 3.19).
Finally, Malachi also promises the coming of Elijah:
(^23) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible
day of the LORD comes.^24 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their
children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the
land with a curse. (Mai. 3.23-24 [LXX 3.22-23; Eng. 4.5-6])
Malachi's prophecy of the coming of Elijah links the book of Malachi
with the Elijah tradition and at the same time makes an important contri-
bution to this tradition. Indeed, Mai. 3.23-24, which scholars suspect is a
late gloss,^13 is probably what guaranteed the emergence of the eschatologi-
cal role of Elijah. John understands himself and his ministry in terms of
the coming Elijah and so not surprisingly incorporates some of the themes
of Malachi into his own preaching.
- Isaiah. The most obvious link between John and Isaiah is the quota-
tion of Isa. 40.3: 'A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the
LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God".' The discovery
of the usage of this verse in 1QS 8.12-16 and 9.19-21 raised the possibility
that John may have been associated with the Qumran community. Al-
though this possibility has been much discussed, it has not been settled.
But the appearance of Isa. 40.3 in Qumran's Rule of the Community has
shown that eschatological usage of this verse was not exclusively
Christian.
In the Markan Gospel the verse appears in combination with Mai. 3.1
(and perhaps Exod. 23.20 as well):
(^2) As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
'Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who shall prepare your
way;^3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the
Lord, make his paths straight—'
(^4) John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness... (Mk 1.2-4a)
The linkage of Mai. 3.1 with Isa. 40.3 is easily explained as due to the
convergence of similar imagery, theme, and vocabulary. In some ways it
- Smith, Micah-Malachi, pp. 340-42.