My messenger (Hebrew mal’aki): This is a play on Malachi’s name. The messenger could be an angel or a human acting as a divine courier. Jesus identified John the Baptist by referring to this passage (see Matthew 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27).
Malachi’s audience likely saw the messenger of the covenant as a divine being (compare Exodus 23:20–23). The Christian church views Jesus Christ as the messenger of the new covenant.