What is in your Bible between Mal 4:5-6 & Mt 1:1-2? Most have a blank page. When the OT closed, many Jews had recently returned to Canaan from Babylonian captivity and the promised land was under Medo-Persian rule. The Jews were looking for the Messiah and the messenger who would prepare His way. Mal 3:1. When the NT opens, the political and religious landscape has dramatically changed. Things now exist that were not even mentioned in the OT–Samaritans, the Septuagint, the feast of the dedication, Pharisees, Sadducees, Romans, Herods, synagogues, rabbis, etc.
For further reading, click on the sermon lesson sheet