Therefore, Malachi had to be written sometime between 433 and 400 BC. Style Malachi’s style is different from that of other prophetic writers. He did not write in poetic language but in pointed, easy-to-understand, exalted prose. The form is what some can a running disputational dialogue. There are usually three parts to this style: God questioned Israel about her spiritual condition, often beginning with the words, “ye say”; Israel countered, claiming innocence, with an inadequate, flippant answer;