| I. |
TITLE: |
| |
A. |
Hebrew: In Hebrew the
book is titled hynpx meaning "Yahweh hides" perhaps reflecting
the terror of the days of Manasseh when Zephaniah was born, or
meaning "Watchman for the Lord," or even "Zaphon [a Canaanite
deity] is Yahweh" [1]
This was a common name in the Hebrew Scriptures (cf. a Levite, 1
Chron 6:36-38; a second priest under the high priest 2 Ki
25:18-21; cf. Jer 52:24--27; the father of Josiah--a returning
exile, Zech 6:10, 14) |
| |
B. |
Greek: In Greek the book
is titled SOFONIAS, a transliteration of the prophet's name in
Hebrew |
| II. |
AUTHOR: |
| |
A. |
The author, Zephaniah,
traces his ancestry back four generations; this is unique among
the prophets: [2]
1:1 |
| |
|
1. |
Son of Cushi |
| |
|
2. |
Son of Gedaliah |
| |
|
3. |
Son of Amariah |
| |
|
4. |
Son of Hezekiah, (possibly the famous
Judean king [c. 716-687 B.C.]) |
| |
B. |
The author places himself
during the reign of Josiah, son of Amon, king of Judah (c.
641-609 B.C.) |
| III. |
DATE: between 641 and 612
B.C. (possibly 641 and 621 B.C.) |
| |
A. |
The superscription places
the prophet during the time of king Josiah of Judah (c. 641-609
B.C.) 1:1 |
| |
B. |
The prophecy anticipated,
but preceded the fall of Nineveh in 612 B.C. (Zeph 2:13-15) |
| |
C. |
Many would date the book
prior to Josiah's reforms (622- 621 B.C.) which dealt with much
of the nation's idolatry (cf. 2 Ki 22--23) since there are
implications of idolatry in Zephaniah's Judah (cf. 1:4-6, 11-12;
3:1- 4) [3] |
| |
D. |
Conclusion: The book was
written some time between 641 and 612 B.C. and possibly between
641 and 622 B.C.There may have been some overlap with Jeremiah
since he began to prophecy in 627 B.C. Zephaniah would have been
the first prophet to Judah in the 60 years since Isaiah (Nahum
was about Assyria) |
| IV. |
AUDIENCE: To the people
of Judah and the nations around her |
| V. |
HISTORICAL SETTING:
[4] |
| |
A. |
Manasseh's and Amon's
reigns were dark times in Judah's history: |
| |
|
1. |
Manasseh rebuilt the high places that
his father, Hezekiah, tore down |
| |
|
2. |
Manasseh was eclectic making altars
to Ashtoreth (Canaanite), Chemosh (Moabite), Milcom (Ammonite),
and Baal (Canaanite) |
| |
|
3. |
Manasseh restored child sacrifice (2
Ki 21) even sacrificing two of his own sons in the Valley of
Hinnom |
| |
|
4. |
Worship of the heavens (stars, sun,
moon, astral bodies) was common |
| |
|
5. |
Amon was named after an Egyptian god
unlike most kings who were named after Yahweh |
| |
B. |
Manasseh paid tribute to
Esarhaddon to keep Assyria from invading Judah |
| |
C. |
Josiah brought about the
final spiritual revival for Judah when during the eighteenth
year of his rule in 622 B.C. (2 Ki 22-23) |
| |
D. |
The Assyrian Empire Fell |
| |
|
1. |
The Assyrian power rose with
Ashurnasirpal II (884- 859 B.C.) and Shalmaneser II (859-824
B.C.) |
| |
|
2. |
Tiglath-pileser III (Pul in the
Scriptures) began a group of conquerors who took Syria and
Palestine including Shalmaneser V (727-722 B.C. who began the
deportation of Samaria), Sargon II (722-705 B.C. who completed
the deportation of Samaria), Sennacherib (704-581 B.C. who
attacked king of Judah, Hezekiah [Josiah's father]), and
Esarhaddon (681-669 B.C. who led campaigns against Egypt) |
| |
|
3. |
Esarhaddon's son, Ashurbanipal
(669-631) ruled much of the upper Egyptian city of Thebes, but
his decline and that of Assyria's soon followed |
| |
|
4. |
Nineveh, the capital, was destroyed
in 612 B.C. |
| VI. |
MAJOR THEME--THE DAY OF
THE LORD:The Day of the Lord is a major theme in Zephaniah
occurring 23 times in this short book (as well as in Obadiah,
Joel, and Ezekiel). It describes a time when Yahweh will come to
His people and necessarily destroy evil as a means to delivering
them. While Zephaniah and Joel obviously had "local" aspects in
view of this coming Day of Yahweh's presence among them (with
the judgment of Assyria and Babylon), those
judgments/deliverances only mirrored, or foreshadowed, the
ultimate deliverance (and thus necessary judgment) which would
come in the eschaton. |
| VII. |
PURPOSE: |
| |
A. |
To proclaim judgment on
the entire world |
| |
B. |
To proclaim the Day of
the Lord as a time when Yahweh will come to judge the wicked
(including the wicked of Judah) and deliver His own [5] |
| |
C. |
To proclaim judgment on
the nations which surrounded Judah (Philistia, Moab, Ammon,
Assyria, Ethiopians/Egyptians |
| |
D. |
To proclaim hope for the
remnant of Judah |
| |
E. |
To expose the
unfaithfulness of Judah's rulers |
| |
F. |
To encourage Judah to
accept correction by hearing of the judgment on her neighbors |
| |
G. |
To expose Judah's
unwillingness to accept correction from Yahweh |
| |
H. |
To describe the ultimate
changes which Yahweh will bring about as the nations become
worshippers of Him and He becomes Judah's King/Defender |
|
[1]
For a more developed explanation see Ralph L. Smith, Micah-
Malachi, Word Biblical Commentary, XXXII:120; Larry Lee
Walker, "Zephaniah," The Expositor's Bible Commentary,
VII:537.
[2]
Chisholm comments, "When genealogical information is
provided, usually only the prophet's father is identified
(cf. Isa. 1:1; Jer. 1:1; Ezek. 1:3; Hos. 1:1; Joel 1:1),
although in the case of Zechariah (Zech 1:1), two
generations are included. Some have identified Zephaniah's
great-great-grandfather Hezekiah with the famous king who
ruled over Judah from 715 to 686 B.C. This connection would
provide a reasonable explanation for the expanded heading,
its purpose being to demonstrate Zephaniah's royal descent"
(Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., Interpreting the Minor Prophets,
201).
[3]
If Zephaniah preached after Josiah's reforms, it is
extremely evident that the reforms were not all that
successful (cf. 1:4-5, 8-9; 3:1, 3, 7).
[4]
Some of what follows was developed from John A Martin, "An
Outline of Zephaniah," unpublished class notes in 304
preexilic and exilic prophets, (Dallas Theological Seminary,
Fall 1983), 1.
[5]
Chisholm writes, "The 'Day of the Lord" is the focal point
of Zephaniah's prophecy. On this day, the nearness and
severity of which are emphasized, the Lord would come as a
mighty and just warrior-judge to punish the whole world,
including Judah. Though this purifying judgment the nations
would become genuine worshippers of the one true God. The
judgment of the Lord's Day would also purge God's covenant
people and their capital city, Jerusalem. A faithful
remnant, the nucleus of the purified city and rejoice in the
Lord's deliverance and protections" (Robert B. Chisholm,
Jr., Interpreting the Minor Prophets, 215).
Taken from
Bible.org
|
|