Zephaniah was a prophet at the same time when jeremiah was a prophet. He traces his genealogy back 4 generations to king hezekiah ca. Before you attempt to answer the questions below you should read these chapters in the bible and answer the questions at the end of each chapter found at the website answer the questions below and then click ok to send your answers. I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth, declares the lord. Ze phaniah means yahweh has hiddenprotected, or yahweh hides. One interesting find is located in the first verse of the book of zephaniah. The book of zephaniah was written during the reign of king josiah, likely in the early part of his reign, between 635 and 625 bc. Zephaniah is the ninth of the twelve prophets in the book of the twelve in hebrew scripture, our old testament of the bible. That is a phrase we have seen before in books of prophets esp. Zephaniah is the only prophet to mention four generations of his ancestors.
Zephaniah, book of international standard bible encyclopedia. The scheme of the book in its present form is as follows. All together the 16 prophets are called the latter prophets, as they began writing after the division of the united kingdom of israel. The opening verses of the book of zephaniah revealed the prophet zephaniah s lineage that traced back to king hezekiah, which made him of royal blood. The people rebel against the teachings of the lord or his servants the prophets. The book of zephaniah is the only prophetic book that provides extensive genealogical information about a prophet s family. Book of zephaniah overview insight for living ministries. Zephaniah, book of cyclopedia of biblical, theological. Zephaniah, also spelled sophonias, flourished 7th century bc, israelite prophet, said to be the author of one of the shorter old testament prophetical books, who proclaimed the approaching divine judgment. The small book of zephaniah is narrative history and prophetic oracle. Zephaniah is the ninth of the minor prophets, the last 12 books of the old testament.
The book of zephaniah from the book minor prophets. Historically, the book of zephaniah was used in the providence of god to prepare judah for the reforms and revival under king josiah. Intro to zephaniah biblica the international bible society. Jan 01, 2014 zephaniah is the ninth of the minor prophets, the last 12 books of the old testament. Watch our overview video on the book of zephaniah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Zephaniah was a prophet to the southern kingdom of judah. In the first verse, zephaniah identifies himself by tracing his lineage back four generations to king hezekiah. Most likely, the prophet wanted to highlight his royal lineage as a descendant of one of judahs good kings. The book of haggai is filled with an urgency for the people to proceed with. The fourgeneration genealogy found at the beginning of the book traces zephaniah s lineage back to hezekiah. We are told in verse 1 that he was a prophet during the days of king josiah, and we are given a good deal of information about josiah and his. The major contribution of zephaniah is its contribution to the doctrine of the day of the lord, a concept which occurs over twenty times in the book. The book of the twelve follows the writings of the four major prophets, isaiah, jeremiah, ezekiel, and daniel.
Many scientists think that his forefather hizkiah is identical with king hezekiah of judah of the same name 716 687 bc. Despite the fact that zephaniah warns judah of impending doom, the prophecy is dual, and the major fulfillment of his prophecy is yet future. As with each of the 12 minor prophets, the prophecy bears the name of its author, which is generally thought to mean the lord hides compare 2. Book of zechariah overview insight for living ministries. In greek the book is titled sofonias, a transliteration of the prophet s name in hebrew. The book tells us that zephaniah prophesied during the reign of josiah, the king of judah from 640 to 609 bc zephaniah 1. The frequency of this expression is the highest of any old testament prophet. Zephaniah is the thirtysixth book in the christian old testament, falling between habakkuk and haggai. Book of zephaniah, the ninth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, collected in one book, the twelve, in the jewish canon. Despite the fact that zephaniah warns judah of impending doom, the prophecy is dual.
We can begin to pinpoint exactly when zephaniah prophesied by accounting for a few details in the text. The book of zephaniah was inspired by judahs refusal to obey its covenant obligations toward yahweh despite having seen israels exile a generation or two previouslyan exile that zephaniah attributes to yahwehs anger against israels disobedience to his covenant. Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of king josiah in judah. Apr 28, 2019 the book of zephaniah was written from. The book s superscription attributes its authorship to zephaniah son of cushi son of gedaliah son. Dont we need the prophecy of the royal prophet today to bolster our wavering faith. Zephaniah does not even have a verse to feature on christmas cards, like micah who tells us about the coming king from bethlehem. Zephaniah stooped low with the candle of searching and looked closely. Outline of the book the day of the lord the prophet describes the day of gods wrath, which will be fulfilled in the coming invasion and captivity of israel. The prophet s activity, however, probably occurred during the early.
Summary of the book of zephaniah the story of the bible. The lord exacts retribution or judgement against them. The book of zephaniah center point bible institute. If zephaniah was largely composed during the monarchic period, then its composition was occasioned by judahs. The ninth of the twelve minor prophets of the canon of the old testament. Zephaniah, nahum, and habakkuk book summaries, test. The book consists of a series of independent sayings, many of which are rightly attributed to zephaniah, written probably about 640630 bc. The opening verses of the book of zephaniah revealed the prophet zephaniahs lineage that traced back to king hezekiah, which made him of royal blood.
In the book of zephaniah, gods justice and love offer future hope. The words of zephaniah contain one of my favorite bible verses. Here are a few examples of this time of punishment from the book of zephaniah. He predicts the down fall of the assyrian empire but, unlike isaiah. It is believed that he was born during the reign of king manasseh and that he worked as a prophet during the. It will be a great and awful day for those who sin against the holy one of israel while being a glorious and triumphant day for those who put their trust in the lord. Most prophets only included two generations in their genealogy, but zephaniah tied himself back to hezekiah. Yet before we get to that verse, the book, like many prophetic books, is full of alarming brokenness and impending judgement. In the book of revelation, this punishment is called the wrath of god revelation 14. The purpose of this book was to show that god raised up his prophet zephaniah to proclaim a warning. The book of the prophet naturally contains in its three chapters only a sketch of the fundamental ideas of the preaching of sophonias. The future kingdom in zephaniah faith baptist bible college.
Zephaniahs prophecy shouted out for godliness and purity in a nation sinful to its core. Son of hezekiah, possibly the famous judean king c. When god had a message for the people, he spoke through the prophets. The book of zephaniah, the early discourses of jeremiah, and 2ki 2123 furnish a vivid picture of the social, moral, and religious conditions in judah at the time zephaniah prophesied. His word came in visions, oracles, dreams, parables, and the like. The people of judah had long since turned their backs on god, not only in. Through the prophet zephaniah, we are taught that god uses various catastrophes to punish and humble nations. Consequently, zephaniah most likely prophesied from 635625 b.
Boldly predicting the destruction of judah for the evil committed by its occupiers, the prophet spoke against the religious. Zephaniah and his contemporaries, jeremiah and habakkuk, were some of the prophets god used to pronounce this warning message. Book of zephaniah sophonias zef uh ny uh general information. Zephaniah s ministry occurred during the reign of josiah, king of judah. He ministered after the spiritually disastrous reigns of manasseh and amon and during the attempted. Zephaniah, book of cyclopedia of biblical, theological and. We often overlook seemingly boring genealogies in the bible, but sometimes they can be the most interesting part. Ninth of the 12 minor prophets of the old testament of the bible, the book of zephaniah draws its name from the prophet zephaniah, whose ministry places its authorship at c. The purpose of this book was to show that god raised up his prophet zephaniah to proclaim a warning of coming judgment and to encourage repentance. The thirtysixth book of the old testament was written by the prophet zephaniah not to be confused with zechariah. Zephaniah probably lived in judah, and possibly jerusalem, since he clearly knew the city so well. Besides his genuine prophecy, there was in the ancient, christian church an apocryphal book ascribed to zephaniah the prophet, and quoted by some of the fathers under the name of his or ea.
The book of zephaniah follows the pattern of the four rs rebellion, retribution, repentance, restoration. The prophecy by zephaniah is a companion to that of habakkuk. His greatgreat grandfather was hezekiah, one of judahs most righteous kings. The book of zephaniah contains some of the most intense images of gods justice and love found in the prophetic books. Zephaniah the prophet may have been the son of a cushite man. Of all the old testament prophets, zephaniah included more of his lineage. Zephaniah, israelite prophet, said to be the author of one of the shorter old testament prophetical books, who proclaimed the approaching divine judgment. Zephaniah was the grandson of hezekiah, but we cannot be sure that this hezekiah was the same hezekiah who ruled jerusalem during the time of isaiah. Historic info background zephaniah contemporary of jeremiah preached around 625 bc king manasseh is dead after a reign of 55 years the most evil king in judah he was the exact opposite of his father king hezekiah. Zephaniah was a prophet of doom in the true sense of the word. Three other old testament individuals share his name.
Because of his message about the outpouring of jehovahs wrath, some have dubbed zephaniah as the prophet of gods wrath. We have for him no memorable biographical details like being swallowed by a whale jonah or marrying a prostitute hosea. Dec 28, 2016 zephaniah has no pithy nickname like jeremiah, the weeping prophet. Zephaniah s message of judgment and encouragement contains three major doctrines. The prophecies of zephaniah seem to refer to the apostacies of manassehs reign 2 kings 21. Yet before we get to that verse, the book, like many prophetic books, is full of. He was a contemporary and supporter of the great prophet jeremias. Historically, the book of zephaniah was used in the providence of god to.
The word of the lord which came to zephaniah the son of cushi, the son of gedaliah, the son of amariah, the son of hezekiah, in the days of josiah the son of amon, king of judah. He is of the royal line of judah, and more specifically of the house of david. Jul 24, 2016 the book tells us that zephaniah prophesied during the reign of josiah, the king of judah from 640 to 609 bc zephaniah 1. The prophecy opens with a statement of the authors ancestry 1.
May 26, 2010 zephaniah is the only canonical prophet with a detailed genealogy. Like other old testament prophets, zephaniah is a book rich in literary forms and features. The prophet zephaniah was evidently a person of considerable social standing in judah and was probably related to the royal line. Zephaniah complete bible book chapters and summary new. Transcribed and edited by david sielaff, november 20. Zephaniahs primary target for gods message of judgment, the nation of judah, had fallen into grievous sin under the reign of their king, manasseh. The first verse of the book of zephaniah makes him a contemporary of josiah, king of judah reigned c.
The gospel broadcasting network is a nonprofit organization that is fullyfunded and supported by the churches of christ. Some scholars have dubbed zephaniah the royal prophet. Zephaniah was written by the prophet for whom the book is named. Social injustice and moral corruption were widespread 3. The third chapter of zephaniah is a powerful message of hope, restoration, singing, productiveness, new birth, and the lords return to the center of his new church. Prophet zephaniah summary this is book number 8 in the summary of the 12 minor prophets of the bible. Zephaniah contemporary english version read the bible. Etymologically, the prophets name zephaniah or tzfanya, sophonias, fanya, p. Overview of the book of zephaniah zionlutheranchurch. Doesnt this minor prophet named zephaniah seem extremely relevant for our times, too.
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