Three times god says i will sweep away in chapter 1 verses 1 and 2. This book mentions the day of the lord more than does any other book in the old testament, clarifying the picture of judahs fall to babylon and the eventual. More precisely it can be inferred from his allusions to the state of morality and religion zeph 1. He cannot remember a time when he was not creating poetry but this had nothing to do with school where poetry meant very little to him, in fact he had finished full time education at the age of. This day is one of judgment against those who sin against god, and one of blessing for those who follow him. The book of zephaniah center point bible institute.
While a very small book, the book of zephaniah covers a lot of information about the day of the lord, the punishment and wrath from the lord that the world will face, and the importance of obeying. When god had a message for the people, he spoke through the prophets. Transcribed and edited by david sielaff, november 20. Zephaniah wrote it shortly before the fall of judah in the southern kingdom. Zephaniah and his contemporaries, jeremiah and habakkuk, were some of the prophets god used to pronounce this warning message. According to the books introduction zephaniah prophesied during the reign of josiah 640609 b. 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. This prophetic concept refers to any intervention of god in. It describes a time when yahweh will come to his people and necessarily destroy evil as a means to delivering them. The prophet zephaniah was evidently a person of considerable social standing in judah and was probably related to the royal line. Zephaniah, the prophet who authored this book, most likely had a royal lineage.
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. Zephaniah, book of this old testament book summarizes in its three chapters much of the prophetic teaching on the nature of true religion. Introduction from the niv study bible go to zephaniah. This probable royal ancestry made him somewhat unusual among all the other hebrew prophets.
Zephaniah is the ninth of the twelve prophets in the book of the twelve in hebrew scripture, our old testament of the bible. The book begins by telling of gods judgement on the kingdom of judah. In the book of zephaniah, the third and final chapter is about the the ageold cycle of the human condition. Zephaniah denounces judah for idolatry, luxury, and for presuming on gods protection. Historically, the book of zephaniah was used in the providence of god to prepare judah for the reforms and revival under king josiah. It is debated whether or not this is the famous king of judah, with some offering limited information to the contrary and others arguing for. The prophets activity, however, probably occurred during the early. The purpose of this book was to show the complacent southern kingdoms that they were wicked, god used a prophet zephaniah. Thus the period from 640 to 622 is the likely time for the giving of the prophecy. The cycle operates at a personal level, for each of us, and at a church level, where a set of people with a set of beliefs and habits needs to improve.
His word came in visions, oracles, dreams, parables, and the like. 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. This subject is whats inside the little scroll in the fathers right hand rev. Among the minor prophets, we are certainly much more familiar with jonah and hosea. He traces his genealogy back 4 generations to king hezekiah ca. The book of zephaniah shows extremely many similarities with other prophetic books of the ot. Nevertheless, this is a great book with a significant. Despite the fact that zephaniah warns judah of impending doom, the prophecy is dual, and the major fulfillment of his prophecy is yet future. The book of zephaniah is probably best known for being the least known book of the entire bible.
Micah, nahum, habakkuk, zephaniah zephaniah, the book the new american commentary. The prophet zephaniah lived during the reign of the righteous king josiah of judah from 640 to 609 bc. The small book of zephaniah is narrative history and prophetic oracle. Zephaniah wrote this book around 630 bc, just before the fall of judah. Both prophets lived at the end of the assyrian period and the beginning of the. What kings of judah preceded zephaniahs prophetical work, and what king. The book is concerned throughout with the day of the lord. This is book number 8 in the summary of the 12 minor prophets of the bible. Son of hezekiah, possibly the famous judean king c.
The book of zephaniah belongs to another dark period in judahs history. Summary of the book of zephaniah this summary of the book of zephaniah provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of zephaniah. Introduction 286 the book of zephaniah is probably best known for being the least known book of the entire bible. Zephaniah means yahweh has hiddenprotected, or yahweh hides. The words of zephaniah contain one of my favorite bible verses. The first verse of the book of zephaniah makes him a contemporary of josiah, king of judah reigned c. By this the godly harmony is shown in the prophecies of such different men who have lived at totally different times but who always presented the one goal of god. Book of zephaniah, also called sophonias, 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. 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.
The prophecy by zephaniah is a companion to that of habakkuk. His first book of poetry for children called talking turkeys had to go into an emergency reprint after just 6 weeks, no one could foresee how popular the book would be, it went to the top of the childrens book list and stayed there for months. Interesting facts about zephaniah barnes bible charts meaning. Introduction286 the book of zephaniah is probably best known for. The book of zephaniah contains the fundamental ideas of the preaching of zephaniah. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link page information wikidata item cite this page. Zephaniah, speaks how the god is going to destroy man and beast and those who have turned back from serving god. We can begin to pinpoint exactly when zephaniah prophesied by accounting for a few details in the text. Zephaniah intro to zephaniah biblica the international bible. All together the 16 prophets are called the latter prophets, as they began writing after the division of the united kingdom of israel.
And because the culture of his day was not so different than ours today, zephaniah still speaks the heart. The next step is to enter your payment information. The author places himself during the reign of josiah, son of amon. Zephaniahs message of judgment and encouragement contains three major. And because the culture of his day was not so different than ours today, zephaniah still speaks the heart of a holy god to the modern reader in an arresting way. Benjamin zephaniah was born in birmingham in april, 1958, the son of. Micah, nahum, habakkuk, zephaniah the book word biblical commentary, volume 32. The following additional short summary of the book of zephaniah contains facts and information taken from eastons bible dictionary. 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 book consists of a series of independent sayings, many of which are rightly attributed to zephaniah, written probably about 640630 bc. Zephaniah is the name of several people in the hebrew bible and jewish tanakh. This summary of the book of zephaniah provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of zephaniah. 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. The author, zephaniah, traces his ancestry back four generations.
The prophet zephaniah was evidently a person of considerable social standing in judah and was. Benjamin zephaniah was born in birmingham in april, 1958, the son of caribbean immigrants. Your credit card wont be charged until the trial period is over. Three other old testament individuals share his name. This summary of the book of zephaniah provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and. The book of zephaniah is in that smaller percentage of prophetic literature about 25% that contains mainly foretellinglearning what god will do.
Watch our overview video on the book of zephaniah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Zephaniah is the ninth of the minor prophets, the last 12 books of the old testament. 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. In greek the book is titled sofonias, a transliteration of the prophets name in hebrew.
Zephaniah lived during one of the worst times in the history of judah, under the evil reign of king manasseh. About one hundred years earlier, the prophets micah and isaiah had watched as the northern kingdom of israel was wiped out because of their unbelief and disobedience to the lord. Zephaniah with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Book of zephaniah encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. Book of zephaniah overview insight for living ministries. In 2008, he was voted one of britains top 50 post world war 2 writers, in a poll by the times newspaper. Then there is benjamin zephaniah the childrens poet. The book of the twelve follows the writings of the four major prophets, isaiah, jeremiah, ezekiel, and daniel. The book tells us that zephaniah prophesied during the reign of josiah, the king of judah from 640 to 609 bc zephaniah 1. This little book written by zephaniah the prophet is talking about the day of the lord. Zephaniah calls the nation to repentance and warns foreign nations to repent as well. It provides a short synopsis of this biblical book of the scripture with reference with interesting points or lessons to be learned from the summary of these famous biblical events and people.
The general letters the book of the twelve, or the minor prophets intro to genesis intro to. One interesting find is located in the first verse of the book of zephaniah. It is a small book, nestled in the midst of the minor prophets, toward the end of the old testament. Chapter 1 judgment upon judah chapter 2 judgment upon the nations. 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. May 03, 2018 the book of zephaniah is in that smaller percentage of prophetic literature about 25% that contains mainly foretellinglearning what god will do. Summary of the book of zephaniah the story of the bible. 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. Zephaniah, israelite prophet, said to be the author of one of the shorter old testament prophetical books, who proclaimed the approaching divine judgment. Overview zephaniah, book of the international standard bible encyclopedia, revised introduction the new american commentary. Zephaniah article about zephaniah by the free dictionary. The voice of judgment is softened by gospel promises. Chisholm comments, when genealogical information is provided.
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. Yet before we get to that verse, the book, like many prophetic books, is full of. Book of zephaniah read bible verses online bible study tools. Micahmalachi zephaniah, book of eerdmans dictionary of the bible. 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.
Like other old testament prophets, zephaniah is a book rich in literary forms and features. The book of zephaniah is narrative history and prophetic source of wisdom. The theme of zephaniah is the approaching day of the lord. The book of zephaniah is a book of the bible and is thought to be written by zephaniah son of cushi son of gedaliah son of amariah son of hezekiah, in the days of king josiah son of amon of judah. We often overlook seemingly boring genealogies in the bible, but sometimes they can be the most interesting part. Dr benjamin obadiah iqbal zephaniah was born and raised in birmingham, england. The day of jehovah is mentioned as follows in the book of zephaniah. The book of zephaniah is a book of the bible and is thought to be written by zephaniah son of cushi son of gedaliah son of amariah son of hezekiah, in the days of king josiah son of amon of judah the book begins by telling of gods judgement on the kingdom of judah. 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. Like the writings of many of the prophets, the book of zephaniah follows a pattern of judgment on all people for their sin followed by the restoration of gods chosen people. As we prepare to study the literal and spiritual senses of the book of zephaniah, lets look at some historical facts that will help us enter into the eternal message of the lords word. Zephaniahs message of judgment and encouragement contains three major doctrines. Zephaniah foresees the joyful return from captivity in due time.