Zephaniah

Pre-exilic prophet to Judah; He is mentioned by Jeremiah and Zecharia

Author and Date

Grandson of Hezekiah—a righteous king

Thus related to the king during the time of his prophetic work

2 Kings 18:3 ESV

And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.

Name means Yahweh hides or …has hidden or…treasured

May reference God’s protection of the prophet, rising kings often did not deal kindly to their siblings

During the reign of Josiah, another righteous king 640-609 BC

Scholars dispute whether it was before or after the rediscovery of the Law by Hilkiah ( 622 BC) and the resulting revival

Best understanding (my opinion) between 622 and 612)

Judah was profiting from a power vacuum as all the major players were fighting other foes

e.g. Assyria was being worried by Babylonians

Josiah expanded its influence over previously held portions of the region

The Situation

Previous kings, Manasseh and Amon had brought in idolatry, leading the nation into a myriad of evil practices

The revival was largely if not completely superficial

Themes

Judgment on the nations surrounding Judah

The coming of the

DAY OF THE LORD

Used elsewhere in OT, more often here—in a short book (53 verses)

What is that? Impending judgment BUT preservation of a true remnant

Though most directly dealing with imminent events, there is an eschatological flavor as well.

Takeaways

God does see

God does act

God does deal with evil

God does preserve a faithful remnant