Introduction to the Book of Zephaniah Part 1 (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)
Doctrinal Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday May 10, 2026
Zephaniah Series: Introduction Part 1
Lesson # 1
Zephaniah prophesied in the late seventh century prior to the fall of Nineveh in 612 B.C. which the prophet predicted would take place (Zeph. 2:13-15).
Zephaniah also predicts the fall of Judah at the hands of Babylon without mentioning Babylon by name.
The prophet also predicted the fall of Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Ethiopia and the Assyrian Empire.
Furthermore, he prophesied about the tribulation portion of Daniel’s Seventieth Week as well as the millennium of Jesus Christ.
Like Joel, the book of Zephaniah focuses upon the prophetic theme of the Day of the Lord.
In fact, Zephaniah contains more references to “the day of the Lord” than any other Old Testament book.
As we will note, this phrase depending on the context can refer to the past, the near future and the distant future as well as the far distant future and specifically the Seventieth Week of Daniel and the subsequent Millennial reign of Jesus Christ.
Zephaniah prophesies that the Lord will judge Judah as well as the nations for their sins against Him.
His prophecies declared imminent judgment upon the Gentile nations of his day as well as the nation of Judah.
His prophecies spoke of the distant future from his perspective in the seventh century B.C. since he prophesies about a future regathering and restoration of the nation of Israel which would no longer be divided into northern and southern kingdoms.
He also predicts that the nations will also worship the Lord along with Israel and be blessed by the Lord.
The book of Zephaniah is one of the “Minor Prophets,” which are called the Book of the Twelve in the Hebrew Bible.
Zephaniah is the last of the nine Minor Prophets written before the Exile.
These twelve books cover a period of approximately three hundred years, from 760 B.C. to approximately 450 B.C., ending with Malachi.
Except for the book of Jonah, these books all identify the author in a heading.
They are arranged in the biblical canon chronologically with the exception of Joel and Obadiah.
Hosea, Amos, Jonah and Micah were written in the eighth century B.C. Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah were penned in the seventh century B.C. Joel, Obadiah, Haggai and Zechariah were composed in the sixth century B.C. while Malachi was written in the fifth century B.C.
In the Hebrew Bible, the Minor Prophets were treated as a unity.
Though they share similar themes, each are distinct literary units with distinct messages.
The Minor Prophets were also called the Twelve because they were all contained one book: (1) Hosea (2) Joel (3) Amos (4) Obadiah (5) Jonah (6) Micah (7) Nahum (8) Habakkuk (9) Zephaniah (10) Haggai (11) Zechariah (12) Malachi.
The name “Zephaniah” means “Yahweh hides” or “Yahweh has hidden” or “Yahweh treasured.”
Three other men in the Old Testament bear the name (2 Kings 25:18; 1 Chronicles 6:36; Jeremiah 21:1; 52:24; Zechariah 6:10).
This name could be alluding to God’s protection of a remnant of faithful believers in Israel as He judges the apostasy of the majority in that nation.
It also could be referring to God’s protection of Zephaniah during his childhood during the reign of the wicked king Manasseh (2 Kings 21:16).
The latter would demonstrate his parents’ faith in the Lord even at their son’s birth.
Zephaniah 1:1 records that Zephaniah was the descendent of Cushi, Gedaliah, Amariah and Hezekiah.
This is unique that the prophet Zephaniah would trace his ancestry back four generations.
No other prophet in Israel ever did this.
This would indicate that he was descended from the fourteenth king of Judah, namely Hezekiah who reigned from 716-687 B.C. and thus, Zephaniah was from royalty and was from the tribe of Judah.
He would thus be the prophet with the most royal blood except for of course David and Solomon.
He would also thus be a distant relative of King Josiah in whose reign he prophesied.
Zephaniah was born during the reign of Manasseh who reigned from 686-643 B.C.
This wicked king led Judah into idolatry, bloodshed and internationalism (2 Kings 21:1-18; 2 Chronicles 33:1-20).
Zephaniah lived through a transition of power from this wicked king to Josiah.
In fact, he appears to have greatly influenced his distant cousin.
Therefore, Zephaniah was a contemporary of Jeremiah, Habakkuk and Micah since they all lived and prophesied during the reign of Josiah as well.
Zephaniah appears to have seized upon the opportunity to call the aristocracy of Judah to repentance and obedience to Yahweh.
He influenced the young king to institute reforms in the nation which would rid the country of idolatry and pagan influence.
He displayed great courage in denouncing the materialism and greed of his age and the exploitation of the poor (1:8, 10-13, 18).
He was very much aware of the world conditions and was very much concerned about the reputation of the God of Israel (1:6; 3:7).
He was also concerned for the well-being of the believing remnant in Israel who humbly obeyed the Lord’s commands (2:3; 3:9, 12-13).
Zephaniah appears to have lived in the city of Jerusalem which is indicated by his statements in this book which bears his name.
For instance, he describes the geography of Jerusalem (1:10-13) and makes several references to this city (1:4, 12; 3:1, 7, 11, 14, 16).
All of which indicate he was a long-time resident of this city.
In fact, in Zephaniah 1:4, the prophet refers to Jerusalem as “this place” which is strong evidence that the prophet lived in the city of David.
Zephaniah 1:1 makes clear that the prophet Zephaniah received his prophetic message from the Lord during the reign of Josiah, King of Judah who became king at the age of eight in 640 B.C.
Josiah’s reign ended in 609 B.C.
He began to “seek the God of his father David” eight years later and four years after that began to institute a spiritual reformation of the nation in approximately 622 B.C. (2 Chron. 34:3).
Scholars are in disagreement regarding whether Zephaniah served before or after the recovery of the Law by Hilkiah and the subsequent reforms instituted by Josiah in 622 B.C. (2 Kings 22-23; 2 Chronicles 34).
The conditions described by Zephaniah regarding the moral and spiritual condition of Judah in his day have caused many to believe that Zephaniah was speaking of the condition of Judah after Josiah’s reforms that began after the finding of the book of the Law.
Others believe that the conditions Zephaniah denounces could only be true of the early portion of Josiah’s reign before the discovery of the Law.
When examining the internal data in the book of Zephaniah, there are several conclusions which would appear to favor the earlier period in Josiah’s reign.
First, the religious practices in Judah were still plagued with Canaanite syncretistic rites such as characterized the era of Manasseh (1:4-5, 9).
Secondly, many in Judah failed to worship Yahweh at all (1:6).
Thirdly, the royalty of Judah were enamored with wearing the clothing of foreign merchants (1:8) who had extensive business enterprises in Jerusalem (1:10-11).
Furthermore, the society of Judah was plagued by various social and economic problems (1:12-13, 18) and political and religious corruption (3:1-4, 7, 11).
Lastly, when one considers that Josiah was only eight years old when he ascended the throne in 640 B.C. and was dependent upon royal officials of questionable integrity (cf. 3:3), the cause for Zephaniah’s alarm is apparent.
That Josiah’s reforms were not instituted until the twelfth year of his reign (628 B.C.), four years after his initial spiritual awakening (2 Chron. 34:3), suggests that Zephaniah’s prophetic activities may have had some type of effect in the reformation of that era.
Thus a date of 635-630 B.C. is not unlikely and accepting such a date means that the historical setting has advanced little beyond that of Nahum and Habakkuk.
The book of Zephaniah was written during a time in history when the Assyrian Empire was decaying and the Babylonian Empire was emerging on the world stage.
