Introduction to the Book of Zephaniah Part 2 (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)

Doctrinal Bible Church

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Sunday May 10, 2026

Zephaniah Series: Introduction Part 2

Lesson # 2

With the exception of Zephaniah 1:1 and 2:10-11 the book of Zephaniah is poetry.

There are various literary genres employed by Zephaniah.

There are judgment oracles (1:2-3, 4-6, 8-9) as well as calls for repentance (1:7; 2:1-3; 3:8).

There are also calls to praise and a psalm of praise (3:14-17) as well as salvation oracles (3:9-13, 18-20).

Zephaniah contains several prophetic genres or forms.

First the most prominent in the book is the prophecy of punishment or divine retribution (1:2-6), which would include first the announcement of the punishment (1:2-4) followed by the accusation of offense (1:5-6).

Other examples of this genre are found in the prophecies regarding Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Cush and Assyria (2:4-15).

The prophet Zephaniah also employs prophetic exhortation which is a form with a command followed by a clause which presents motivation for obeying the command (1:7, 10; 3:8, 14).

These two are similar in form to the prophecy of punishment and in function to the prophetic exhortation.

There is a call to repentance followed by the presentation of the motivation for repenting (2:1-3) which in turn expands the development of the accusation.

So the prophetic charge against Jerusalem of failing to repent which is found in Zephaniah 3:1-7 explains the reasons why the Lord also punishes Jerusalem along with the other nations mentioned in the book.

This charge thus becomes the basis for a renewed call for Judah to repent.

Interestingly, Patterson identifies Zephaniah 1:14-18 as “emergent apocalyptic” meaning that this prophecy anticipates the apocalyptic genre but does not actually contain this genre.

So to summarize, the book of Zephaniah is primarily poetry and contains several literary genres, namely, oracles, repentance, praise and salvation oracles.

It also contains the prophetic genres of divine retribution and prophetic exhortation as well as prophetic eschatology.

This book of Zephaniah contains a variety of literary techniques which would include judgement speeches, calls for repentance, a hymn as well as salvation speeches.

Its structure is similar to the book of Isaiah as well as Ezekiel since all three begin with a set of oracles directed at Judah and then moves to a collection of oracles directed at foreign nations.

All conclude with a series of oracles regarding the future restoration of the nation of Israel despite her great apostasy.

The figure of inclusio marks the oracles of judgment.

This figure is a literary device that repeats words or themes at the beginning and end of a section.

The repetition brackets the section.

The Bible makes frequent use of inclusios in order to structure both long and short sections of text.

The title of Zephaniah (1:1) contains three parts: (1) the prophetic word formula (2) identification of the prophet and his ancestry (3) identification of the historical context of the prophet’s ministry.

The prophetic word formula (“the word of the Lord came to”) is the typical introductory phrase used among the prophetic books (cf. Jeremiah 1:2; Ezekiel 1:3; Hosea 1:1; Joel 1:1; Jonah 1:1; Micah 1:1; Haggai 1:1; Malachi 1:1).

This formula asserts the prophecy originates with God and not the prophet.

The book of Zephaniah consists of three major sections: (1) Zephaniah 1:1, 1:2-2:3 (2) 2:4-3:7 (3) 3:8-20.

Zephaniah 1:1 contains the title of the book and as we noted the identification of the book’s human author and Zephaniah 1:2-2:3 contains the announcement of judgment upon Judah and the city of Jerusalem (1:2-6) and this is followed by an exhortation to prepare for the day of the Lord (2:1-3).

Then, the second major section of the book contained in Zephaniah 2:4-3:7 presents a series of prophecies of punishment against various nations in the prophet’s day (2:4-15).

Also it contains a prophetic charge of failure against Jerusalem for failing to repent of their sinful behavior toward the Lord (3:1-7).

All these prophecies and the prophetic charge against the inhabitants of Jerusalem provide the basis for obeying the commands contained in Zephaniah 2:1-3.

The third and final major section of the book which appears in Zephaniah 3:8-20 contains two prophetic exhortations.

The first is an exhortation to wait for the Lord to take action (3:8-13) and the second is an exhortation to rejoice with regards to the Lord’s promise (3:14-20).

Zephaniah contains several different figures of speech such as metaphor and simile (1:7, 11, 12; 2:1, 2, 4-7, 9; 3:3, 8, 13, 16) as well as literary and historical references (1:3; 2:4, 9; 3:9-10, 18).

It also has the figure of personification (1:14; 3:14-16), anthropopathisms (1:4, 12-13; 3:7-8, 15), irony (1:11; 2:12), merismus (1:12) and synecdoche (1:16; 2:11, 13-14; 3:6).

The prophet also employs the figures of enallage (3:7), hendiadys (3:7, 19), chiasmus (3:19), alliteration and paronomasia (1:2, 15, 17; 2:1, 4, 7, 12; 3:10), repetition and refrain (1:2-3, 14-16, 18; 2:2-3; 3:14-15).

The divine origin of Zephaniah and thus its canonical authority were recognized in Israel from the time of its composition and specifically, it was recognized as canonical among the faithful remnant in Israel.

Many of the prophecies contained in the book with regards to Judah, Jerusalem, Philistia, Ammon, Moab, Ethiopia and Assyria were fulfilled within a hundred years after they were first published.

One of the major lines of prophecy running throughout the Old Testament and continuing through the New Testament is the prophetic truth related to the “Day of the Lord.”

It is a critical phrase in understanding God’s revelation regarding the future of planet earth, the city of Jerusalem, the nation of Israel as well as the Gentiles.

The writers of the New Testament use this phrase based on their understanding of the Old Testament prophets.

This phrase was used by the prophets of Israel in the Old Testament when they were speaking of both near historical events as well as future eschatological events.

The New Testament writers understood this and applied the phrase to both the judgment which will terminate the tribulation period of Daniel’s Seventieth week as well as the judgment which will bring the creation of the new heavens and the new earth.

The term “Day of the Lord” occurs in the following passages: Isa. 2:12; 13:6, 9; Ezek. 13:5; 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11, 31; 3:14; Amos 5:18 (twice), 20; Obadiah 15; Zeph. 1:7, 14 (twice); Zech. 14:1; Mal. 4:5; Acts 2:20; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Thess. 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:10.

The phrases “that day” or “the day” or “the great day” also refer to the day of the Lord and appear more than 75 times in the Old Testament.

The term “Day of the Lord” and the phrases “that day” or “the day” or the “great day” are used with reference to Daniel’s Seventieth Week (Isaiah 13:5-6; Ezekiel 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11, 29, 31; 38:10-19; 39:11, 22; Obadiah 14-15; Zephaniah 1:14, 18; 2:2-3; Zechariah 12:3-4, 6, 8-9; Malachi 4:5), the Second Advent of Christ (Zechariah 12:11; 14:4, 6, 8), millennium (Ezekiel 45:22; 48:35; Joel 3:18; Zechariah 14:9; Zephaniah 3:11), and the creation of the new heavens and earth (2 Peter 2:10).

Now, if you notice that there are only four passages in the New Testament in which “the day of the Lord” appears (Acts 2:20; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Thess. 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:10) but this phrase is used often by the writers of the Old Testament.

Thus, Paul and Peter’s understanding of the day of the Lord was based upon their understanding of this use of the phrase in the Old Testament.

Now a survey of the use of the phrase “the day of the Lord” in both the Old and New Testaments reveal that it is used with reference to the contemporary history of the writer (cf. Is. 13:6; Joel 1:15).

However, it is also used in relation to the future such as Daniel’s Seventieth Week (cf. 2 Thess. 2:2) and the creation of the new heavens and new earth (2 Pet. 3:10).

When the writer uses the phrase with regards to God’s judgments, it is often accompanied by a pronouncement of God’s blessing (cf. Zech. 14:1-21).

The reference to “the day of the Lord” in Zephaniah 1:7 had a near eschatological fulfillment since Zephaniah 1:8-13 describes the situation in this prophet’s day in Judah.

However, in Zephaniah 1:14, the context would indicate that “the day of the Lord” will have a far eschatological fulfillment since Zephaniah 1:15-18 speaks of God judging the inhabitants of the earth which He will do during the Seventieth Week of Daniel.