Zephaniah-Introduction-Date and Historical Background
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday January 7, 2016
Zephaniah: Introduction-Date and Historical Background
Lesson # 2
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 the Josianic 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.
Many scholars contend that the political situation in Judah which Zephaniah describes was brought about by a Scythian raid in approximately 630 B.C. and thus, they believe that Zephaniah responded to this invasion with an urgent message to Judah.
The Scythian invasion is mentioned by Herodotus (1.41.103-6) however, Herodotus does not mention Judah as being the victim of a Scythian raid.
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.
The Assyrian kings Tiglath-Pileser (727 B.C.), Sargon (705 B.C.) and Sennacherib (681 B.C.) dominated the Near East for more than a century.
At the height of this Assyrian dominance under Esarhaddon, they defeated Tirhakah, the king of Egypt (671 B.C.).
After Ashurbanipal (627 B.C.) who was known for his cultural interests such as the establishment of a huge royal library, the empire was troubled by internal struggles.
The Babylonians asserted their independence from Assyria in 626 B.C. and joined the Medes in attacking Assyria.
Judah was dominated by the Assyrian Empire who threatened Jerusalem in 722 B.C. but God delivered the city (2 Kings 18-19).
Zephaniah prophesied against the Assyrian Empire and her great city Nineveh (Zeph. 2:13).
In 612 B.C., Nineveh fell to the Babylonians and seven years later the Babylonians headed north and west.
They defeated the Egyptian armies at Carchemish on the upper Euphrates.
Though Zephaniah does not mention Babylon explicitly in his prophecies, history reveals that he prophesied against them.
The Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar would attack Judah and Jerusalem on three different occasions in 605, 597 and 586 B.C.
As we noted, the opening verse in the book of Zephaniah locates the ministry of the prophet Zephaniah during the reign of King Josiah of Judah.
His reign was from 640-609 B.C.
The reforms of his great-grandfather Hezekiah (715-686 B.C.) did not have any lasting effect on the nation.
In fact, his son, Manasseh and his grandson Amon reversed his policies and plunged Judah into idolatry.
Amon’s officials assassinated him and they put his eight-year old son Josiah on the throne.
At age 16, the young king began to worship Yahweh (2 Chronicles 34:3).
His devotion to the God of Israel resulted in two major periods of reform.
The first began in 628 B.C. (2 Chronicles 34:3-7) and the second came with the discovery of the book of the Law in the temple in 622 B.C. (2 Kings 22:3-23:27; 2 Chronicles 34:8-35:19).
On hearing its contents read aloud, Josiah was overcome with remorse because of his nation’s rejection of the commands and prohibitions in the Law.
Then, after receiving a favorable communication from the Lord, the young king instituted a reformation which was supported by priests, prophets and government officials and was based upon the newly discovered book of the Law.
The precise nature of the scroll found is difficult to ascertain.
Traditionally it comprised the whole Pentateuch.
However, the fact that it is was described as “the book of the covenant” (2 Chronicles 34:30) and that it could be read within a relatively short time, would indicate that it consisted of one part of the Pentateuch only.
Many scholars believe that the scroll consisted of the book of Deuteronomy.
However, more than likely the law scroll consisted of the Decalogue, the covenant code, the regulations regarding the Tabernacle and portions of the ancient laws pertaining to holy living contained in the first chapters of the book of Leviticus.
Josiah’s reforms involve the destruction of the sites of the worship of Baal and Mesopotamian astral deities.
There was also a removal of the high places and the repair of the temple of Yahweh.
There was a centralization of the worship of the God of Israel in Jerusalem and an observance of the Passover.
However, although Josiah set an example of godly living for the nation of Judah, there were many in Judah who did not follow his lead and thus, men like Zephaniah issued prophecies against these rebels in the nation.
The prophecies of Zephaniah denounced the idolatry of Judah and threatened divine retribution while simultaneously offering grace by proclaiming the need for repentance.
Zephaniah also asserted the superiority of the God of Israel over the deities of other pagan nations.
These reforms repudiated the Assyrian domination of Judah.
Assyrian power as we noted was diminished during this period of history and thus enabling Josiah to institute his reforms.
It was during the reign of Josiah that the whole balance of power in the Near Eastern world shifted radically from what it had been for almost three hundred years.
During Josiah’s reign the world transitioned from a world dominated by Assyrian power to a period dominated by the Babylonian Empire.