Text -- Zephaniah 2:9 (NET)

2:9 Therefore, as surely as I live,” says the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel, “be certain that Moab will become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah. They will be overrun by weeds, filled with salt pits, and permanently desolate. Those of my people who are left will plunder their belongings; those who are left in Judah will take possession of their land.”

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Zep 2:9

Not cultivated, but over - run with nettles.

Wesley: Zep 2:9

pits - A dry, barren earth, fit only to dig salt out of.

Wesley: Zep 2:9

That return out of Babylon.

Wesley: Zep 2:9

Settle upon those parts of their lands, that are fit for habitation.

JFB: Zep 2:9

Or, the overspreading of nettles, that is, a place overrun with them.

JFB: Zep 2:9

Found at the south of the Dead Sea. The water overflows in the spring, and salt is left by the evaporation. Salt land is barren (Jdg 9:45; Psa 107:34, Margin).

JFB: Zep 2:9

That is, their land; in retribution for their having occupied Judah's land.

Clarke: Zep 2:9

The breeding of nettles - That is, their land shall become desolate, and be a place for nettles, thorns, etc., to flourish in, for want of cultivation.

Calvin: Zep 2:9

In order to cheer the miserable Jews by some consolation, God said, in what we considered yesterday, that the wantonness of Moab was known to him; he now adds, that he would visit with punishment the reproaches which had been mentioned. For it would have availed them but little that their wrongs had been observed by God, if no punishment had been prepared. Hence the Prophet reminds them that God is no idle spectator, who only observes what takes place in the world; but that there is a reward laid up for all the ungodly. And these verses are to be taken in connection, that the faithful may know that their wrongs are not unknown to God, and also that he will be their defender. But that the Jews might have a more sure confidence that God would be their deliverer, he interposes an oath. God at the same time shows that he is really touched with when he sees his people so cruelly and immoderately harassed, when the ungodly seem to think that an unbridled license is permitted them. God therefore shows here, that not only the salvation of his people is an object of his care, but that he undertakes their cause as though his anger was kindled; not that passions belong to him but such a form of speaking is adopted in order to express what the faithful could never otherwise conceive an idea of, that is, to express the unspeakable love of God towards them, and his care for them.

He then says that he lives, as though he had sworn by his own life. As we have elsewhere seen that he swears by his life, so he speaks now. Live do I, that is, As I am God, so will I avenge these wrongs by which my people are now oppressed. And for the same reason he calls himself Jehovah of hosts, and the God of Israel. In the first clause he exalts his own power, that the Jews might know that he was endued with power; and then he mentions his goodness, because he had adopted them as his people. The meaning then is that God swears by his own life; and that the Jews might not think that this was done in vain, his power is brought before them, and then his favor is added.

Moab, he says, shall be like Sodom, and the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah, even for the production of the nettle and for a mire of salt; ⁹⁹ that is, their lands should be reduced to a waste, or should become wholly barren, so that nothing was to grow there but nettles, as the case is with desert places. As to the expression, the mine ( fodina) or quarry of salt, it often occurs in scripture: a salt-pit denotes sterility in Hebrew. And the Prophet adds, that this would not be for a short time only; It shall be (he says) a perpetual desolation. He also adds, that this would be for the advantage of the Church; for the residue of my people shall plunder them, and the remainder of my nation shall possess them. He ever speaks of the residue; for as it was said yesterday, it was necessary for that people to be cleansed from their dregs, so that a small portion only would remain; and we know that not many of them returned from exile.

The import of the whole is, that though God determined to diminish his Church, so that a few only survived, yet these few would be the heirs of the whole land, and possess the kingdom, when God had taken vengeance on all their enemies.

It hence follows, according to the Prophet, that this shall be to them for their pride. We see that the Prophet’s object is, to take away whatever bitterness the Jews might feel when insolently slandered by their enemies. As then there was danger of desponding, since nothing, as it was said yesterday, is more grievous to be borne than reproach, God does here expressly declare, that the proud triumph of their neighbors over the Jews would be their own ruin; for, as Solomon says, ‘Pride goes before destruction.’ Pro 16:18. And he again confirms what he had already referred to—that the Jews would not be wronged with impunity, for God had taken them under his guardianship, and was their protector: Because they have reproached, he says, and triumphed over the people of Jehovah of hosts. He might have said, over my people, as in the last verse; but there is something implied in these words, as though the Prophet had said, that they carried on war not with mortals but with God himself, whose majesty was insulted, when the Jews were so unjustly oppressed. It follows—

Defender: Zep 2:9

The kingdoms of Moab and Ammon, long prosperous and strong, were also destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. As prophesied by Zephaniah, most of their lands have been essentially "a perpetual desolation" ever since."

TSK: Zep 2:9

as I : Num 14:21; Isa 49:18; Jer 46:18; Rom 14:11

Surely : Isa 11:14, 15:1-16:14, Isa 25:10; Jer. 48:1-49:7; Ezek. 25:1-26:21; Amo 1:13-15, Amo 2:1-3

as Gomorrah : Zep 2:14; Gen 19:24, Gen 19:25; Deu 29:23; Isa 13:19, Isa 13:20, Isa 34:9-13; Jer 49:18, Jer 50:40

the residue : Zep 2:7, Zep 3:13; Joe 3:19, Joe 3:20; Mic 5:7, Mic 5:8

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Zep 2:9

Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of hosts - Life especially belongs to God, since He Alone is Underived Life. "He hath life in Himself"Joh 5:26. He is entitled "the living God,"as here, in tacit contrast with the dead idols of the Philistines 1Sa 17:26, 1Sa 17:36, with idols generally Jer 10:10; or against the blasphemies of Sennacherib 2Ki 19:4, 2Ki 19:16, the mockeries of scoffers Jer 23:36, of the awe of His presence (Deu 5:25 (Deu 5:26 in Hebrew)), His might for His people Jos 3:10; as the object of the soul’ s longings , the nearness in the Gospel, "children of the living God"(Hos 1:10 (Hos 2:1 in Hebrew)). "Since He can swear by no greater, He sware by Himself"Heb 6:13. Since mankind are ready mostly to believe that God means well with them, but are slow to think that He is in earnest in His threats, God employs this sanction of what He says, twice only in regard to His promises or His mercy Isa 49:18; Eze 33:10; everywhere else to give solemnity to His threats Num 14:28; Deu 32:40, (adding לעולס ) Jer 22:24; Eze 5:11; Eze 14:16, Eze 14:18, Eze 14:20; Eze 16:48; (as Judge) Eze 17:16, Eze 17:19; Eze 18:3; (in rebuke) Eze 20:3, Eze 20:31, Eze 20:33; Eze 33:27; Eze 34:8; Eze 35:11. In the same sense, I swear by Myself, Jer 22:5; Jer 49:13; hath sworn by Himself, Amo 6:8; by the excellency of Jacob, Amo 8:7). The appeal to the truth of His own being in support of the truth of His words is part of the grandeur el the prophet Ezekiel in whom it chiefly occurs. God says in the same meaning, by Myself have I sworn, of promises which required strong faith .

Saith the Lord of Hosts - Their blasphemies had denied the very being of God, as God, to whom they preferred or likened their idols; they had denied His power or that He could avenge, so He names His Name of power, "the Lord of the hosts"of heaven against their array against His border, I, "the Lord of hosts"who can fulfill what I threaten, and "the God of Israel"who Myself am wronged in My people, will make "Moab as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah."Sodom and Gomorrah had once been flourishing cities, on the borders of that land, which Israel had won from the Amorite, and of which Moab and Ammon at different times possessed themselves, and to secure which Ammon carried on that exterminating war. For they were to the east of the plain "between Bethel and Ai,"where Lot made his choice, "in the plain or circle of Jordan"Gen 13:1, Gen 13:3, Gen 13:11, the well known title of the tract, through which the Jordan flowed into the Dead Sea. Near this, lay Zoar, (Ziara) beneath the caves whither Lot, at whose prayer it had been spared, escaped from its wickedness.

Moab and Ammon had settled and in time spread from the spot, wherein their forefathers had received their birth. Sodom, at least, must have been in that part of the plain, which is to the east of the Jordan, since Lot was bidden to flee to the mountains, with his wife and daughters, and there is no mention of the river, which would have been a hindrance Gen 19:17-23. Then it lay probably in that "broad belt of desolation"in the plain of Shittim, as Gomorrah and others of the Pentapolis may have lain in "the sulphur-sprinkled expanse"between El Riha (on the site of Jericho) and the dead sea, "covered with layers of salt and gypsum which overlie the loamy subsoil, literally, fulfilling the descriptions of Holy Writ (says an eye-witness), "Brimstone and salt and burning, that it is not sown nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein"Deu 29:23 : "a fruitful land turned into salthess"Psa 107:34. "No man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it"Jer 49:18. An elaborate system of artificial irrigation was carried through that cis-Jordanic tract, which decayed when it was desolated of man, and that desolation prevents its restoration.

The doom of Moab and Ammon is rather of entire destruction beyond all recovery, than of universal barrenness. For the imagery, that it should be the "breeding"(literally, ‘ possession’ ) "of nettles"would not be literally compatible, except in different localities, with that of "saltpits,"which exclude all vegetation. Yet both are united in Moab. The soil continues, as of old, of exuberant fertility; yet in part, from the utter neglect and insecurity of agriculture it is abandoned to a rank and encumbering vegetation; elsewhere, from the neglect of the former artiticial system of irrigation, it is wholly barren. The plant named is one of rank growth, since outcasts could lie concealed under it Job 30:7. The preponderating authority seems to be for "mollach,"the Bedouin name of the "mallow,"Prof. E. H. Palmer says , "which,"he adds, "I have seen growing in rank luxuriance in Moab, especially in the sides of deserted Arab camps."

The residue of My people shall spoil them, and the remnant of My people shall possess them - Again, a remnant only, but even these shall prevail against them, as was first fulfilled in Judas Maccabaeus (1 Macc. 5:6-8).

Poole: Zep 2:9

As I live the most solemn oath, fit for none but God himself to use: see Eze 14:16 .

Saith the Lord of hosts who have all things at my disposal, and can arm all creatures against these proud revilers.

The God of Israel who by covenant am Israel’ s God, and Israel is my people, in whose reproaches I am reproached.

Shall be as Sodom: this is a proverbial speech in Scripture phrase to speak great destruction, as Isa 1:9 . Moab and Ammon were not destroyed by fire, as Sodom and Gomorrah; but the next words are an explication of these.

The breeding of nettles not cultivated, but run over with nettles, as if it were only to breed them.

And salt-pits a salt, dry, barren earth, fit only to dig salt out of.

A perpetual desolation never more to be manured and inhabited, or not for a long, a very long time.

The residue either the few left with Gedaliah, or the remnant that returned out of Babylon.

Shall spoil them provoked by the injuries of Moab and Ammon, shall take arms, overcome, and spoil them.

Shall possess them settle upon their lands, and dwell in those parts that are fit for habitation.

Haydock: Zep 2:9

Dryness. Septuagint, "Damascus shall be abandoned as a heap on the barn-floor, and disappearing for an age." (Haydock) ---

This city is threatened with the rest, Isaias xvii. 1. (Calmet) ---

Ever. Septuagint refer this to Damascus, others to Ammon, &c. (Haydock) ---

The latter nations were in desolation for a long time; but had re-established themselves, when the Machabees reduced them again, Jeremias xlviii., and 1 Machabees v. 6.

Gill: Zep 2:9

Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,.... The Lord here swears by himself, by his life; partly to show how provoked he was at, and how grievously he resented, the injuries done to his people; and partly to observe the certain fulfilment of what is after declared; and it might be depended upon it would surely be done, not only because of his word and oath, which are immutable; but because of his ability to do it, as "the Lord of hosts", of armies above and below; and because of the covenant relation that subsisted between him and Israel, being their God; and therefore would avenge the insults and injuries done them:

surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah; that is, should be utterly destroyed, as these cities were; whose destruction is often made use of to express the utter ruin and destruction of any other people; otherwise it is not to be supposed that these countries were to be destroyed, or were destroyed, in like manner, by fire from heaven; the similitude lies in other things after expressed:

even the breeding of nettles; or "left to nettles" ^q; or rather to "thorns", as the Targum: and so the Vulgate Latin version renders it "the dryness of thorns", though to a very poor sense. In general the meaning of the phrase is, that those countries should be very barren and desolate, like such places as are overrun with nettles, thorns, briers, and brambles; and these so thick, that there is no passing through them without a man's tearing his garments and his flesh: for Schultens ^r, from the use of the word ^s in the Arabic language, shows that the words are to be rendered a "thicket of thorns which tear"; and cut the feet of those that pass through them; and even their whole body, as well as their clothes; and, wherever these grow in such plenty, it is a plain sign of a barren land, as well as what follow:

and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation; signifying that the countries of Moab and Ammon should be waste, barren, and uncultivated, as the above places were, where nothing but nettles grew, as do in great abundance in desolate places; and where saltpits should be, or heaps of salt, as Kimchi interprets it; and wherever salt is found, as Pliny ^t says, it is a barren place, and produces nothing; though Herodotus ^u speaks of places where were hillocks of salt, and very fruitful; and where the people used salt in manuring and improving their ground; which must be accounted for by the difference of climate and soil: this passage is produced by Reland ^w to prove that the lake Asphaltites is not the place, as is commonly believed, where Sodom and Gomorrah stood; since those cities were not overflown, or immersed in and covered with water, but were destroyed by fire and brimstone, and so became desolate; and had no herbs and plants, but nettles, and such like things; and such these countries of Moab and Ammon should be, and ever remain so, at least for a long time; and especially should be desolate and uninhabited by the former possessors of it; see Deu 29:23 this was fulfilled about five years after the destruction of Jerusalem, when Nebuchadnezzar, as Josephus ^x relates, led his army into Coelesyria, and made war upon the Ammonites and Moabites, and subjected them to him, who were the inhabitant of it, as the same writer says ^y:

the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them; that is, the Jews, the remnant of them that returned from Babylon: now these, in the times of the Maccabees, and those that descended from them, seized on several places in these countries, and possessed them; for, after these countries had been subdued and made desolate by Nebuchadnezzar, they became considerable nations again. Josephus ^z says the Moabites in his time were a great nation; though in the third century, as Origen ^a relates, they went under the common name of Arabians; and, even long before the times of Josephus, they were called Arabian Moabites, as he himself observes; when he tells us that Alexander Jannaeus subdued them, and imposed a tribute on them; and who also gives us an account of the cities of the Moabites, which were taken and demolished by them, as Essebon, Medaba, Lemba, Oronas, Telithon, Zara, the valley of the Cilicians, and Pella; these he destroyed, because the inhabitants would not promise to conform to the rites and customs of the Jews ^b; though Josephus ben Gorion, who also makes mention of these cities as taken by the same prince, says ^c he did not demolish them, because they entered into a covenant and were circumcised; and he speaks of ten fortified cities of the king of Syria, added at the same time to the kingdom of Israel, not destroyed: likewise the children of Ammon, after their captivity by Nebuchadnezzar, became a powerful people: we read of the country of the Ammonites in

"Then Jason, who had undermined his own brother, being undermined by another, was compelled to flee into the country of the Ammonites.'' (2 Maccabees 4:26)

and, in the times of Judas Maccabeus, Timotheus, their general, got together a strong and numerous army, which being worsted by Judas, he took their city Jasoron, or Jaser,

"Afterward he passed over to the children of Ammon, where he found a mighty power, and much people, with Timotheus their captain.'' (1 Maccabees 5:6)

carried their wives and children captive, and burnt their city ^d; and this people, as well as the Moabites in the third century, as before observed, were swallowed up under the general name of Arabians; and neither of them are any more; all which has fulfilled this prophecy, and those of Jeremiah and Amos concerning them: this, likewise, in a spiritual sense, might have a further accomplishment in the first times of the Gospel, when it was preached in these countries by the apostles, and churches were formed in them; and may be still further accomplished in the latter day, when those parts of the world shall be possessed by converted Jews and by Gentile Christians. Kimchi owns it may be interpreted as future, of what shall be in the times of the Messiah.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Zep 2:9

¹ tn The Hebrew text reads מִמְשַׁק חָרוּל (mimshaq kharul, “[?] of weeds”). The meaning of the first word is unknown. The present translation (“They will be overrun by weeds”) is speculative, based on the general sense of the context. For a defense of “overrun” on linguistic grounds, see R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 347. Cf. NEB “a pile of weeds”; NIV “a place of weeds”; NRSV “a land possessed by nettles.”

² tn The Hebrew text reads וּמִכְרֵה־מֶלַח (umikhreh-melakh, “and a [?] of salt”). The meaning of the first word is unclear, though “pit” (NASB, NIV, NRSV; NKJV “saltpit”), “mine,” and “heap” (cf. NEB “a rotting heap of saltwort”) are all options. The words “filled with” are supplied for clarification.

³ tn Or “The remnant of my people.”

⁴ tn Heb “them.” The actual object of the plundering, “their belongings,” has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “[the] nation.” For clarity the “nation” has been specified as “Judah” in the translation.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Zep 2:1-15

1 An exhortation to repentance.

4 The judgment of the Philistines,

8 of Moab and Ammon,

12 of Ethiopia,

13 and of Assyria.

MHCC: Zep 2:4-15

Those are really in a woful condition who have the word of the Lord against them, for no word of his shall fall to the ground. God will restore his people to their rights, though long kept from them. It has been the common lot of God's people, in all ages, to be reproached and reviled. God shall be worshipped, not only by all Israel, and the strangers who join them, but by the heathen. Remote nations must be reckoned with for the wrongs done to God's people. The sufferings of the insolent and haughty in prosperity, are unpitied and unlamented. But all the desolations of flourishing nations will make way for the overturning Satan's kingdom. Let us improve our advantages, and expect the performance of every promise, praying that our Father's name may be hallowed every where, over all the earth.

Matthew Henry: Zep 2:8-11

The Moabites and Ammonites were both of the posterity of Lot; their countries joined, and, both adjoining to Israel, they are here put together in the prophecy against them.

I. They are both charged with the same crime, and that was reproaching and reviling the people of God and triumphing in their calamities (Zep 2:8): They have reproached my people; while God's people kept close to their duty it is probable that they reproached them for the singularities of their religion; and now that they had revolted from God, and fallen under his displeasure, they reproached them for that too. It has been the common lot of God's people in all ages to be reproached and reviled upon one account or other. Thus the old serpent spits his venom; and pride is at the bottom of it; it is in their pride that they have magnified themselves against the people of the Lord of hosts, thinking themselves as good as they, as great, and every way as happy. It is the comtempt of the proud that God's people are filled with, Psa 123:4. They have spoken big (so some read it, magna locuti sunt - they have spoken great things ) against their border (Zep 2:8), against those of them that bordered upon their country, whom upon all occasions they insulted, or against the property they claimed, which they disputed, or the protection they boasted of, which they ridiculed; they spoke big against the people of the Lord of hosts as a deserted abandoned people. Great swelling words of vanity are the genuine language of the church's enemies. "But I have heard them "(says God), "and will let you know that I have heard them. I have heard, and I will reckon for them,"Jud 1:15. And, if God hears the reproaches and revilings we are under, it is a good reason why we should be as a deaf man that hears not, Psa 38:14, Psa 38:15. Nay, God not only takes notice of, but interests himself in the reproaches cast on his people, because they are his; and it is certain that those who look with disdain upon the people of the Lord of hosts thereby dishonour the Lord of hosts himself. See this very thing charged on Moab and Ammon, Eze 25:3, Eze 25:8.

II. They are both laid under the same doom. Associates in iniquity may expect to be such in desolation. See with what solemnity sentence is pronounced upon them, Zep 2:9. It is the Lord of hosts, the sovereign Lord of all, who has authority to pass this sentence and ability to execute it; it is the God of Israel, who is jealous for their honour; it is he that has said it, nay, he has sworn it, As I live, saith the Lord. The sentence is, 1. That the Moabites and Ammonites shall be quite destroyed; they shall be as Sodom and Gomorrah, the marks of whose ruins in the Dead Sea lay near adjoining to the countries of Moab and Ammon; they shall, though not by the same means (even fire from heaven), Yet almost in the same manner, be laid waste; not again to be inhabited, or not of a long time. The country shall produce nothing but nettles, instead of corn; and there shall be brine-pits, instead of the pleasant fountains of water with which the country had abounded. 2. That Israel shall be too hard for them, shall spoil them of their goods and possess their country by lawful war. Note, Proud men sometimes, by the just judgment of God, fall under the mortification of being trampled upon themselves by those whom once they haughtily trampled upon. And this shall they have for their pride.

III. Other nations shall in like manner be humbled, that the Lord alone may be exalted (Zep 2:11): The Lord will be terrible unto the Moabites and Ammonites in particular, who have made themselves a terror to his Israel. For, 1. Heathen gods must be abolished. They have long had possession, and their worshippers have both glorified them and gloried in them. But the Lord will famish all the gods of the earth, will starve them out of their strong-holds. The Pagans had a fond conceit that their idols were regaled by their offerings, and did eat the fat of their sacrifices, Deu 32:38. Omnia comesta à Belo - Bel has eaten all. But it is here promised that when the Christian religion is set up in the world men shall be turned from the service of these dumb idols, shall forsake their altars, and bring no more sacrifices to them, and thus they shall be famished, or made lean (as the word is), their priests shall. This intimates the vanity of those idols; it lies in the power of their worshippers to famish them; whereas the true God says, If I were hungry, I would not tell thee. It intimates also the victory of the God of Israel over them. Now know we that he is greater than all gods. 2. Heathen nations must be converted; when the gospel gets ground, by it men shall be brought to worship him who lives for ever (for that is the command of the everlasting gospel, Rev 14:7), every one from his place; they shall not need to go up to Jerusalem to worship the God of Israel, but wherever they are, they may have access to him. I will that men pray every where. God shall be worshipped, not only by all the tribes of Israel and the strangers who join themselves to them, but by all the isles of the heathen. This is a promise which looks favourably upon our native country, for it is one of the most considerable of the isles of the Gentiles, by which God will be glorified.

Keil-Delitzsch: Zep 2:8-10

The judgment upon Joab and Ammon. - Zep 2:8. "I have heard the abuse of Moab, and the revilings of the sons of Ammon, who have abused my nation, and boasted against its boundary. Zep 2:9. Therefore, as I live, is the saying of Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Yea, Moab shall become like Sodom, and the sons of Ammon like Gomorrha, an inheritance of nettles and salt-pits, and desert for ever. The remnant of my nation will plunder them, the residue of my nation will inherit them. Zep 2:10. Such to them for their pride, that they have despised and boasted against the nation of Jehovah of hosts." The threat now turns from the Philistines in the west to the two tribes to the east, viz., the Moabites and Ammonites, who were descended from Lot, and therefore blood-relations, and who manifested hostility to Israel on every possible occasion. Even in the time of Moses, the Moabitish king Balak sought to destroy Israel by means of Balaam's curses (Numbers 22), for which the Moabites were threatened with extermination (Num 24:17). In the time of the judges they both attempted to oppress Israel (Jdg 3:12. and Jdg 10:7.; cf. 1Sa 11:1-5 and 2 Samuel 10-12), for which they were severely punished by Saul and David (1Sa 14:47, and 2Sa 8:2; 2Sa 12:30-31). The reproach of Moab and the revilings of the Ammonites, which Jehovah had heard, cannot be taken, as Jerome, Rashi, and others suppose, as referring to the hostilities of those tribes towards the Judaeans during the Chaldaean catastrophe; nor restricted, as v. Cölln imagines, to the reproaches heaped upon the ten tribes when they were carried away by the Assyrians, since nothing is know of any such reproaches. The charge refers to the hostile attitude assumed by both tribes at all times towards the nation of God, which they manifested both in word and deed, as often as the latter was brought into trouble and distress. Compare Jer 48:26-27; and for giddēph , to revile or blaspheme by actions, Num 15:30; Eze 20:27; also for the fact itself, the remarks on Amos 1:13-2:3. יגדּילוּ על גב , they did great things against their (the Israelites') border (the suffix in g^e bhūlâm , their border, refers to ‛ammı̄ , my people). This great doing consisted in their proudly violating the boundary of Israel, and endeavouring to seize upon Israelitish territory (cf. Amo 1:13). Pride and haughtiness, or high-minded self-exaltation above Israel as the nation of God, is charged against the Moabites and Ammonites by Isaiah and Jeremiah also, as a leading feature in their character (cf. Isa 16:6; Isa 25:11; Jer 48:29-30). Moab and Ammon are to be utterly exterminated in consequence. The threat of punishment is announced in Zep 2:8 as irrevocable by a solemn oath. It shall happen to them as to Sodom and Gomorrha. This simile was rendered a very natural one by the situation of the two lands in the neighbourhood of the Dead Sea. It affirms the utter destruction of the two tribes, as the appositional description shows. Their land is to become the possession of nettles, i.e., a place where nettles grow. Mimshâq , hap leg., from the root mâshaq , which was not used, but from which mesheq in Gen 15:2 is derived. Chârūl : the stinging nettle (see at Job 30:7), which only flourishes in waste places. Mikhrēh melach : a place of salt-pits, like the southern coast of the Dead Sea, which abounds in rock-salt, and to which there is an allusion in the threat of Moses in Deu 29:22. "A desert for ever:"the emphasis lies upon ‛ad ‛ōlâm (for ever) here. The people, however, i.e., the Moabites and Ammonites themselves, will be taken by the people of Jehovah, and be made their possession. The suffixes attached to יבזּוּם and ינחלוּם can only refer to the people of Moab and Ammon, because a land turned into an eternal desert and salt-steppe would not be adapted for a nachălâh (possession) for the people of God. The meaning is not, they will be their heirs through the medium of plunder, but they will make them into their own property, or slaves (cf. Isa 14:2; Isa 61:5). גּויי is גּוי with the suffix of the first person, only one of the two י being written. In Zep 2:10 the threat concludes with a repetition of the statement of the guilt which is followed by such a judgment.

The fulfilment or realization of the threat pronounced upon Philistia, Moab, and Ammon, we have not to look for in the particular historical occurrences through which these tribes were conquered and subjugated by the Chaldaeans, and to some extent by the Jews after the captivity, until they eventually vanished from the stage of history, and their lands became desolate, as they still are. These events can only come into consideration as preliminary stages of the fulfilment, which Zephaniah completely passes by, since he only views the judgment in its ultimate fulfilment. We are precluded, moreover, from taking the words as relating to that event by the circumstance, that neither Philistia on the one hand, nor Moabites and Ammonites on the other, were ever taken permanent possession of by the Jews; and still less were they ever taken by Judah, as the nation of God, for His own property. Judah is not to enter into such possession as this till the Lord turns the captivity of Judah (Zep 2:7); that is to say, not immediately after the return from the Babylonish captivity, but when the dispersion of Israel among the Gentiles, which lasts till this day, shall come to an end, and Israel, through its conversion to Christ, be reinstated in the privileges of the people of God. It follows from this, that the fulfilment is still in the future, and that it will be accomplished not literally, but spiritually, in the utter destruction of the nations referred to as heathen nations, and opponents of the kingdom of God, and in the incorporation of those who are converted to the living God at the time of the judgment, into the citizenship of the spiritual Israel. Until the eventual restoration of Israel, Philistia will remain an uninhabited shepherds' pasture, and the land of the Moabites and Ammonites the possession of nettles, a place of salt-pits and a desert; just as the land of Israel will for the very same time be trodden down by the Gentiles. The curse resting upon these lands will not be entirely removed till the completion of the kingdom of God on earth. This view is proved to be correct by the contents of Zep 2:11, with which the prophet passes to the announcement of the judgment upon the nations of the south and north.

Constable: Zep 1:2--3:9

II. The day of Yahweh's judgment 1:2--3:8

Zephaniah's prophecies are all about "the day of the LORD." He revealed two things about this "day," first, that it would involve judgment (1:2-3:8) and, second, that it would eventuate in blessing (3:9-20). The judgment portion is the larger of the two sections. This judgment followed by blessing motif is common throughout the Prophets. Zephaniah revealed that judgment would come from Yahweh on the whole earth, Judah, Israel's neighbors, Jerusalem, and all nations. The arrangement of this judgment section of the book is chiastic.

A Judgment on the world 1:2-3

B Judgment on Judah 1:4-2:3

C Judgment on Israel's neighbors 2:4-15

B' Judgment on Jerusalem 3:1-7

A' Judgment on the all nations 3:8

Constable: Zep 2:4-15

C. judgment on Israel's neighbors 2:4-15

Since all people need to seek the Lord (v. 3), Zephaniah revealed that judgment was headed for the nations around Judah as well as for Judah. He selected nations that lived in four directions from Judah to represent all the nations. Philistia lay west of Judah, Moab and Ammon east, Ethiopia south, and Assyria north.

"He [God] would also judge nations that were near as well as nations that were far away. Those near would be plundered and possessed by Judah. Those far away would simply be destroyed by the Lord."²²

Zephaniah prophesied to the people of Judah about these nations rather than to these nations themselves, though they might have heard about Zephaniah's prophecies. His prophecies about the nations reminded the Judeans that Yahweh was sovereign over all the earth and that He was not just singling out Judah for punishment.

Constable: Zep 2:8-11

2. Judgment coming on Moab and Ammon 2:8-11

2:8 Probably Zephaniah linked Moab and Ammon because both nations descended from Lot (Gen. 19:30-38) as well as because both lay to Judah's east. Both nations had taunted and reviled the Israelites from their earliest history. They had repeatedly lifted themselves up as enemies of God's chosen people (cf. Num. 22; 24:17; Judg. 3:12-14; 10:7-9; 11:4-6; 1 Sam. 11:1-11; 2 Sam. 10:1-14; 2 Kings 3).

2:9 Because of their hostility toward the Israelites, almighty Yahweh, Israel's God, would definitely destroy these nations as He had Sodom and Gomorrah (cf. Isa. 15-16; Jer. 48:1-49:22; Ezek. 25:1-14; 35; Amos 1:11-2:3). God had completely destroyed these cities that stood in the territory later occupied by Moab shortly before either of these nations came into existence (Gen. 19:23-29). Sodom and Gomorrah had become a notorious perpetual desolation, a place of salt pits where nothing but nettles grew (cf. Jer. 48:9), and that would be what Yahweh would make of Moab and Ammon. The remnant of Israelites would plunder these neighbors and take over their territory as an inheritance from their God (cf. Isa. 11:14).

2:10 Yahweh of armies would bring this fate on these nations because of their pride and arrogant ridicule of His people Israel (cf. Isa. 16:6; Jer. 48:26, 29; Ezek. 25:5-6, 8).

2:11 The Lord would terrify them. He would remove the inhabitants of these nations from the face of the earth so they would not be able to offer sacrifices to their pagan gods. As a result, these gods would starve. What kind of a god needs the sacrifices of mortals to sustain it? People from all the nations, pictured as living on the coastlands of the world, would worship Yahweh (cf. Mal. 1:11). This part of the prophecy awaits future fulfillment.

Guzik: Zep 2:1-15

Zephaniah 2 - Judgment Against the Nations

A. The last chance.

1. (1-2) Repent while there is still time.

Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation, before the decree is issued, or the day passes like chaff, before the Lord's fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger comes upon you!

a. Gather yourselves together: The idea is gathering together in a solemn demonstration of national mourning and repentance.

b. Before the decree is issued: All the announcement of judgment in the previous chapter is understood as a warning and as an invitation to repentance. The often-unwritten theme behind most every prophecy of judgment is, "This is what will happen if you do not repent." Here the prophet pleads with the nation to repent before it is too late.

c. Before the day passes like chaff: Here the prophet calls for a sense of urgency in repentance. Each day passes like chaff, and there is nothing to show for the day if we neglect what is most important: getting right and staying right with God.

i. How easy it is to let the days pass like chaff, and never get right with God! Often the devil's most powerful lie isn't that there is no God, or no Bible, or no truth - often his most powerful lie is that there is no hurry. Nevertheless, today is the day of salvation.

2. (3) The last chance.

Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger.

a. Seek the LORD, all you meek: Even the righteous must take heed to this warning. It would do them no good to say, "The LORD speaks to my wicked neighbor and not to me." At a critical moment of national danger, even the righteous must seek the LORD.

b. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger: In more than one place, God promises to hide His righteous in the day of great judgment. This is especially relevant to the time of the Great Tribulation, when Jesus warned us to Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:36)

B. Judgment against the nations.

1. (4-7) Judgment against the Philistines.

For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon desolate; they shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron shall be uprooted. Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: "I will destroy you; so there shall be no inhabitant." The seacoast shall be pastures, with shelters for shepherds and folds for flocks. The coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed their flocks there; in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening. For the LORD their God will intervene for them, and return their captives.

a. For Gaza shall be forsaken: Judgment will come against an unrepentant Judah, but it will also come against the pagan nations neighboring Judah. God promises to destroy the cities of the Philistines and give their land as pasture for the remnant of the house of Judah.

b. The name Cherethites is "a reference to their early geographical links with Crete." (Baker)

2. (8-11) Judgment against the Moabites and Ammonites.

"I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the insults of the people of Ammon, with which they have reproached My people, and made arrogant threats against their borders. Therefore, as I live," says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Surely Moab shall be like Sodom, and the people of Ammon like Gomorrah; overrun with weeds and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation. The residue of My people shall plunder them, and the remnant of My people shall possess them." This they shall have for their pride, because they have reproached and made arrogant threats against the people of the LORD of hosts. The LORD will be awesome to them, for He will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth; people shall worship Him, each one from his place, indeed all the shores of the nations.

a. I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the insults of the people of Ammon: First God looked to the west and saw the Philistines; now He looks to the east and sees the Moabites and the Ammonites. God promises to judge these peoples and bring them to perpetual desolation.

i. "The comparison of Moab and Ammon to Sodom and Gomorrah is not surprising in view of their origin: Moab and Ammon were the offspring of the incestuous relations of Lot's daughters with their drunk father after he fled the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah." (Walker)

b. The LORD will be awesome to them, for He will reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth; people shall worship Him: God will glorify Himself among the nations, and one way He will do it is to bring the idols of the nations low. All will see that their idols are vain and that the LORD alone is God.

3. (12) Judgment against Ethiopia.

"You Ethiopians also, you shall be slain by My sword."

a. You Ethiopians also: Now God looks to the south, announcing judgment against the Ethiopians.

4. (13-15) Judgment against Assyria.

And He will stretch out His hand against the north, destroy Assyria, and make Nineveh a desolation, as dry as the wilderness. The herds shall lie down in her midst, every beast of the nation. Both the pelican and the bittern shall lodge on the capitals of her pillars; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be at the threshold; for He will lay bare the cedar work. This is the rejoicing city that dwelt securely, that said in her heart, "I am it, and there is none besides me." How has she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down! Everyone who passes by her shall hiss and shake his fist.

a. And He will stretch out His hand against the north: God completes the circle of judgment against Israel's neighbors by looking at Assyria and her capital city of Nineveh, which will be made a desolate city fit only for the habitation of animals and birds.

b. This is the rejoicing city that dwelt securely: Nineveh felt strong and confident, but God knew how to bring her low. Here the Lord fulfills the principle of James 4:6: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

c. Zephaniah never mentions why the nations are ripe for judgment. Perhaps he assumes we've already read Amos and Isaiah and Nahum, which do detail the sins of these neighboring nations.

© 2001 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Zephaniah (Book Introduction)

ZEPHANIAH, ninth in order of the minor prophets, prophesied "in the days of Josiah" (Zep 1:1), that is, between 642 and 611 B.C. The name means "Jehovah hath guarded," literally, "hidden" (Psa 27:5; Psa 83:3). The specification in the introductory heading, of not only his father, but also his grandfather, and great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather, implies that the latter were persons of note, or else the design was to distinguish him from another Zephaniah of note at the time of the captivity. The Jews' supposition, that persons recorded as a prophet's ancestors were themselves endowed with the prophetic spirit, seems groundless. There is no impossibility of the Hezekiah, who was Zephaniah's great-great-grandfather, being King Hezekiah as to the number of generations; for Hezekiah's reign of twenty-nine years, and his successor's reign of fifty-five years, admit of four generations interposing between. Yet the omission of the designation, "king of Judah," is fatal to the theory (compare Pro 25:1; Isa 38:9).

He must have flourished in the earlier part of Josiah's reign. In Zep 2:13-15 rhe foretells the doom of Nineveh, which happened in 625 B.C.; and in Zep 1:4 he denounces various forms of idolatry, and specially that of Baal. Now Josiah's reformation began in the twelfth and was completed in the eighteenth year of his reign. Zephaniah, therefore, in denouncing Baal worship, co-operated with that good king in his efforts, and so must have prophesied somewhere between the twelfth and eighteenth years of his reign. The silence of the historical books is no argument against this, as it would equally apply against Jeremiah's prophetical existence at the same time. Jewish tradition says that Zephaniah had for his colleagues Jeremiah, whose sphere of labor was the thoroughfares and market places, and Huldah the prophetess, who exercised her vocation in the college in Jerusalem. The prophecy begins with the nation's sin and the fearful retribution coming at the hands of the Chaldeans. These are not mentioned by name, as in Jeremiah; for the prophecies of the latter, being nearer the fulfilment, become more explicit than those of an earlier date. The second chapter dooms the persecuting states in the neighborhood as well as Judea itself. The third chapter denounces Jerusalem, but concludes with the promise of her joyful re-establishment in the theocracy.

The style, though not generally sublime, is graphic and vivid in details (compare Zep 1:4-12). The language is pure, and free from Aramaisms. There are occasional coincidences with former prophets (compare Zep 2:14, with Isa 34:11; Zep 2:15, with Isa 47:8; Zep 3:10, with Isa 18:1; Zep 2:8, with Isa 16:6; also Zep 1:5, with Jer 8:2; Zep 1:12, with Jer 48:11). Such coincidences in part arise from the phraseology of Hebrew prophetic poetry being the common language of the inspired brotherhood. The New Testament, at Rom 15:6, seems to refer to Zep 3:9.

JFB: Zephaniah (Outline)

• GOD'S SEVERE JUDGMENT ON JUDAH FOR ITS IDOLATRY AND NEGLECT OF HIM: THE RAPID APPROACH OF THE JUDGMENT, AND THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF ESCAPE. (Zep. 1:1-18)
• EXHORTATION TO REPENT BEFORE THE CHALDEAN INVADERS COME. DOOM OF JUDAH'S FOES, THE PHILISTINES, MOAB, AMMON, WITH THEIR IDOLS, AND ETHIOPIA AND ASSYRIA. (Zep 2:1-15)
• RESUMPTION OF THE DENUNCIATION OF JERUSALEM, AS BEING UNREFORMED BY THE PUNISHMENT OF OTHER NATIONS: AFTER HER CHASTISEMENT JEHOVAH WILL INTERPOSE FOR HER AGAINST HER FOES; HIS WORSHIP SHALL FLOURISH IN ALL LANDS, BEGINNING AT JERUSALEM, WHERE HE SHALL BE IN THE MIDST OF HIS PEOPLE, AND SHALL MAKE THEM A PRAISE IN ALL THE EARTH. (Zep. 3:1-20)

TSK: Zephaniah 2 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Zep 2:1, An exhortation to repentance; Zep 2:4, The judgment of the Philistines, Zep 2:8, of Moab and Ammon, Zep 2:12. of Ethiopia, Zep 2:13. and of Assyria.

Poole: Zephaniah (Book Introduction)

THE ARGUMENT

This prophet, by a somewhat larger account of his pedigree, gives us ground to guess of what family he might be; the last named may possibly be the good king Hezekiah; the names are the same in Zep 1:1 , and 2Ki 18:1 . By his freedom with princes and the king’ s children, reproving them and threatening them, Zep 1:8 , with the loftiness of his style, may fairly be admitted a conjecture at somewhat more than ordinary in his descent: but whether of royal blood or not, he came with a Divine warrant, and with a prophetic spirit, sharply reproving all ranks of men for their sins; of which in particular idolatry, apostacy, and neglect to inquire for the true religion and the true God, and the sinful fashions as of great ones in their habits, and the violent oppression of the great ones, are named, Zep 1:5,6,8,9 ; which sins, and many others which then abounded amongst them, are threatened with severe punishments, and with utter desolation, which had already befallen some of the neighbouring nations named; and proposed as examples to the Jews, to move them to consider, repent, amend, and prevent the threatened judgments, which, unless they repent, will come suddenly. The prophet therefore affectionately exhorteth and presseth them to repentance, Zep 2 , by examples of those he mentioneth, whose impenitence, added to their sins, ruined them. By promises, and encouragements to expect mercy upon their hearkening to his counsel, he foretells the coming of the Messiah, the calling of the Gentiles, the preserving of a remnant of them amidst all the troubles and wasting judgments that should follow them, and a return out of captivity, with the re-establishing them as the church and people of God; which promise closeth his prophecy, and for which he calls on them to be thankful to and rejoice in their God, who in the midst of their sins, and his wrath for those sins, yet remembered his own mercies and covenant for them.

The time when Zephaniah prophesied, Zep 1:1 . God’ s severe judgment against Judah for divers sins, Zep 1:2-18 .

Poole: Zephaniah 2 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 2

An exhortation to repentance, Zep 2:1-3 . The judgment of the Philistines, Zep 2:4-7 of Moab and Ammon, Zep 2:8-11, of Ethiopia, Zep 2:12 , and Assyria, Zep 2:13-15 .

MHCC: Zephaniah (Book Introduction)

Zephaniah excites to repentance, foretells the destruction of the enemies of the Jews, and comforts the pious among them with promises of future blessings, the restoration of their nation, and the prosperity of the church in the latter days.

MHCC: Zephaniah 2 (Chapter Introduction)

(Zep 2:1-3) An exhortation to repentance.

(Zep 2:4-15) Judgments upon other nations.

Matthew Henry: Zephaniah (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Prophecy of Zephaniah

This prophet is placed last, as he was last in time, of all the minor prophets before the captivity, and not long before Jeremiah, who lived at the time of the captivity. He foretels the general destruction of Judah and Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, and sets their sins in order before them, which had provoked God to bring their ruin upon them, calls them to repentance, threatens the neighbouring nations with the like destructions, and gives encouraging promises of their joyful return out of captivity in due time, which have a reference to the grace of the gospel. We have, in the first verse, an account of the prophet and the date of his prophecy, which supersedes our enquiry concerning them here.

Matthew Henry: Zephaniah 2 (Chapter Introduction)

In this chapter we have, I. An earnest exhortation to the nation of the Jews to repent and make their peace with God, and so to prevent the judgments threatened before it was too late (Zep 2:1-3), and this inferred from the revelation of God's wrath against them in the foregoing chapter. II. A denunciation of the judgments of God against several of the neighbouring nations that had assisted, or rejoiced in, the calamity of Israel. 1. The Philistines (Zep 2:4-7). 2. The Moabites and Ammonites (Zep 2:8-11). 3. The Ethiopians and Assyrians (Zep 2:12-15). All these shall drink of the same cup of trembling that is put into the hands of God's people, as was also foretold by other prophets before and after.

Constable: Zephaniah (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title and Writer

The title of the book comes from the name of its writer.

"Zephaniah" means "Yahweh hides [or has hidden]," "Yahweh's watchman," or "Yahweh treasured." The uncertainty arises over the etymology of the prophet's name, which scholars dispute. I prefer "Yahweh hides."

Zephaniah was the great-great-grandson of Hezekiah (1:1), evidently King Hezekiah of Judah.¹ If he was indeed a descendant of the king, this would make him the writing prophet with the most royal blood in his veins, except for David and Solomon. Apart from the names of his immediate forefathers we know nothing more about him for sure, though it seems fairly sure where he lived. His references to Judah and Jerusalem (1:10-11) seem to indicate that he lived in Jerusalem, which would fit a king's descendant.

Unity

Criticism of the unity of Zephaniah has not had great influence. Zephaniah's prediction of Nineveh's fall (2:15; 612 B.C.) led critics who do not believe that the prophets could predict the future to date the book after that event. Differences in language and style led some critics to divide the book up and identify its various parts with diverse sources. Yet the unity of the message and flow of the entire book, plus ancient belief in its unity, have convinced most conservative scholars to regard Zephaniah as the product of one writer.²

Date

Zephaniah ministered during the reign of King Josiah of Judah (640-609 B.C.; 1:1). Scholars debate just when during his reign Zephaniah wrote, before or after his reforms, which began in 622 B.C.³ Zephaniah made no explicit reference to Josiah's reforms, and the evidence is really insufficient to settle the debate.

Zephaniah's reference to the future destruction of Nineveh (2:13) definitely fixed his writing before that event in 612 B.C. So the prophet ministered between 640 and 612 B.C. His contemporaries were Nahum, Habakkuk, and Jeremiah, though Jeremiah's ministry continued beyond the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C..

Place of Composition

References to Jerusalem in 1:10-11 seem to indicate that Zephaniah knew Jerusalem well. Since he ministered to the Southern Kingdom, it is likely that he lived in Judah and probably in Jerusalem.

Audience and Purpose

The fact that Yahweh's word came to Zephaniah during Josiah's reign (640-609 B.C.) means that he could not have ministered to the Northern Kingdom because it fell in 722 B.C. Thus Zephaniah's audience consisted of the people of Judah, the surviving southern kingdom.

The political situation in Judah during Josiah's reign was fairly peaceful. Following Assyria's capture of Samaria in 722 B.C., the Assyrian Empire began to decline. With its decline, Nabopolassar, the first of the Neo-Babylonian kings (626-605 B.C.), began to push Babylonia forward. Assyria declined and Babylonia advanced until Babylonia, with the Medes and Scythians, destroyed Nineveh in 612 B.C. and a few years later replaced Assyria as the dominant power in the ancient Near East. This happened in 605 B.C. when the Babylonians defeating the Assyrians and Egyptians at Carchemish. Judah benefited during this transitional period in Near Eastern politics. Josiah was able to get rid of some Assyrian religious practices, and he extended Judah's territory north into Naphtali.⁴

Josiah's evil predecessors, Manasseh (695-642 B.C.) and Amon (642-640 B.C.), had encouraged the people of Judah to depart from the Lord for over 50 years, so wickedness had become ingrained in them. In the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign (622 B.C.) Hilkiah the priest discovered the Law of Moses in the temple, and when Josiah read it he instituted major reforms throughout Judah. Josiah's reforms were good because they were official. He eliminated much of the display of idolatry in the land and revived the celebration of the Passover, among other things.⁵ But unfortunately his reforms did not change the hearts of most of the people, as Jeremiah revealed in his earlier prophecies. So the people to whom Zephaniah ministered had a long history of formal religion without much real commitment to Yahweh.

God sent a prophetic word to Zephaniah because the Judeans of his day still needed to get right with Him in their hearts. The prophet announced that God was going to send judgment on Judah for her wickedness. He also assured the godly few in the nation, the remnant, that the Lord would preserve them and remain true to His promises concerning ultimate worldwide blessing for Israel in the future. Perhaps 1:7 summarizes what the book is all about better than any other single verse: "Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the LORD is near."

". . . Zephaniah's purpose was to announce coming judgment on Judah in the Day of the Lord. However, he said that judgment would extend to all the nations of the earth, indicating that the Day of the Lord would also bring deliverance for Israel and the Gentiles."⁶

Literary form

"Zephaniah's style is chiefly characterized by a unity and harmony of composition plus energy of style. Rapid and effective alternations of threats and promises also characterize his style."⁷

"Zephaniah can hardly be considered great as a poet. He does not rank with Isaiah, nor even with Hosea in this particular. . . . He had an imperative message to deliver and proceeded in the most direct and forceful way to discharge his responsibility. What he lacked in grace and charm, he in some measure atoned for by the vigour and clarity of his speech. He realised the approaching terror so keenly that he was able to present it vividly and convincingly to his hearers. No prophet has made the picture of the day of Yahweh more real."⁸

Distinctive features

The Book of Zephaniah has been called "a compendium of the oracles of the prophets."⁹ This is true for two reasons. First, Zephaniah's general message is similar to that of most of the other writing prophets. Second, he used the same terms as several of the other prophets (cf. 1:7 and Hab. 2:20; 1:7 and Joel 1:15; 1:7 and Isa. 34:6; 2:14 and Isa. 13:21; 34:11; 2:15 and Isa. 47:8).

Zephaniah contains more references to "the day of the LORD" than any other Old Testament book. This phrase sometimes refers to the past, sometimes to the near future, sometimes to the distant future, and sometimes to the far distant, eschatological future. The phrase always refers to some period of time in which God is working in the world in a recognizable way. It usually refers to a time of blasting, but it also sometimes refers to blessing.

Zephaniah 1:14-18 has been called "emergent apocalyptic."¹⁰ This pericope contains material that would one day become prominent in Jewish apocalyptic literature.¹¹

Theologically, Zephaniah stressed the sovereign justice of Yahweh (1:2-3, 7, 14-18; 3:8) and His willingness to receive the repentant (2:1-2). He also emphasized the wickedness of man (1:3-6, 17; 3:1, 4). The theme of Yahweh's relationship to Jerusalem is prominent in Zephaniah as well (1:4-13; 3:1-7, 11-17).

Message¹²

The key to the Book of Zephaniah is the phrase "the day of the Lord." This phrase appears in most of the prophetic literature of the Old Testament. As we saw in Joel, "the day of the Lord" can be a past day, a day in the relatively near future, or a day in the far distant, eschatological future. It is any day in which God is dynamically at work in human affairs.

Wherever we find the phrase "the day of the Lord," it always suggests a contrast with the day of man. The day of man is any day when man appears to be in control of human affairs. It is a day of God's patience. The day of the Lord is any day when God is clearly in control of human affairs. It is a day of God's judgment. The phrase "the day of the Lord" is by no means unique to Zephaniah, but it is the key to the message of this book. Zephaniah used it more frequently than any other prophet. It was his burden. And he explained the meaning of this phrase more than any other prophet.

Zephaniah ministered during the reign of King Josiah of Judah (1:1). It is rather remarkable that the prophet did not refer to Josiah's reforms, which were his great spiritual contribution to the history of Judah. Probably the reason for the lack of mention is that Josiah's reforms were a result of his personal dedication to Yahweh rather than the result of a revival of spiritual life among the Judahites generally. Huldah's prophecy reflects this difference (2 Kings 22:14-20; 2 Chron. 34:22-28). Zephaniah took no note of Josiah's good heart but addressed the spiritual need of the Judahites. The contrast between this king and his subjects is striking.

The day of the Lord that Zephaniah predicted was an eschatological day in which God would judge the people of Judah and Jerusalem. This judgment will take place during the first part of the eschatological day of the Lord, the period we refer to as the Tribulation. Zephaniah also predicted restoration following judgment (ch. 3). This refers to the second part of the eschatological day of the Lord, the period we refer to as the Millennium. But Zephaniah also had in mind an eschatological day of the Lord even after the Millennium. This seems clear from the extent of devastation he described and the picture of restoration he painted. That day of the Lord will be the judgment of the Lord at the end of the Millennium including the destruction of the present earth and heavens, which will be followed by the creation of new heavens and a new earth. Other revelation helps us see that there are in fact two periods of future judgment followed by restoration, not just one, which we might conclude if all we had was Zephaniah's prophecy (cf. Rev.).

The permanent value of the Book of Zephaniah is its unveiling of the day of the Lord. The book does not reveal exactly when that day will come. The only chronological reference in the book is in the first verse that locates Zephaniah's ministry in history. The book pictures God judging in the undefined future. This is not judgment through armies of invading soldiers or through any human instrumentality. It is direct judgment from God Himself.

There are three things that this book reveals about this coming day of the Lord: its content, its extent, and its intent.

The content of the day of the Lord is clear from 1:2-3. God will visit earth with direct and positive retribution, not in the general administrative sense of bringing people to account eventually but in the narrower sense of executing vengeance on humanity in cataclysmic judgment (1:14-16). This judgment will fall in spite of human unbelief (1:12). When people will be disregarding God, He will break into human history dynamically, supernaturally to judge. Peter's description of the day of the Lord is remarkably similar (2 Pet. 3:1-10). People today are saying what these two prophets said they would say so long ago. They are saying that God will never intervene in judgment this way. The great statement of the Book of Zephaniah is that God will indeed do this in a day yet future.

What will be the extent of this judgment? Zephaniah reveals that it will be discriminating. His people will be the special target of this judgment, though all humanity will also suffer (1:12). As we can see from this verse, the last stages of sin are complacency and indifference. It is an interesting fact of history that complacency and indifference have frequently preceded the destruction of great empires of the past. Assyria fell to Babylonia because she was complacent and indifferent (Nahum). Remember the fall of the Babylonian Empire that we read of in Daniel 5. The Roman Empire fell to the Visigoths from the north because it had become complacent and indifferent. And earlier the Northern Kingdom of Israel and later the Southern Kingdom of Judah fell to Assyria and Babylonia respectively for the same reasons. The spirit that produces these conditions is disregard for God and His Word (3:2). The result of such a spirit is that the leaders of the people forsake their proper servant role and turn to abusing the people to fatten themselves (3:3-4).

Reading Zephaniah is somewhat like watching a science fiction movie about a nuclear disaster that leaves nothing but a sterile, uninhabited, windswept landscape with no life, no flowers, no fruit, and no beauty. What produces this horrible condition? The reason is people who are complacent and indifferent, who disregard and ignore God. They do not obey God's voice, receive His correction, trust in Him, or draw near to Him. They are materialized, self-centered, living in luxury oblivious to their danger. So God steps in and turns their complacency into chaos, disorganizes their orderly lives, and purges them in their indifference. All that is left is a wind-swept desert.

What is the intent of this terrible activity? It is the creation of a new order with God Himself enthroned among His creatures (3:17). Chapter 3 of this prophecy is such a different picture of the future from what we have in chapters 1 and 2 that some commentators have said that a different person must have written it. Chapter 3 describes songs instead of sorrow, service instead of selfishness, and solidarity instead of scattering. That is the intent of this judgment. Marvelous restoration will follow devastating judgment.

The living message of this book is twofold. We can rejoice in the assurance of this coming judgment followed by restoration, and we have a responsibility in view of this coming judgment followed by restoration.

It is our privilege to "rejoice in the hope of the glory of God" that will be manifested at the end of God's judgment (Rom. 5:2b). Even though the day of the Lord will involve the destruction of all things that destroy, it will also begin a new era of singing, service, and solidarity. That era will be the millennial reign of Christ first and then the eternal state.

It is also our responsibility to live holy and godly lives as we anticipate the coming of "new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness will dwell" (2 Pet. 3:11-13). We need to be diligent to be found at peace with God, "spotless and blameless" in our lives (2 Pet. 3:14). We need to be on guard that we do not fall away from our own faithfulness because of the prevalent "error of unprincipled people" (i.e., complacency and indifference; 2 Pet. 3:17). And we need to continue to "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 3:18). Rejoicing and responsible living: these characteristics need to mark the lives of people who anticipate the day of the Lord.

We could state the message of the book as follows. God will intervene in history catastrophically to judge humanity's complacency and indifference and to restore His people to the conditions of blessing that He originally intended for them to enjoy.

Constable: Zephaniah (Outline)

Outline

I. Heading 1:1

II. The day of Yahweh's judgment 1:2-3:8

A. Judgment on the world 1:2-3

B. Judgment on Judah 1:4-2:3

1. The cause for Judah's judgment 1:4-6

2. The course of Judah's judgment 1:7-13

3. The imminence and horrors of Judah's judgment 1:14-18

4. A call to repentance 2:1-3

C. Judgment on Israel's neighbors 2:4-15

1. Judgment coming on Philistia 2:4-7

2. Judgment coming on Moab and Ammon 2:8-11

3. Judgment coming on Ethiopia 2:12

4. Judgment coming on Assyria 2:13-15

D. Judgment on Jerusalem 3:1-7

E. Judgment on all nations 3:8

III. The day of Yahweh's blessing 3:9-20

A. The purification of the nations 3:9

B. The transformation of Israel 3:10-20

1. Israel's purification 3:10-13

2. Israel's and Yahweh's rejoicing 3:14-17

3. Israel's regathering 3:18-20

Constable: Zephaniah

Zephaniah

Bibliography

Chisholm, Robert B., Jr. "A Theology of the Minor Prophets." In A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, pp. 397-433. Edited by Roy B. Zuck. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991.

Christensen, Duane L. "Zephaniah 2:4-15: A Theological Basis for Josiah's Program of Political Expansion." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 46 (1984):669-82.

Craigie, Peter C. Twelve Prophets. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1985.

Dyer, Charles H., and Eugene H. Merrill. The Old Testament Explorer. Nashville: Word Publishing, 2001.

Feinberg, Charles Lee. Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Malachi. The Major Messages of the Minor Prophets series. New York: American Board of Missions to the Jews, 1951.

Hannah, John D. "Zephaniah." In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, pp. 1523-35. Edited by John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck. Wheaton: Scripture Press Publications, Victor Books, 1985.

Henry, Mattthew. Commentary on the Whole Bible. Edited by Leslie F. Church. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1961.

Keil, Carl Friedrich. The Twelve Minor Prophets. 2 vols. Translated by James Martin. Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament. Reprint ed. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1949.

Laetsch, T. The Minor Prophets. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1956.

Patterson, Richard D. Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary sereis. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991.

Smith, J. M. P. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Zephaniah and Nahum, International Critical Commentaries series. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1911.

Walker, Larry Lee. "Zephaniah." In Daniel-Minor Prophets. Vol. 7 of The Expositor's Bible Commentary. 12 vols. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein and Richard P. Polcyn. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1985.

Wilson, M. R. "Nineveh." In Major Cities of the Biblical World. Edited by R. K. Harrison. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1985.

Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Zephaniah (Book Introduction)

THE PROPHECY OF SOPHONIAS.

INTRODUCTION.

Sophonias, whose name, saith St. Jerome, signifies "the watchman of the Lord," or "the hidden of the Lord," prophesied in the beginning of the reign of Josias. He was a native of Sarabatha, and of the tribe of Simeon, according to the more general opinion. He prophesied the punishments of the Jews, for their idolatry and other crimes; also the punishments that were to come on divers nations; the coming of Christ, the conversion of the Gentiles, the blindness of the Jews, and their conversion towards the end of the world. (Challoner) --- Some editions read, Ezechias. (Haydock) --- But this opinion is not well grounded no more than that of the Jews, who assert (Calmet) that all the ancestors mentioned by the prophets were endued with the prophetic spirit, for which reason Amos specifies none, as he was not the son of a prophet, Amos vii. 14. (St. Jerome) --- Sophonias appeared a little before Jeremias, Ezechiel, Baruch, and Daniel, foretelling the captivity and return of the two tribes, the destruction of various nations, the conversion of the Gentiles, and of the Jews also towards the end of the world. (Worthington) --- Many of the promises regard only the Christian Church. (Calmet)

Gill: Zephaniah (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO ZEPHANIAH

This book in some Hebrew copies is called "Sepher Zephaniah", the Book of Zephaniah. Its title, in the Vulgate Latin version, is, the Prophecy of Zephaniah; and, in the Syriac version, the Prophecy of the Prophet Zephaniah; and so the Arabic version calls him a prophet; and he is the last of the minor prophets that prophesied before the Babylonish captivity. The time of his prophesying, as well as his, parentage, are expressed Zep 1:1, and therefore need not be inquired into; only the sad mistake of Hobbes ^a may be observed, who makes him to be the most ancient of the prophets, and to be contemporary with Amaziah and Uzziah, kings of Judah, when he is expressly said to prophesy in the days of Josiah. Pseudo-Epiphanius ^b calls him a prophet of Sarabatha, of a mountain of that name, and says he was of the tribe of Simeon; and in this Isidore ^c agrees with him; and both affirm that he died and was buried in his own native place; but the author of the Cippi Hebraici ^d says he was buried at Geba, in Mount Lebanon, in the midst of a cave shut up, where his school continues; and from which place the clouds never depart, and where also are flowing fountains. His name, according to Jerom, signifies either "the Lord's watch tower", or "watchman"; or else "the secret of the Lord"; or, "his hidden one"; deriving his name, either from hpu, which signifies to "look out", as a watchman from his tower; or from Npu, "to hide"; which latter derivation is best; and some interpret it "a revealer of the secrets", or "hidden things, of the Lord"; and take it to be much the same with Zaphnathpaaneah, the name given to Joseph by Pharaoh, Gen 41:45, and is of the same signification: but Hillerus ^e interprets the name of Zephaniah, "the Lord hid himself"; which agrees with the times in which he lived. That this prophecy was wrote by himself, there need be no doubt of; nor of the authenticity of it, being always received by the Jewish synagogue as authentic; and as it appears to be from its style and manner of composition; from the subject matter of it agreeing with other parts of Scripture, especially with Jeremiah and Ezekiel; and from the accomplishment of various prophecies in it. There are indeed some spurious things which have been ascribed to him, as the "analepsis" or assumption of Zephaniah the prophet, and the prophecy of Zephaniah, consisting of six hundred verses; but these are apocryphal, and have no likeness to this prophecy; in which he foretells the destruction of the Jews by the Chaldeans for their sins, which he inveighs against, and calls them to repentance for them, as also the ruin of many other nations, all which came to pass; as well as he prophesies of the calling of the Gentiles, and the conversion of the Jews, and of the comfortable state of the church in Gospel times, and especially in the latter day.

Gill: Zephaniah 2 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO ZEPHANIAH 2

In this chapter the prophet exhorts the Jews to repentance; and foretells the destruction of several neighbouring nations. The body of the people of the Jews in general are first called upon to gather together and humble themselves, who were a people neither desirable, nor deserving of the favours of God, nor desirous of them, Zep 2:1 and to this they are pressed, from the consideration of God's decree of vengeance being ready to bring forth and break forth upon them, Zep 2:2 and then the few godly among them are exhorted to seek the Lord, and what is agreeable to him; since there was at least a probability of their being protected by him in a time of general calamity, Zep 2:3 and that the destruction of this people might appear the more certain, and that they might have no dependence on their neighbours, the prophet proceeds to predict the ruin of several of them, particularly the Philistines; several places belonging to them are by name mentioned, and the whole land threatened with desolation; the maritime part of it to be only inhabited by shepherds and their flocks; and afterwards the coast possessed by the Jews, on their return from their captivity, Zep 2:4. Next the Moabites and Ammonites are prophesied of; whose destruction should come upon them for their pride, and for their contempt and reviling of the people of God; and which should be like that of Sodom and Gomorrah; and would issue in the abolition of idolatry, and the setting up of the worship of God in their country, and elsewhere, Zep 2:8. As for the Ethiopians, they should be slain with the sword, Zep 2:12 and the whole monarchy of Assyria, with Nineveh the metropolis of it, should be utterly laid waste, and become a desolation, and a wilderness; and the habitation, not only of flocks, but of beasts and birds of prey, Zep 2:13.