Explanation of the book of zephaniah

Zephaniah summary we have detailed a brief summary of the book of zephaniah for bible study or sunday school lessons. The purpose of this book was to show that god raised up his prophet zephaniah to proclaim a warning of. Zephaniah overview summary section by section, chartsrecommended. Chapters 914 of the book of zechariah are an early example of apocalyptic literature. The book of zephaniah was written from 640609 bc, during the reign of king josiah who brought spiritual renewal and reform to judah after the long and devastating reign of king manasseh. The last chapter depicts peoples from all over the world coming. This summary of the book of zephaniah provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and. Zephaniahs message of judgment and encouragement contains three major doctrines.

Extensive verse by verse explanation, illumination and clarification of this prophetic book seen though the lens of. Historically, the book of zephaniah was used in the providence of god to prepare judah for the reforms and revival under king josiah. Zephaniah, israelite prophet, said to be the author of one of the shorter old testament prophetical books, who proclaimed the approaching divine judgment. Zephaniah with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. The day of the lord is a major theme in zephaniah occurring 23 times in this short book as well as in obadiah, joel, and ezekiel. Zephaniah warns israel and the surrounding nations that the day of the lord is near. Book of zephaniah, also called sophonias, the ninth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, collected in one book, the twelve, in the jewish canon. It is most likely that the book of the prophet zephaniah comes from a time after the rule of king josiah. Book of zephaniah overview insight for living ministries. Zephaniah meaning the name zephaniah means stored by for yah or yah stores up, and reminds of the words of jesus. Bible book list access the niv cultural backgrounds study bible notes when you upgrade to bible gateway plus. A new translation with introduction and commentary. The book consists of a series of independent sayings, many of which are rightly attributed to.

Zephaniah and his contemporaries, jeremiah and habakkuk, were some of the prophets god used to pronounce this warning message. The purpose of this book was to show the complacent southern kingdoms that they were wicked, god used a prophet zephaniah to be his mouth piece and raise a flag of warning for them to change their ways. The lord gave this message to zephaniah when josiah was king. Through the prophecy the nation of the prophets day was faced with its sin, reminded of coming judgment, and instructed concerning the ultimate glory that will come to israel.

Do not treasure up for you treasures on the earth, where moth and rust cause to vanish, and where thieves dig through and steal. Like the writings of many of the prophets, the book of zephaniah follows a pattern of judgment on all people for their sin followed by the restoration of gods chosen people. The first verse of this book tells us that the word of yahweh came to zephaniah, the son of cushi, the son of gedaliah, the son of amariah, the son of hezekiah, in the days of josiah, the son of amon, king of judah 1. If one of these two themes rises to the surface, however, it is the. The setting for the book of zephaniah according to zephaniah 1. The book of zephaniah contains some of the most intense images of gods justice and love found in the prophetic books. Zephaniah wrote it shortly before the fall of judah in the southern kingdom.

Zephaniah 1 the word of the lord that came to bible. Zephaniah was the grandson of hezekiah, but we cannot be sure that this hezekiah was the same hezekiah who ruled jerusalem during the time of isaiah. Despite the fact that zephaniah warns judah of impending doom, the prophecy is dual, and the major fulfillment of his prophecy is yet future. It describes a time when yahweh will come to his people and necessarily destroy evil as a means to delivering them. Zephaniah s ministry occurred during the reign of josiah, king of judah. The book of zechariah teaches that salvation may be obtained by all. This summary of the book of zephaniah provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of zephaniah. If these were not prophets, as the jewish doctors make them, yet it is probable they were persons of some note in judah. Zephaniah warned of an impending judgment while providing hope for the faithful. Zephaniahs primary target for gods message of judgment, the nation of judah, had fallen. Although not as fully developed as the apocalyptic visions described in the book of daniel, the oracles, as they are titled in zechariah 914, contain apocalyptic elements. Edward gibbon in his book the decline and fall of the roman empire. The people rebel against the teachings of the lord or his servants the prophets.

This book mentions the day of the lord more than does any other book in the old testament, clarifying the picture of judahs fall to babylon and the eventual. The opening verses of the book of zephaniah revealed the prophet zephaniahs lineage that traced back to king hezekiah, which made him of royal blood. On that day, punishment will be executed on all gods enemies from many nations and salvation will be granted to all gods people, also from many nations. The word that came to zephaniah the divine revelation that was made to him. The book tells us that zephaniah prophesied during the reign of josiah, the king of judah from 640 to 609 bc zephaniah 1. The pleasure of god in the good of his people desiring god. Zephaniah probably lived in judah, and possibly jerusalem, since he clearly knew the city so well. His pedigree is traced to his fourth ancestor, hezekiah, zephaniah 1.

Zephaniah is the ninth of the minor prophets, the last 12 books of the old testament. In the book of zephaniah, gods justice and love offer. Zephaniah, nahum, and habakkuk book summaries, test. Written to zephaniah addressed the jews in judah and all later bible readers. It may be in some contexts, but the phrase simply refers to any visitation of god upon a people. The first verse of the book of zephaniah makes him a contemporary of josiah, king of judah reigned c. By this the godly harmony is shown in the prophecies of such different men who have lived at totally different times but who always presented the one goal of god. Zephaniah contemporary of jeremiah preached around 625 bc king manasseh is dead after a reign of 55 years the most evil king in judah he was the exact opposite of his father king hezekiah. Book of zephaniah read bible verses online bible study tools. So often found in the teachings of the prophets of israel. Gedaliahs father was amariah, and amariahs father was hezekiah. The book of zephaniah is narrative history and prophetic source of wisdom.

Zephaniah pronounces the lords judgment on the whole earth, on judah, on the surrounding nations, on jerusalem and on all. Josiah was the son of amon, who was the king of judah 2 it is the lord who is speaking now. Book of zephaniah, also called sophonias, the ninth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, collected in one book, the twelve. Watch our overview video on the book of zephaniah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Zephaniah teaches us that all things work together for good to those who love god and are called according to his purpose. God will judge the nations with a burning fire as he purifies them from sin, evil and violence. The book consists of a series of independent sayings, many of which are rightly attributed to zephaniah, written probably about 640630 bc. The book of zephaniah was written during the reign of king josiah, likely in the early part of his reign, between 635 and 625 bc.

Zephaniah means yahweh has hiddenprotected, or yahweh hides. The purpose of this book was to show that god raised up his prophet zephaniah to proclaim a warning of coming judgment and to encourage repentance. The northern ten tribes had already been carried into assyria nearly a century before, c. The book of zephaniah follows the pattern of the four rs rebellion, retribution, repentance, restoration. The book of zephaniah was alleged written by the prophet zephaniah, whose lineage is. The hope is that reflection on these other doctrinal explanations will help us see possible applications to our study of zephaniah. We have mentioned this several times in our study of the prophets, but i will point it out in case someone has not heard the explanation. This is book number 8 in the summary of the 12 minor prophets of the bible. Josiah had begun to reign in judah about 80 years after the northern kingdom of israel had been swept away by the assyrian invaders. We can begin to pinpoint exactly when zephaniah prophesied by accounting for a few details in the text.

The prophet zephaniah was evidently a person of considerable social standing in judah and was. Several of the things zephaniah says will happen, could have been fulfilled by the babylonians when they destroyed judah. The message of zephaniah to the global church of the twentyfirst century is the certainty of the coming day of the l ord. The book of zephaniah shows extremely many similarities with other prophetic books of the ot. That is a phrase we have seen before in books of prophets esp. Zephaniah means hidden of the lord and the prophet is speaking as if he were a representative of the remnant of faith those relatively few people who will remain true to god and be faithful to his word through the time of trouble that is to come upon the earth. When god had a message for the people, he spoke through the prophets.

I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth, declares the lord. The small book of zephaniah is narrative history and prophetic oracle. Zephaniah son of cushi son of gedaliah son of amariah son of hezekiah, in the days of king josiah son of amon of judah. The chief characteristics of this book are the unity and harmony of the composition, the grace, energy and dignity of its style, and the rapid and effective alternations of threats and promises. His word came in visions, oracles, dreams, parables, and the like. The book of zephaniah from the book minor prophets. Zephaniah was a prophet at the same time when jeremiah was a prophet. Summary of the book of zephaniah the story of the bible. Zephaniah was a prophet of doom in the true sense of the word. The insights tom has gained from memorizing the entire book of zephaniah and the great contributions they offer to bible students.