Zephaniah

Zephaniah /ˌzɛfəˈnaɪ.ə/ or Tzepfanyah (Hebrew: צְפַנְיָה, Modern Tsfanya, Tiberian Ṣəp̄anyā; “Concealed of/is Lord”) is the name of several people in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish Tanakh. His name is commonly transliterated Sophonias in Bibles translated from the Latin Vulgate or Septuagint. The name might mean “Yah(weh) has concealed,” “[he whom] Yah(weh) has hidden,” or “Yah(weh) lies in wait”.

The most well-known Biblical figure bearing the name Zephaniah is the son of Cushi, and great, great grandson of King Hezekiah, ninth in the literary order of the minor prophets. He prophesied in the days of Josiah, king of Judah (B.C. 641-610), and was contemporary with Jeremiah, with whom he had much in common. The only primary source from which we obtain our scanty knowledge of the personality and the rhetorical and literary qualities of this individual is the short book of the Old Testament which bears his name. The scene of his activity was the city of Jerusalem. (Zephaniah 1:4-10; 3:1, 14)

Under the two preceding kings of Judah, Amon and Manasseh, the cult of other deities (especially Baal and Astarte) had developed in the Holy City, bringing with it elements of alien culture and morals. Josiah, a dedicated reformer, wished to put an end to perceived misuse of the holy places. One of the most zealous champions and advisers of this reform was Zephaniah, and his writing remains one of the most important documents for the understanding of the era of Josiah.

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Author: Wikipedia

Keywords: Zephaniah, Zeph, Zephan, Zefania, Zefaniah, Book of Zephaniah, Prophet Zephaniah, Zephaniah's prophecy, Minor prophet

Bible reference(s): Zeph 1:1

Source: This article uses material from the Wikipedia article “Zephaniah,” which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

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