Zephaniah 1

Zephaniah 1
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Leningrad Codex (AD. 1008) contains the complete copy of Book of Zephaniah in Hebrew.
Book	Book of Zephaniah
Bible part	Old Testament
Order in the Bible part	36
Category	Nevi'im

Zephaniah 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Zephaniah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.^[1][2] This book contains the prophecies spoken by the prophet Zephaniah, and is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets.^[3][4]

Text

• The original text is written in Hebrew language.
• This chapter is divided into 18 verses.

Textual versions

Some most ancient manuscripts containing this chapter in Hebrew language:

• Masoretic Text (10th century)
• Dead Sea Scrolls: (2nd century BC)^[5]
  • 4Q77 (4QXII^b): extant: verses 1‑2, 18^[5]
  • Naḥal Ḥever (8ḤevXII^gr): extant: verses 1‑6, 13‑18^[5]
  • Wadi Murabba’at Minor Prophets (MurXII): extant: verses 1, 11‑18^[5]

Ancient translations in Koine Greek:

• Septuagint (3rd century BC)
• Theodotion version (~AD 180)

Structure

This chapter can be grouped (with cross references to other parts of the Bible):

• Zephaniah 1:1 = Title
• Zephaniah 1:2-18 = The Great Day of the Lord

Verse 1

The word of the Lord which 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.^[6]

Cross reference: Ezra 2:2; Ezra 4:24; Ezra 5:1-3; Ezra 6:1; 1 Chronicles 6:15

• The name "Zephaniah" means "Jehovah hath guarded," literally, "hidden" (Psalm 27:5; Psalm 83:3).^[7]
• "Hezekiah", consisting of the same letters with Hezekiah, king of Judah, refers to King Hezekiah of Judah, according to some scholars, including Jewish rabbi Aben Ezra.^[8]
• "in the days of Josiah" refers to a period between 642 and 609 B.C. of Josiah's reign in Judah.^[7]

Verse 14

Zephaniah 1:14 "The great day of the Lord is near" in Spanish, on a street sign. (El gran día de Jehová está cerca. Profeta Sofonías 1:14)

The great day of the Lord is near;

It is near and hastens quickly.

The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter;

There the mighty men shall cry out.^[9]

• "noise" or "voice of the day of the Lord" refers to the day when Jehovah is ushering with a "roar of vengeance against the guilty" (Jeremiah 25:30; Amos 1:2).^[7]

See also

• Baal
• Amon, king of Judah
• Hezekiah
• Jerusalem
• Josiah, king of Judah
• Milcom
• Zephaniah
• Other related Bible parts: 2 Kings 22, 2 Chronicles 34, Micah 5

References

1. Halley, Henry H. Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary. 23rd edition. Zondervan Publishing House. 1962.
2. Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012.
3. J. D. Davis. 1960. A Dictionary of The Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House.
4. Therodore Hiebert, et.al. 1996. The New Intrepreter's Bible: Volume: VII. Nashville: Abingdon.
5. Dead sea scrolls - Zephaniah
6. Zephaniah 1:1
7. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
8. John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
9. Zephaniah 1:14

External links

• Jewish translations:
  • Zephaniah (Judaica Press) translation with Rashi's commentary at Chabad.org
• Christian translations:
  • Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
• Zephaniah public domain audiobook at LibriVox Various versions