Zephaniah

1. ORACLES OF JUDGMENT (1:1–2:3)

A. Universal judgment (1:1–3). Zephaniah’s first oracle proclaims God’s judgment on the earth. His message includes all nations. The devastation will be on a much larger scale than in the days of Noah (Gn 6–8), demonstrating God’s great anger.

B. Judah’s idolatry (1:4–6). God’s judgment extends first to his own people (Judah) and his dwelling place (Jerusalem) (1:4). His hand is stretched out to cut off all paganism. God is angry because of his people’s lack of responsiveness. Idolatry is a flagrant breach of the covenant. For Zephaniah, idolatry is any expression that involves other deities, priests of non-Aaronic descent, illegitimate public and private forms of worship, double-mindedness, or apathy toward the Lord.

God judges the foreign cults that flourished during Manasseh’s reign. Baalism (1:4) remained even after Hezekiah’s reforms (2 Ch 33:3), though it was destroyed to some extent during Josiah’s reforms (2 Kg 22:3–23:25; 2 Ch 33:1–20) and more fully during the exile. Milcom (1:5) was an Ammonite deity to whom children were sacrificed (1 Kg 11:5, 33; 2 Kg 23:10, 13; Jr 32:35). The Judean pantheon also had come to include astral deities introduced by the Assyrians (2 Kg 23:11; Jr 19:13; 32:29; Ezk 8:16).

God demands absolute loyalty from his people, and he is angry because they have devoted themselves to other deities and are hypocritical and apathetic (1:6).

Zephaniah 1:5 condemns false worship, including worship of “the stars in the sky.” This boundary marker of King Meli-Shipak of Babylon has the symbols for three astral deities worshiped in the ancient Near East: Ishtar (star), Sin (crescent moon), and Shamash (sun) (ca. 1180 BC).

© Baker Publishing Group and Dr. James C. Martin. Courtesy of the Musée du Louvre; Autorisation de photographer et de filmer. Louvre, Paris, France.

C. The day of the Lord (1:7–18). Three oracles of judgment set forth the effect of the day of God’s judgment on Judah’s political and economic leaders: the aristocracy, traders, and the wealthy.

1:7–9. The first oracle compares the day of the Lord to a sacrificial feast with three parties: the host (the Lord), the invited guests (enemies of Judah), and the sacrifice (Judah).

Zephaniah’s admonition of silence (1:7) is a prophetic call to recognize the difference between the Creator and his creatures. The designation “Lord God” (literally “Lord LORD” or “Lord Yahweh”) emphasizes God’s control. The people must be prepared because the day of the Lord is “near.” God’s judgment hovers over humanity and may come at any time.

To this sacrificial banquet, the Lord has summoned the enemies of Judah and has consecrated them to participate as priests in the sacrifice, as his instruments of judgment (1:7). The sacrifice consists of Judah’s leaders: the princes, the royal household, and the courtiers. The aristocracy of Judah has adopted a pagan way of life and idolatrous practices, symbolized by their “foreign clothing” (1:8). The courtiers are those who “skip over the threshold” (1:9), which may refer to their willingness to please their masters. The charge against them is that they fill their master’s house with wealth obtained illegitimately.

The call in Zph 1:7 to “be silent in the presence of the Lord God” echoes the theme in Hab 2:20, “The LORD is in his holy temple; let the whole earth be silent in his presence.”

1:10–11. In the second oracle, traders and financiers are warned about the impending judgment and its financial consequences. The Fish Gate (1:10) granted access to the business center of Jerusalem. The new prosperity brought about the extension of the city beyond the old walls to include the Second District. But instead of traders, enemy forces will come, and the merchants will be no more (1:11). Instead of the sound of barter, a cry together with sounds of destruction will rise up from Jerusalem’s market district. Jerusalem’s center of trade, industry, and business will violently end. Zephaniah exhorts people to prepare themselves by wailing in expectation of the coming judgment (cf. Is 13:6; Jr 4:8; Jl 1:5; Am 8:3).

1:12–13. In the third oracle, God expresses judgment against the wealthy, callous seekers of their own pleasures. He will investigate and judge the wealthy, like a man tracking down an escapee with a searchlight (1:12). The wealthy are like wine left on its dregs, which is undrinkable (see the CSB footnote). They are so oblivious to the impending judgment that they think God is powerless and stands idly by. His judgment will reverse their fortunes. Their aim is to build and to plant, but God will frustrate their goals (1:13).

1:14–16. Zephaniah’s description of the day of the Lord in 1:14–18 is not original with him (Am 5:18–20). Israel had expected that day to be victorious, with national glory reminiscent of the era of David and Solomon; God’s judgment was thought to be limited to Israel’s enemies and could not conceivably affect his covenant people. Amos dispelled that illusion. He characterized the day as a time of judgment from which no one could escape. Zephaniah further develops the imagery into an apocalyptic vision of the dreaded day when God wars against his own people.

The first strophe (1:14–16) emphasizes the speed with which God moves against his people. The day of the Lord is “near and rapidly approaching” (1:14). God’s appearance will resemble his theophany at Mount Sinai (Ex 19:16; 20:21; Dt 4:11). On the day of the Lord, however, there will be no revelation of his glory; instead it will be a period of darkness, judgment, and alienation (1:15). Amos explained it as a series of inescapable catastrophes (Am 5:19), a time marked by sheer helplessness. Zephaniah intensifies Amos’s explanation by heaping up words portraying an admixture of cause (war), emotion (the cry of despair), and results (ruin). The intent of the prophet is to so affect his hearers that they will respond with dread and repent.

1:17–18. The prophet shifts his description from the day of the Lord to its effects. God comes as a warrior against his own people to bring distress on them, to make them feel helpless, even to bring utter destruction. The judgment is severe because they have sinned against his holiness (1:17). He therefore responds with anger, which is an expression of his jealousy (1:18). God is the source of all, the only one worthy of humanity’s loyalty, worship, and obedience, and so he is jealous of his rights as the king of the universe. The jealousy of God therefore expresses precaution, so as not to permit his creatures to disregard his honor or to assume his glory for themselves. [Blindness]

The prophet began with an oracle of judgment on the world (1:2–3). He concludes by returning to the same motif (1:18). In view of the nature of the anger of the Lord, his judgment extends to all the earth.

D. The call to repentance (2:1–3). The people of Judah are called to prepare themselves to be like chaff for God’s judgment, which will consume them like fire or blow them away like the wind (2:1–2). Judah must do something before the terrible day of the Lord comes. The repetition of the warning gives ground to the exhortation to seek the Lord (2:3). The godless have been accused of not seeking God (1:6), and the judgment will not pass them by.

For the godly, however, the day of the Lord should not be feared. God holds out an encouragement for the godly remnant, the “humble of the earth,” those who depend on God and walk in reliance on him (2:3). The pious remnant must continue to seek righteousness and humility. Election is not guaranteed by birth or by the sign of the covenant (circumcision). It is made evident by the fruits belonging to the life of faith.

2. ORACLES OF JUDGMENT AGAINST THE NATIONS (2:4–15)

Judah was surrounded by enemies: Philistia to the west, Assyria to the north, and Moab, Ammon, and Edom to the east. Zephaniah expresses the sentiment of the population of Judah in his oracles of judgment against the nations. Yet he has a grander purpose in view: the establishment of God’s kingdom, which the remnant of Judah and the nations will share together. The reference here to particular nations, therefore, symbolizes all kingdoms that oppose the rule of God, whose purpose is to establish a people who will submit themselves to him and worship him wherever they may be found (2:11).

A. Philistia (2:4–7). Philistia receives first mention because of its long-standing hostility. No reason for its judgment is given, because it was self-evident to any Judean. Zephaniah moves from a description of the fall of four Philistine cities (2:4) to a proclamation of woe on Philistia (2:5). The Lord will bring blessing out of curse when the land of the Philistines is finally occupied by the remnant of his people, who will receive an era of peace and prosperity (2:6–7).

The judgment oracle begins with a specific mention of four of the five major Philistine cities (2:4). Gath is not included because it had already been destroyed (see 2 Ch 26:6). Philistia will be subjected to two judgments: desolation of the land and removal of the population by death or exile. “Cherethites” refers to the Philistines’ origins (2:5). The war-loving people will be cut off so that Canaan, the land of promise, will have no reminders of Judah’s long-standing enemy.

Weeds and thistles will take over the cities and orchards, so that Philistia will become a place for shepherds with their flocks (2:6). The remnant of Judah, the faithful among the covenant people, will inhabit the coastland of the Philistines (2:7). God’s promise ultimately pertains to the era of restoration, which includes the finding of pasture and lying down, language further developed in 3:12–13. God’s people will be able to enjoy the inheritance he promised them.

B. Moab and Ammon (2:8–11). Though the Israelites were related to the Moabites and Ammonites, their relations had always been bitter (e.g., Nm 22:2–24:25; Dt 23:3–6; Jdg 3:12–30; 1 Sm 11). Moab and Ammon scoffed at Judah’s precarious situation (2:8). When Judah needed political and military support against the Assyrians, Moab and Ammon did not come to the rescue. God has “heard” their taunting. Even when God’s people fall short of his expectations, he remains loyal.

The Lord of Armies swears by himself that he will come to the aid of his people (2:9). The judgment on Moab and Ammon is portrayed as a repetition of God’s judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah (cf. Is 1:9–10; 3:9; Jr 23:14; 49:18; Am 4:11). These nations will become like a plot of weeds and salt pits. The future lies instead with “the remnant of my people.” God’s rule will be established, and the righteous will inherit the earth.

The fortunes of Moab and Ammon will be reversed because of their pride and insults (2:10). Because they have reviled the covenant people, they are subject to God’s curse on anyone who treats his people with contempt (Gn 12:3). When the Lord acts on behalf of his own, he will appear as terrifying to the nations (2:11). Taunting and gloating will cease. The nations and their national deities and idols will disappear from the earth. The prophet looks forward to the universal worship of the Lord.

C. Cush (2:12). Ethiopia (Cush) ruled Egypt as the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty from 712 to 663 BC. This may be a sarcastic reference to Egypt, but it is not clear whether he has Ethiopia or Egypt in mind.

D. Assyria (2:13–15). Relations between Assyria and Judah went back more than one hundred years before Zephaniah. By his time, the Aramean and Israelite kingdoms had been subjugated and their populations exiled. Due to the length of Assyria’s rule, the extent of its military power, and its proximity to Jerusalem, Assyrian influence on Israel’s politics, culture, and religion was pervasive.

The oracle against Assyria is a message of doom. The great Assyrian power will come to nothing. It will be like a “desolate” place, a “desert” (2:13). The presence of animals, however (2:14), indicates that life is possible in Assyria; its climate is not altered.

Nineveh’s fall is sarcastically portrayed by a hyperbolic description of its greatness (2:15a). Because Nineveh had long been the capital of the Assyrian Empire, its citizens imagined the empire was secure. For Judah, the statement “I exist, and there is no one else” was a confession of the unique and exclusive claim of Yahweh (e.g., Is 43:10; 44:6; 45:5).

Sarcasm then rapidly changes into lament (2:15b). The end of Assyria will be celebrated by all who pass the ruins of the city. The scoffing and the shaking of the fist are expressions of hatred mixed with joy. Hatred for Nineveh will turn to joy because it will have received its just rewards.

3. ORACLES OF JUDGMENT AGAINST JERUSALEM AND THE NATIONS (3:1–8)

Though no direct reference is made to Jerusalem, Zephaniah clearly focuses on the capital city of Judah in chapter 3. He charges Jerusalem with faithlessness in this woe oracle of judgment. Jerusalem will fare no better than the surrounding nations for three reasons: Jerusalem is corrupt; she has forsaken the Lord; and her leaders are hopelessly evil.

3:1–4. Jerusalem is a “rebellious” city where gangsters rule (3:1). Because of bloodshed, the city has become “defiled,” suggesting ritual uncleanness (Ezr 2:62; Neh 7:64; Mal 1:7, 12). At her very core, Jerusalem is a covenant-breaking city (3:2). Moreover, she is foolish; she digs her own grave because she is unresponsive to the call of wisdom.

Zephaniah charges the leaders—the princes, judges, prophets, and priests—with ruling like gangsters (3:3–4). Jerusalem’s political, social, and religious climate is corrupt. The princes behave like tyrants, like “roaring lions” (cf. Am 3:8), shedding innocent blood. The judges, “wolves of the night,” pervert justice in their pursuit of personal happiness. The “reckless” and “treacherous” prophets are unreliable, wanton impostors. The priests do not apply God’s law to their society. They profane whatever is holy.

3:5–8. God’s nature is radically different from that of the wicked leaders of Jerusalem. He is uniquely righteous, just, and faithful (3:5); therefore he alone is qualified to judge his people. The exiles can comfort themselves knowing that God has been faithful in his judgment and will continue to be faithful. God’s intent is to remove all wickedness from within his people (3:11) so that he may fully dwell in their midst (3:15, 17). In contrast to the righteous and just Judge are the wicked, who have no sense of shame.

These foolish people have not seen how God has shown his righteous judgment in the past by cutting off entire nations, reducing them to wastelands (3:6–7). The prophet calls Judah to look at the record of the past and learn from it. He portrays the judgment as just beyond the horizon. God will soon gather the nations and witness against them, as their accuser, witness, and judge (3:8). Because Judah is scarcely different from the nations, she too will attend the judgment of the day of the Lord. Before the fullness of the era of restoration, the judgment of the Lord must purify the nations.

4. PROMISES TO GENTILES AND JEWS (3:9–20)

3:9–13. God’s anger and love go together. On the day of the Lord’s anger, he will “restore pure speech” to the peoples (3:9–10). The division of languages and cultural and religious differences will be over. Scattered peoples will come to worship the Lord together and to present him offerings appropriate to the salvation they have experienced.

Zephaniah 3:9–10 contains numerous allusions back to the Tower of Babylon story in Gn 11, implying that the time of future salvation includes a reversal of the judgment at the Tower of Babylon (as is seen in Ac 2 as well).

It will be a day of grace for the nations. When God has removed autonomy, haughtiness, and wickedness, only his people will remain (3:11). The prophet anticipates the time when all wrongdoing and all causes for shame will be removed.

Grace is also shown to the remnant of Judah (cf. 2:1–3). The “meek and humble” (3:12) are not only those who survived the Babylonian holocaust but all who have opened their eyes to the reality of humanity’s collision course with God. True humility is an expression of the fear of the Lord and faithfulness to him, while the wicked do not respond to the call of wisdom (3:2, 7).

3:14–17. Zephaniah celebrates the joy of redemption (3:14). Past troubles are over, and the new era of redemption has begun. “Daughter Zion” refers to either the inhabitants of Jerusalem (cf. Mc 4:10, 13; Zch 9:9) or the covenant people in general (cf. Is 52:2; 62:11; Zch 2:10). The song of the redeemed is a loud and jubilant shouting.

The people are to rejoice in God’s great power, in God’s kingship, and because God is in their midst (3:15). The same Lord who removes pride and wickedness (3:11) will also remove the punishment of the people and deal with their enemies. The prophet telescopes the whole progression of God’s kingdom by focusing on the eschatological state in which all adversity, enemies, and evil will be removed.

The song of the redeemed is rephrased as a proclamation. God quietly rejoices over his people and the success of his plans. Zephaniah 3:16 warns the people not to become incapacitated by fear (see Neh 6:9; Is 13:7; Jr 6:24; 50:43; Ezk 21:7). They need not fear, because God, the mighty warrior, will be with them (3:17). He will rejoice over his own people and quiet them with his love.

3:18–20. The glorious king will preserve a people for himself. He will search out and bring together the lost and scattered (3:18). Through repetition, Zephaniah highlights the certainty of restoration and the glory of God’s people.

The return from exile marks in a unique way another beginning in the unfolding history of redemption. The restoration from exile will be a second exodus, when the promises given long ago are at last renewed.