Book of Zephaniah
Encyclopedia
The superscription of the Book of Zephaniah attributes its authorship to “Zephaniah son of Cushi son of Gedaliah son of Amariah son of Hezekiah
, in the days of King Josiah
son of Amon
of Judah
” (1:1, NRSV
). All that is known of Zephaniah
comes from the text. The superscription of the book is lengthier than most and contains two features. The name Cushi, Zephaniah’s father, means ‘Ethiopia
n’. In a society where genealogy was considered extremely important because of God's
covenant with Abraham
and his descendants, the author may have felt compelled to establish his Hebrew
lineage. In fact, this lineage is traced back to Hezekiah
, who was king of Judah
. The author of Zephaniah does not shrink from condemning the Cushites or Ethiopians. Chapter 2:12 contains a succinct but unequivocal message: “You also, O Ethiopians, / Shall be killed by my sword.” Zephaniah’s family connection with King Hezekiah
may have also legitimized his harsh indictment of the royal city in 3:1-7.
Some question whether the translation "You, also, O Ethiopians / Shall be killed by my sword" is a good translation, given the fact that Ethiopia is a long way away from Jerusalem.
As with many of the other prophets, there is no external evidence to directly associate composition of the book with a prophet by the name of Zephaniah. Some scholars believe that much of the material does not date from the days of King Josiah
(ca. 640-609 BC), but is actually post-monarchic. Three general possibilities are that a person, possibly named Zephaniah, prophesied the words of the book of Zephaniah; the general message of a Josianic prophet is conveyed through the book of Zephaniah; or the name could have been employed, either during the monarchic or post-monarchic period, as a ‘speaking voice’, possibly for rhetorical purposes. Although it is possible that a post-monarchic author assumed the persona of a monarchic prophet to add credibility to his message, there is no evidence to support such a claim.
The prophetic book of the Bible attributed to Zephaniah occurs ninth among the twelve minor prophet
s, preceded by Habakkuk
and followed by Haggai
. Zephaniah (or Tzfanya, Sophonias, צפניה, Ẓəfanya, Ṣəp̄anyāh) means 'the Lord conceals',or 'the Lord protects'.
(or Jeremias). King Josiah
ruled over Judah
from approximately 640-609 BC. Some scholars believe that the picture of Jerusalem which Zephaniah gives indicates that he was active prior to the religious reforms of King Josiah which are described in 2 Kings
23. These reforms took place in 622 BC. Scholars also cite the reference to “the officials and the king’s sons . . .” in 1:8 as evidence that the kingdom was still ruled by a regent for Josiah. The portrait of foreign nations in chapter 2 also indicates the late seventh century.
Probably the first prophet following the prophecies of Isaiah
and the violent reign of Manasseh
. Both Zephaniah and Jeremiah
urged King Josiah
to enact religious reforms, which he eventually did.
Other scholars have presented evidence pointing to a post-monarchic date (as late as 200 BC) based on language and theme, although the book might still have been based on an earlier composition.
If the book of Zephaniah was largely composed during the monarchic period, the author of the book of Zephaniah attempts to accomplish this change in behaviour through the threat of future calamity for “those who have turned back from following the Lord, / who have not sought the Lord or inquired of him” (1:6). The author conceives of a date in the future – the ‘great day of the Lord’ – when the Lord
will judge all the people of the earth. This coming judgment will affect all of the nations, including the author’s own nation of Judah
where God is understood to reside. The threats made against Jerusalem, however, are much more specific than the oracles concerning foreign nations. This strengthened the belief that the Israelites, who understood themselves to be God’s chosen people, were even more culpable than other peoples for not living up to God’s statutes because they were to be a ‘light unto the nations’. The book concludes by extending a promise of deliverance to the remnant of Israel
which remains. The fulfilment of this prophecy is commonly understood to have taken place when Judah was captured by the nation of Babylon
and many of its inhabitants were exiled in an event known as the Babylonian captivity
.
If the book gained most of its present form in post-monarchic period, then the author likely intended to draw upon an understanding of the Babylonian captivity
as a punishment from the Lord, urging his own contemporaries not to repeat the mistakes of the past. It is not known whether the religious syncretism, alluded to in chapter one (as in verse 5), was a significant issue in post-exilic Judah
.
Masoretic Text
. In English versions, the book is also divided into three chapters. The New Revised Standard Version
of the Bible supplies headings for the book as follows:
It is important to note that there are a number of different sub-divisions in use for the text with no clear consensus.
Despite its relatively short length, the book of Zephaniah incorporates a number of common prophetic themes. Zephaniah includes one of the most vivid descriptions in the prophetic literature of God’s wrath. Yet, it is also unequivocal in its proclamation of a restoration for those who survive the ‘Great Day of the Lord'.
The book of Zephaniah incorporates a good deal of phrases and terminology which are found in other books of the Bible. This suggests that the author of Zephaniah was familiar with and drew upon earlier Israelite religious tradition and also that later biblical writers regarded the book of Zephaniah as an authoritative (or at least respectable) work in the prophetic corpus.
The book of Zephaniah draws upon several themes from the book of Book of Genesis and reverses them. The opening verses of the book of Zephaniah are reminiscent both of the creation and of Noah
’s flood. Chapter 1:2-3 declare that “I will sweep away everything / from the face of the earth says the Lord. / I will sweep away humans and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air / and the fish of the sea.” The order of the creatures to be destroyed in Zephaniah is the opposite of the order in which they are created in Genesis 1:20-27. It is also worth noting that in both Noah’s flood and Zephaniah’s Day of the Lord, a ‘remnant’ survives God’s wrath.
It is also not surprising that the book of Zephaniah bears marked similarities to the book of Deuteronomy
and the Deuteronomistic history. Similarities might be expected to each of these works because the Deuteronomistic history covers an overlapping period of time and because the issues which are dealt with in the book of Zephaniah go straight to the heart of the covenant which is reaffirmed in the book of Deuteronomy before Israel enters into the Promised Land
of Canaan
. The first 3-4 of the Ten Commandments
(or Ten Words, Decalogue) contained in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:1-22 directly concern Israel’s relationship with Yahweh
. It is this integral component of the covenant between Yahweh
and Israel
which is threatened by the practices to which the author of the book of Zephaniah refers in 1:4-6. In this manner, Zephaniah invokes one of the most common themes, not only in prophetic literature, but in the whole of the Hebrew Scriptures
.
Zephaniah also draws upon the emerging idea that Yahweh
is quite different from the regional or tribal gods of the surrounding nations. Rather, Yahweh
is beginning to be understood as the only God and the God who rules over all nations. It was an apparently unique belief in the ancient Middle East
that a god could send a foreign nation to execute that god’s judgment (as the Israelites believed Yahweh
did with Babylon
). In the book of Zephaniah, all nations are portrayed as being subject to Yahweh
’s divine judgment.
The book of Zephaniah also interacts with the prophetic tradition – both borrowing from and contributing to the corpus in terms of language and images.
Translations of the book of Zephaniah:
Hezekiah
Hezekiah was the son of Ahaz and the 14th king of Judah. Edwin Thiele has concluded that his reign was between c. 715 and 686 BC. He is also one of the most prominent kings of Judah mentioned in the Hebrew Bible....
, in the days of King Josiah
Josiah
Josiah or Yoshiyahu or Joshua was a king of Judah who instituted major reforms. Josiah is credited by most historians with having established or compiled important Jewish scriptures during the Deuteronomic reform that occurred during his rule.Josiah became king of Judah at the age of eight, after...
son of Amon
Amon of Judah
Amon was the king of Judah who succeeded his father Manasseh of Judah on the throne according to the Bible. His mother was Meshullemeth, daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. He was married to Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath....
of Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
” (1:1, NRSV
New Revised Standard Version
The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible is an English translation of the Bible released in 1989 in the USA. It is a thorough revision of the Revised Standard Version .There are three editions of the NRSV:...
). All that is known of Zephaniah
Zephaniah
Zephaniah or Tzfanya is the name of several people in the Bible Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh. He is also called Sophonias as in the New Catholic Encyclopaedia and in Easton's [Bible] Dictionary....
comes from the text. The superscription of the book is lengthier than most and contains two features. The name Cushi, Zephaniah’s father, means ‘Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n’. In a society where genealogy was considered extremely important because of God's
Tetragrammaton
The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
covenant with Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
and his descendants, the author may have felt compelled to establish his Hebrew
Hebrews
Hebrews is an ethnonym used in the Hebrew Bible...
lineage. In fact, this lineage is traced back to Hezekiah
Hezekiah
Hezekiah was the son of Ahaz and the 14th king of Judah. Edwin Thiele has concluded that his reign was between c. 715 and 686 BC. He is also one of the most prominent kings of Judah mentioned in the Hebrew Bible....
, who was king of Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
. The author of Zephaniah does not shrink from condemning the Cushites or Ethiopians. Chapter 2:12 contains a succinct but unequivocal message: “You also, O Ethiopians, / Shall be killed by my sword.” Zephaniah’s family connection with King Hezekiah
Hezekiah
Hezekiah was the son of Ahaz and the 14th king of Judah. Edwin Thiele has concluded that his reign was between c. 715 and 686 BC. He is also one of the most prominent kings of Judah mentioned in the Hebrew Bible....
may have also legitimized his harsh indictment of the royal city in 3:1-7.
Some question whether the translation "You, also, O Ethiopians / Shall be killed by my sword" is a good translation, given the fact that Ethiopia is a long way away from Jerusalem.
As with many of the other prophets, there is no external evidence to directly associate composition of the book with a prophet by the name of Zephaniah. Some scholars believe that much of the material does not date from the days of King Josiah
Josiah
Josiah or Yoshiyahu or Joshua was a king of Judah who instituted major reforms. Josiah is credited by most historians with having established or compiled important Jewish scriptures during the Deuteronomic reform that occurred during his rule.Josiah became king of Judah at the age of eight, after...
(ca. 640-609 BC), but is actually post-monarchic. Three general possibilities are that a person, possibly named Zephaniah, prophesied the words of the book of Zephaniah; the general message of a Josianic prophet is conveyed through the book of Zephaniah; or the name could have been employed, either during the monarchic or post-monarchic period, as a ‘speaking voice’, possibly for rhetorical purposes. Although it is possible that a post-monarchic author assumed the persona of a monarchic prophet to add credibility to his message, there is no evidence to support such a claim.
The prophetic book of the Bible attributed to Zephaniah occurs ninth among the twelve minor prophet
Minor prophet
Minor prophets is a book of the Hebrew Bible, so named because it contains twelve shorter prophetic works. In Christian Bibles the twelve are presented as individual books...
s, preceded by Habakkuk
Book of Habakkuk
The Book of Habakkuk is the eighth book of the 12 minor prophets of the Hebrew Bible. It is attributed to the prophet Habakkuk, and was probably composed in the late 7th century BC. A copy of chapters 1 and 2 is included in the Habakkuk Commentary, found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.Chapters 1-2...
and followed by Haggai
Book of Haggai
The Book of Haggai is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanak, and has its place as the antepenultimate of the Minor Prophets or the "Book of the Twelve." It is a short book, consisting of only two chapters. The historical setting dates around 520 BCE before the Temple has been rebuilt...
. Zephaniah (or Tzfanya, Sophonias, צפניה, Ẓəfanya, Ṣəp̄anyāh) means 'the Lord conceals',or 'the Lord protects'.
When it was written
If the superscription of the book of Zephaniah is a reliable indicator of the time that the bulk of the book was composed, then Zephaniah was a contemporary of the prophet JeremiahBook of Jeremiah
The Book of Jeremiah is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the book of Isaiah and preceding Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve....
(or Jeremias). King Josiah
Josiah
Josiah or Yoshiyahu or Joshua was a king of Judah who instituted major reforms. Josiah is credited by most historians with having established or compiled important Jewish scriptures during the Deuteronomic reform that occurred during his rule.Josiah became king of Judah at the age of eight, after...
ruled over Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
from approximately 640-609 BC. Some scholars believe that the picture of Jerusalem which Zephaniah gives indicates that he was active prior to the religious reforms of King Josiah which are described in 2 Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
23. These reforms took place in 622 BC. Scholars also cite the reference to “the officials and the king’s sons . . .” in 1:8 as evidence that the kingdom was still ruled by a regent for Josiah. The portrait of foreign nations in chapter 2 also indicates the late seventh century.
Probably the first prophet following the prophecies of Isaiah
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
and the violent reign of Manasseh
Manasseh of Judah
Manasseh was a king of the Kingdom of Judah. He was the only son of Hezekiah with Hephzi-bah. He became king at an age 12 years and reigned for 55 years. Edwin Thiele has concluded that he commenced his reign as co-regent with his father Hezekiah in 697/696 BC, with his sole reign beginning in...
. Both Zephaniah and Jeremiah
Book of Jeremiah
The Book of Jeremiah is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the book of Isaiah and preceding Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve....
urged King Josiah
Josiah
Josiah or Yoshiyahu or Joshua was a king of Judah who instituted major reforms. Josiah is credited by most historians with having established or compiled important Jewish scriptures during the Deuteronomic reform that occurred during his rule.Josiah became king of Judah at the age of eight, after...
to enact religious reforms, which he eventually did.
Other scholars have presented evidence pointing to a post-monarchic date (as late as 200 BC) based on language and theme, although the book might still have been based on an earlier composition.
Why it was written
There are two possible reasons for the creation of the book of Zephaniah. Either way, the primary purpose of the book’s composition was to alter the behaviour (particularly religious behaviour) of the author’s contemporary Jerusalemites.If the book of Zephaniah was largely composed during the monarchic period, the author of the book of Zephaniah attempts to accomplish this change in behaviour through the threat of future calamity for “those who have turned back from following the Lord, / who have not sought the Lord or inquired of him” (1:6). The author conceives of a date in the future – the ‘great day of the Lord’ – when the Lord
Tetragrammaton
The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
will judge all the people of the earth. This coming judgment will affect all of the nations, including the author’s own nation of Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
where God is understood to reside. The threats made against Jerusalem, however, are much more specific than the oracles concerning foreign nations. This strengthened the belief that the Israelites, who understood themselves to be God’s chosen people, were even more culpable than other peoples for not living up to God’s statutes because they were to be a ‘light unto the nations’. The book concludes by extending a promise of deliverance to the remnant of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
which remains. The fulfilment of this prophecy is commonly understood to have taken place when Judah was captured by the nation of Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
and many of its inhabitants were exiled in an event known as the Babylonian captivity
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
.
If the book gained most of its present form in post-monarchic period, then the author likely intended to draw upon an understanding of the Babylonian captivity
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
as a punishment from the Lord, urging his own contemporaries not to repeat the mistakes of the past. It is not known whether the religious syncretism, alluded to in chapter one (as in verse 5), was a significant issue in post-exilic Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
.
Themes
The book of Zephaniah consists of three chapters in the HebrewHebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
Masoretic Text
Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible and is regarded as Judaism's official version of the Tanakh. While the Masoretic Text defines the books of the Jewish canon, it also defines the precise letter-text of these biblical books, with their vocalization and...
. In English versions, the book is also divided into three chapters. The New Revised Standard Version
New Revised Standard Version
The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible is an English translation of the Bible released in 1989 in the USA. It is a thorough revision of the Revised Standard Version .There are three editions of the NRSV:...
of the Bible supplies headings for the book as follows:
| Verse reference | Heading |
|---|---|
| 1:1 | (Superscription) |
| 1:2-13 | The Coming Judgment on Judah Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel.... |
| 1:14-18 | The Great Day of the Lord |
| 2:1-15 | Judgment on Israel Israel The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea... 's Enemies |
| 3:1-7 | The Wickedness of Jerusalem |
| 3:8-13 | Punishment and Conversion of the Nations |
| 3:14-20 | Song of Joy |
It is important to note that there are a number of different sub-divisions in use for the text with no clear consensus.
Despite its relatively short length, the book of Zephaniah incorporates a number of common prophetic themes. Zephaniah includes one of the most vivid descriptions in the prophetic literature of God’s wrath. Yet, it is also unequivocal in its proclamation of a restoration for those who survive the ‘Great Day of the Lord'.
The book of Zephaniah incorporates a good deal of phrases and terminology which are found in other books of the Bible. This suggests that the author of Zephaniah was familiar with and drew upon earlier Israelite religious tradition and also that later biblical writers regarded the book of Zephaniah as an authoritative (or at least respectable) work in the prophetic corpus.
The book of Zephaniah draws upon several themes from the book of Book of Genesis and reverses them. The opening verses of the book of Zephaniah are reminiscent both of the creation and of Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
’s flood. Chapter 1:2-3 declare that “I will sweep away everything / from the face of the earth says the Lord. / I will sweep away humans and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air / and the fish of the sea.” The order of the creatures to be destroyed in Zephaniah is the opposite of the order in which they are created in Genesis 1:20-27. It is also worth noting that in both Noah’s flood and Zephaniah’s Day of the Lord, a ‘remnant’ survives God’s wrath.
It is also not surprising that the book of Zephaniah bears marked similarities to the book of Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy
The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...
and the Deuteronomistic history. Similarities might be expected to each of these works because the Deuteronomistic history covers an overlapping period of time and because the issues which are dealt with in the book of Zephaniah go straight to the heart of the covenant which is reaffirmed in the book of Deuteronomy before Israel enters into the Promised Land
Promised land
The Promised Land is a term used to describe the land promised or given by God, according to the Hebrew Bible, to the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob. The promise is firstly made to Abraham and then renewed to his son Isaac, and to Isaac's son Jacob , Abraham's grandson...
of Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
. The first 3-4 of the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
(or Ten Words, Decalogue) contained in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:1-22 directly concern Israel’s relationship with Yahweh
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
. It is this integral component of the covenant between Yahweh
Tetragrammaton
The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
which is threatened by the practices to which the author of the book of Zephaniah refers in 1:4-6. In this manner, Zephaniah invokes one of the most common themes, not only in prophetic literature, but in the whole of the Hebrew Scriptures
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
.
Zephaniah also draws upon the emerging idea that Yahweh
Tetragrammaton
The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
is quite different from the regional or tribal gods of the surrounding nations. Rather, Yahweh
Tetragrammaton
The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
is beginning to be understood as the only God and the God who rules over all nations. It was an apparently unique belief in the ancient Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
that a god could send a foreign nation to execute that god’s judgment (as the Israelites believed Yahweh
Tetragrammaton
The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
did with Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
). In the book of Zephaniah, all nations are portrayed as being subject to Yahweh
Tetragrammaton
The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
’s divine judgment.
The book of Zephaniah also interacts with the prophetic tradition – both borrowing from and contributing to the corpus in terms of language and images.
Further reading
- Berlin, Adele. Zephaniah: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. The Anchor Bible Volume 25A. Toronto: Doubleday, 1994.
- Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897. Transcribed by Thomas M. Barrett. 2003.
- Hirsch, Emil G. & Ira Maurice Price. "Zephaniah." JewishEncyclopedia.com. 2002.
- LaSor, William Sanford et al. Old Testament Survey: the Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1996.
- Sweeney, Marvin A. Zephaniah: A Commentary. Ed. Paul D. HansonPaul D. HansonPaul D. Hanson is an American biblical scholar who taught for 40 years at the Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
. Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 2003.
External links
Translations of the book of Zephaniah:
- JewishJudaismJudaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
translations:- Tzefaniah - Zephaniah (Judaica Press) translation [with RashiRashiShlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
's commentary] at Chabad.org
- Tzefaniah - Zephaniah (Judaica Press) translation [with Rashi
- ChristianChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
translations:- Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
- Zephaniah at CrossWalk.com (various versions)
- Zephaniah at The Great Books (New Revised Standard Version)
- Zephaniah at Wikisource (Authorised King James Version)