The Book of Zephaniah

The Book of Zephaniah

The Restoration of Judah

Zephaniah was active in the years around 640 B.C., shortly before Jeremiah. King Josiah, the great reformer, was still a minor. The little state of Judah was in the midst of a crisis: there was a growing reaction against the policy of alliance with Assyria, which the wicked King Manasseh (687–642 B.C.) had inaugurated a little earlier, for it was a servile policy that was humiliating to the national sense of honor and a deadly blow to religious integrity. In addition, Assyria was now experiencing a decline that allowed a rebirth of patriotic hopes and of projects for religious reform.

The recovery project, which Josiah was to pursue very tenaciously, had its pioneers, and Zephaniah was one of them. In the name of the Lord, this prophet proclaims and describes a terrible judgment upon his corrupt fellow countrymen. He is not satisfied to denounce idolatry, religious formalism, and social injustices; he also points out the hidden sources of these evils, these sources being, in his view, a lack of faith and, above all, pride. He sees sin as the breaking of a personal relationship with God, as an offense against his greatness, patience, and love. Violent language and threats were necessary in order to shake up circles that had settled down in mediocrity.

But this prophet of misfortune is also a man of hope. He focuses his attention especially on the “remnant” that will escape condemnation and for which the promises of salvation are meant. This remnant will be a select group of poor but faithful persons who rely, above all else, on the love of the God who saves, and in complete trust place themselves at his disposal. Zephaniah is already directing the religious spirit of the people toward the religion “in Spirit and truth” (Jn 4:23-24), which Jesus, “meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29), will establish.

The Book of Zephaniah may be divided as follows:

I: I Extend My Hand over Judah (1:2-18)

II: Anger Will Strike at the Four Corners of the World (2:1-15)

III: Woe to Jerusalem, the Rebel (3:1-8)

IV: Toward a Tomorrow of Exultance (3:9-20)