Oct 31, 2003 the british author, benjamin zephaniah, who also wrote gangster rap, writes a book about a 16 year old boy named martin, and his three friends, matt, mark, and natalie. Zephaniah warns israel and the surrounding nations that the day of the lord is near. Zephaniah means yahweh has hiddenprotected, or yahweh hides. Zephaniah 1, new international version niv the bible app. Zephaniah bible book with full chapters king james version. Transcribed and edited by david sielaff, november 20. In this book, zephaniah announces gods purifying judgment on israel. The book of zephaniah in the bible consists of three chapters. Introduction to zephaniah historical context setting though an occasional voice of protest has been heard,648 few scholars have failed to accept the information in the superscription that the books author prophesied during the reign of josiah 640609 b. Thus the period from 640 to 622 is the likely time for the giving of the prophecy.
His contemporaries were nahum, 1for further discussion of the books unity, see richard d. Then there is benjamin zephaniah the childrens poet. The bible book of zephaniah with full chapters, footnotes and bible commentary to aid your bible search, reading, and study. The book of the prophet zephaniah indicates that he ministered during the reign of josiah 640609, the last of the godly kings of judah cf. Bible study guide book of zephaniah saturday, november 3, 2012 background on zephaniah in zephaniah 1. It describes a time when yahweh will come to his people and necessarily destroy evil as a means to delivering them. 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. The bible book of zephaniah also contains pronouncements against other nations. Zephaniah is the ninth of the twelve prophets in the book of the twelve in. The prophet zephaniah of judah predates both nahum and habakkuk. God will judge the nations with a burning fire as he purifies them from sin, evil.
The prophecy by zephaniah is a companion to that of habakkuk. The book isnt exactly like curling up with a comforting psalm or an inspirational parable of jesus. Gather together, gather yourselves together, you shameful nation, before the decree takes effect and that day passes like windblown chaff, before the lords fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the lords wrath comes upon you. During the reign of josiah the word of the lord came to zephaniah. Zephaniahs reference to the future destruction of nineveh 2. Millennial prophecy in detail read the glorious appearing by tim lahaye to see one authors attempt to reveal the second coming of jesus. About one hundred years earlier, the prophets micah and isaiah had watched as the northern kingdom of israel was wiped out because of their unbelief and disobedience to the lord. Among the prophets, this is a unique introduction with its long list of fathers back to zephaniahs great. In the opening paragraph, zephaniah gives us his ancestry. Zephaniah portrays the stark horror of that ordeal with the same graphic imagery found elsewhere in the prophets. And the temple, he states, fares no better because the priests do not teach gods word, nor do the prophets speak the truth. Zephaniah, book of definition and meaning bible dictionary.
But in terms of its placement in the old testament, it is the book of zephaniah which is the last of the minor prophets before the exile. The words of zephaniah contain one of my favorite bible verses. Zephaniah 1 niv bible the word of the lord that came. Zepahaniah prophesied during the reign of king josiah, about 640609 bc, making him a contemporary of the prophets jeremiah, nahum, and possibly habakkuk. Zephaniah is a powerthrash metal band based in fort wayne, in, usa. Prophesying more than 40 years before the destruction of jerusalem in 607 b.
In the book of zephaniah, gods justice and love offer future hope. Book of zephaniah, the ninth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of. The word of the lord that came to zephaniah son of cushi, the son of gedaliah, the son of amariah, the son of hezekiah, during the reign of josiah son of amon king of judah. The book of zephaniahold testament seminary student study guide. Rastafarian wordsmith tells of abuse and life of crime as a child in new. Zephaniah synonyms, zephaniah pronunciation, zephaniah translation, english dictionary definition of zephaniah. By describing the three characteristics of those he gathers, the lord warmly encourages us into having a more intimate relationship with him. Zephaniah summary we have detailed a brief summary of the book of zephaniah for bible study or sunday school lessons. Some scholars, such as kent harold richards and jason derouchie, consider the words in zephaniah to reflect a time early in the reign of king josiah 640609 bc. This is the first mention of king josiah, who will not come to the throne until almost 300 years later. A threatening of the destruction of judah and jerusalem, an utter destruction, by the chaldeans, zeph. Hes the leader of the gang of three, and the classroom joker. So, after that martin decides to go back to school for the beginning of the new term, and him and his friends. His prophecy is probably to be dated relatively early in josiahs reign, before that kings attempt at reform and while conditions brought about by the reigns of.
The purpose of this book was to show that god raised up his prophet zephaniah to proclaim a warning of coming judgment and to encourage repentance. Book of zephaniah overview insight for living ministries. By this the godly harmony is shown in the prophecies of such different men who have lived at totally different times but who always presented the one goal of god. The title of the prophecy informs us that the ministry of zephaniah took place during the reign of josiah 640609 b. Zephaniah 1 the word of the lord that came to bible. A charge against them for their gross sin, which provoked god to bring that destruction upon them zeph. The word of the lord which came unto zephaniah the son of cushi, the son of gedaliah, the son of amariah, the son of hezekiah it seems likely that more forefathers of the prophet are named than is the wont of holy scripture, because the last so named was some one remarkable. The main message of the first chapter in the book of zephaniah is the day of the lord. Zephaniah with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Zephaniah 3 woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the.
Zephaniah is the ninth of the twelve prophets in the book of the twelve in hebrew scripture. While zephaniah and joel obviously had local aspects in view of this coming day of yahweh. That is a phrase we have seen before in books of prophets esp. Zephaniah 2 niv bible gather together, gather yourselves. Zephaniahs main theme is the coming of the day of the lord see notes on isa 2. This is the holy book of zephaniah, known simply as zephaniah. Social injustice and moral corruption were widespread 3. May 14, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of zephaniah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The major sins motivating this judgment, in zephaniahs view, are judahs worship of other deities 1. We can begin to pinpoint exactly when zephaniah prophesied by accounting for a few details in the text. But zephaniah grew into a man of god, able to stand before the people and. Yet before we get to that verse, the book, like many prophetic books, is full of alarming brokenness and impending judgement. Zephaniah definition of zephaniah by the free dictionary.
His first book of poetry for children called talking turkeys had to go into an emergency reprint after just 6 weeks, no one could foresee how popular the book would be, it went to the top of the childrens book list and stayed there for months. Read face, by benjamin zephaniah online on bookmate in this startling debut novel from benjamin zephaniah, the author tackles the moving and compelling story of a young man, martin, whose life is. Zephaniah likens the corrupt court officials to roar ing lions, and the judges as evening wolves. The day of the lord is a major theme in zephaniah occurring 23 times in this short book as well as in obadiah, joel, and ezekiel. The recording is dramatized, from the king james bible. The book takes place in london, england, and the time is present. In terms of simple chronology, the book of habakkuk is the last minor prophet before judah goes into exile, at the hands of the babylonians. Highlights from the books of nahum, habakkuk, and zephaniah.
He was included in the times list of britains top 50 postwar writers in 20. Zephaniah intro to zephaniah biblica the international bible. The book tells us that zephaniah prophesied during the reign of josiah, the king of. The book of zephaniah, the early discourses of jeremiah, and 2ki 2123 furnish a vivid picture of the social, moral, and religious conditions in judah at the time zephaniah prophesied. Both prophets lived at the end of the assyrian period and the beginning of the. The existence of two zephaniahs linked to the book is considered purely hypothetical. Benjamin zephaniah has 49 books on goodreads with 17862 ratings. The book of the twelve prophets was originally on one parchment roll because of the brevity of the text, and together formed one book of the 24 books of hebrew scripture. I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth, declares the l. There are a number of helpful commentaries on the book of zephaniah, and the following are five of the best. The book tells us that zephaniah prophesied during the reign of josiah, the king of judah from 640 to 609 bc zephaniah 1. The book of zephaniah belongs to another dark period in judahs history.
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