Zephaniah

Zephaniah /ˌzɛfəˈnaɪ.ə/ or Tzepfanyah (Hebrew: צְפַנְיָה, Modern Tsfanya, Tiberian Ṣəp̄anyā ; "Concealed of/is Lord") is the name of several people in the Bible Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh. His name is commonly transliterated Sophonias in bibles translated from the Latin Vulgate or Septuagint. The name might mean "Yah(weh) has concealed", "[he whom] Yah(weh) has hidden", or "Yah(weh) lies in wait".

The prophet Zephaniah

The most well-known Biblical figure bearing the name Zephaniah is the son of Cushi, and great, great grandson of KingHezekiah, ninth in the literary order of the minor prophets. He prophesied in the days of Josiah, king of Judah (B.C. 641-610), and was contemporary with Jeremiah, with whom he had much in common. The only primary source from which we obtain our scanty knowledge of the personality and the rhetorical and literary qualities of this individual is the short book of the Old Testament which bears his name. The scene of his activity was the city of Jerusalem. (Zeph 1:4-10; 3:1, 14)

Bible

The Bible (from Koine Greek τὰ βιβλία, tà biblía, "the books") is a collection of texts sacred in Judaism and Christianity. It is a collection of scriptures written at different times by different authors in different locations. Jews and Christians consider the books of the Bible to be a product of divine inspiration or an authoritative record of the relationship between God and humans.

There is no single canonical "Bible"; many Bibles have evolved, with overlapping and diverging contents. The Christian Old Testament overlaps with the Hebrew Bible and the Greek Septuagint; the Hebrew Bible is known in Judaism as the Tanakh. The New Testament is a collection of writings by early Christians, consisting of narratives, letters and apocalyptic writings. Among Christian denominations there is some disagreement about the contents of the canon, primarily in the Apocrypha, a list of works that are regarded with varying levels of respect.

Attitudes towards the Bible also vary amongst Christian groups. Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Eastern Orthodox Christians stress the harmony and importance of the Bible and sacred tradition, while Protestant churches focus on the idea of sola scriptura, or scripture alone. This concept arose during the Protestant Reformation, and many denominations today continue to support the use of the Bible as the only source of Christian teaching.

Book of Zephaniah

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 ‘Ethiopian’. 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.

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."

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

The Book

The Book can refer to:

As referred to in works of fiction, The Book may be

See also

King James

King James may refer to:

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