Monergism MP3

Zephaniah
Raymond B. Dillard and Tremper Longman III
AN INTRODUCTION to the OLD TESTAMENT

Zephaniah is the only prophet introduced with a lineal genealogy of such depth. His ancestry is traced back four generations to a person named Hezekiah (Zeph. 1:1). Although this Hezekiah is not specifically designated as the famous king by that name, there can be little question that this is the reason for the length of the genealogy. His membership in the royal family probably also gave him access to the royal court, a position from which he could observe and then decry the sins of Judah’s leaders (1:8, 11-13; 3:3-4). The superscription sets Zephaniah’s ministry during the reign of Josiah; thus Zephaniah was probably a contemporary of both Habakkuk and Jeremiah. The prophet would have grown up in the years of apostasy and Assyrian oppression during the reigns of Manasseh and Amon.