Sofonias 3

Sofonias 3

MacDonald - Believing scholars are divided as to whether he wrote before or after the great revival of 621 B.C. If before, his prophecy likely helped bring about the spiritual awakening. But several details, such as quoting the newly rediscovered law, would suggest a date after 621. Since Zephaniah 2:13 shows that Nineveh was still standing, a date before that city’s destruction in 612 B.C. is called for. Hence the book was probably written between 621 and 612 B.C. (Believer’s Bible Commentary) By Whom? Zephaniah (Zeph 1:1 note genealogy goes back to godly king Hezekiah). His name means "Jehovah has hidden" (sheltered, concealed, treasured , stored up). One writer suggests that the idea of hidden derives from the fact that he was likely born to godly parents in the time of Manasseh's evil rule during which he "shed very much innocent blood." (2Ki 21:16). To Whom? Judah and Jerusalem (Zeph 1:4) Although the immediate audience was Jewish, clearly the truths of this prophecy (especially in Zeph 3:9-20) are applicable to every believer of every age whether Jew or Gentile. As John