The Meaning of Zephaniah 1:1 Explained

Zephaniah 1:1

KJV: The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

YLT: A word of Jehovah that hath been unto Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezikiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amoz, king of Judah:

Darby: The word of Jehovah that came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

ASV: The word of Jehovah which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

Discover Zephaniah 1:1

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Zephaniah 1:1?

MEANING: What does Zephaniah 1:1 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Zephaniah 1:1 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Zephaniah 1:1?

What is the context of Zephaniah 1:1?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

What does Zephaniah 1:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

What follows is the word that Yahweh gave to Zephaniah during the reign of King Josiah of Judah (640-609 B.C.). This "word" includes all that the Lord told the prophet that He also led him to record for posterity (cf. Hosea 1:1; Joel 1:1; Micah 1:1). This was a divine revelation that God gave through one of His servants the prophets.

Zephaniah recorded his genealogy, the longest genealogy of a writing prophet in any prophetical book. It goes back four generations to Zephaniah"s great-great-grandfather, or possibly more distant relative, Hezekiah. As noted in the "Writer" section of the Introduction above, it is impossible to prove or to disprove that this Hezekiah was the king of Judah with that name. Chronologically he could have been since people married quite young during Israel"s monarchy. I think this Hezekiah probably was the king since the name was not common and since it would make sense to trace the prophet"s lineage back so far if Hezekiah was an important person (cf. Zechariah 1:1). ^[1] Normally the writing prophets who recorded their ancestors named only their fathers (cf. Jonah 1:1; Joel 1:1). We have no complete genealogy of King Hezekiah"s descendants in the Old Testament.

Context Summary

Zephaniah 1:1-18 - "the Great Day Of The Lord"

Zephaniah means hidden of the Lord. He lived in Josiah's reign, and cooperated with that king in his efforts to put down idolatry. His prophecy deals with the sins that were rife in Judah and the fearful retribution that would be inflicted through the Chaldeans.

Approaching destruction, Zephaniah 1:2-6. The Chemarim, r.v., were idolatrous priests dressed in black garments. Malcam is Milcom or Moloch. Notice the successive classes of those who were to suffer in the overthrow. They constitute a series of concentric circles, narrowing down at last to those who had turned back, and to those who had never sought the Lord.

The invaders, Zephaniah 1:7-18. The guests whom God invited to the banquet were Nebuchadnezzar and his soldiers! They marched in through the Fish Gate; and, as they advanced, cry after cry arose from the affrighted populace, driven from quarter to quarter. Maktesh, Zephaniah 1:11, was probably the Vale of Siloam, where the merchant princes dwelt or pursued their business. None would be able to elude the coming vengeance. Those that affected foreign attire, or leaped across the threshold in superstition, or practiced deceit, would have to pay dearly for their sins. Fulfilled in the overthrow of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and afterward by Titus, these words will always stand for the inevitable national sufferings which follow national crimes. [source]

Chapter Summary: Zephaniah 1

¹ The time when Zephaniah prophesied
² God's severe judgments against Judah

What do the individual words in Zephaniah 1:1 mean?

The word of Yahweh which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi the son of Gedaliah the son of Amariah of Hezekiah in the days of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah

דְּבַר־ יְהוָ֣ה ׀ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הָיָ֗ה אֶל־ צְפַנְיָה֙ בֶּן־ כּוּשִׁ֣י בֶן־ גְּדַלְיָ֔ה בֶּן־ אֲמַרְיָ֖ה חִזְקִיָּ֑ה בִּימֵ֛י יֹאשִׁיָּ֥הוּ בֶן־ אָמ֖וֹן מֶ֥לֶךְ יְהוּדָֽה

דְּבַר־	The word
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct Root: דָּבָר Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
יְהוָ֣ה ׀	of Yahweh
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: יהוה Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
הָיָ֗ה	came
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular Root: אֶהְיֶה Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
צְפַנְיָה֙	Zephaniah
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: צְפַנְיָה Sense: the 9th in order of the 2 minor prophets; descendant of king Hezekiah of Judah and prophet in the time of king Josiah of Judah.
בֶּן־	the son of
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct Root: בֵּן Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
כּוּשִׁ֣י	Cushi
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: כּוּשִׁי Sense: one of the descendants of Cush the grandson of Noah through Ham and a member of that nation or people.
בֶן־	the son
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct Root: בֵּן Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
גְּדַלְיָ֔ה	of Gedaliah
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: גְּדַלְיָה Sense: a son of Jeduthun in the time of David.
בֶּן־	the son
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct Root: בֵּן Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
אֲמַרְיָ֖ה	of Amariah
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: אֲמַרְיָה Sense: Zadok’s grandfather.
חִזְקִיָּ֑ה	of Hezekiah
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: חִזְקִיָּה Sense: 2th king of Judah, son of Ahaz and Abijah; a good king in that he served Jehovah and did away with idolatrous practices.
בִּימֵ֛י	in the days
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct Root: יׄום Sense: day, time, year.
יֹאשִׁיָּ֥הוּ	of Josiah
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: יׄאשִׁיָּה Sense: son of Amon by Jedidah who succeeded his father to the throne of Judah and reigned for 3 years; his reign is noteworthy for the great revivals back to the worship of Jehovah which he led.
בֶן־	son
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct Root: בֵּן Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
אָמ֖וֹן	of Amon
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: אָמֹון Sense: a king of Judah, son of Manasseh.
מֶ֥לֶךְ	king
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct Root: מֶלֶךְ Sense: king.
יְהוּדָֽה	of Judah
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: יְהוּדָה Sense: the son of Jacob by Leah.

What are the major concepts related to Zephaniah 1:1?

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Similar Scriptures for Zephaniah 1:1

		Jeremiah 1:2 [5]
		2 Chronicles 34:1-33 [4]
		Ezekiel 1:3 [3]
		2 Timothy 3:16 [2]
		Hosea 1:1 [2]
		2 Kings 22:1-20 [2]
		2 Peter 1:19 [2]
		Jeremiah 25:3 [2]