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Zephaniah lived and prophesied between the fall of Israel and the destruction of Judah, during the 7th. Century B.C. The only biographical material available is found in Chapter 1 verse 1 which says he was the son of Cushi who lived during the reign of Josiah, King of Judah (640-609 B.C.). Zephaniah lived in Jerusalem and came from a well-to-do family with aristocratic background. His writings are characteristic of his young age, untempered by the tolerance of age.
He condemned the customs of the social clique with which he was identified. He condemned the insincerity and ritualistic practices of religion. Later a sweeping reform took place and many of the customs that Zephaniah condemned were changed.
The book has been called "a book of judgement". In chapter 1, Zephaniah proclaims judgement upon Judah and Jerusalem. In chapter 2 he proclaims judgement upon Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Ethiopia and Assyria. In chapter3 he proclaims judgment upon Jerusalem and describes the effects of judgment.
Zephaniah's writings reflect the fear and terror that was so much a part of life at that time in the Middle East. The Scythians, who were a band of wild horsemen from the Black Sea area, were over running the Middle East from Assyria to Egypt, scourged the country side, destroying every thing in their path, taking no prisoners. Zephaniah saw this as judgment for disobedience to God.
Zephaniah saw destruction as inevitable. He refers to it as:
The indifference of the people to all moral issues of life made this destruction necessary.
| Subject | Chapter |
|---|---|
| Judah's Sins and Their Judgment | 1 |
| Judgment on the Neighboring Nations | 2 |
| Judah's Salvation | 3 |
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