Zephaniah 1:1-6
(1-6) Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem is impending on account of a religious apostacy of manifold forms and degrees. The wide range of this judgment.... [ Continue Reading ]
(1-6) Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem is impending on account of a religious apostacy of manifold forms and degrees. The wide range of this judgment.... [ Continue Reading ]
HIZKIAH. — Or, _Hezekiah;_ possibly the king of that name (see Introd. I.).... [ Continue Reading ]
In this extensive denunciation there is clearly a reminiscence of Genesis 7:23. The “fishes of the sea,” however, are substituted for the “creeping things.” The prophecy in Manasseh’s reign (2 Kings 21:13) should be compared.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE STUMBLINGBLOCKS WITH THE WICKED. — _i.e.,_ the enticements to sin together with the sinners. The word _macshêlâh_ is used in Isaiah 3:6 in the sense of “a ruin.” Here, however, such a signification would not be apposite. It is exactly the πάντα τὰ σκάνδαλα of Matthew 13:41, a passage wherein... [ Continue Reading ]
THE REMNANT OF BAAL. — _i.e.,_ Baal worship shall _he_ completely and utterly abolished. Not even a remnant of it shall be left. The term “remnant” need not imply, as Kleinert argues, that a large part of the Baal-worship had been already overthrown, by Josiah’s reformation. THE CHEMARIMS. — In 2 K... [ Continue Reading ]
The worship “on the housetops” is mentioned elsewhere as the cult of a certain class of apostates (see Jeremiah 19:13; Jeremiah 32:29) who ascended roots and other high places to adore the hosts of heaven. We find it mentioned as part of Josiah’s reformatory procedure that he removed “the altars tha... [ Continue Reading ]
Schmieder observes that the enumeration of Zephaniah 1:4 extends from gross external to refined internal apostasy. “The Lord will destroy (1) the idols of Baal; (2) their priests; (3) those who openly worship them on housetops; (4) the secret worshippers; (5) those who, without worshipping idols, ha... [ Continue Reading ]
HOLD THY PEACE.... — Literally, _Hush at the presence of_ the Lord God. This peculiar phrase is repeated in Habakkuk 2:20. A SACRIFICE. — The word includes the idea of the feast in which it was customary to consume the remains of the sacrifice. (See Psalms 22:26; Psalms 22:29.) Hence the clause “He... [ Continue Reading ]
(7-13) The judgment, in reference to its objects.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE KING’S CHILDREN. — The misfortunes which were to befall Josiah’s children, Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim (see 2 Kings 23:24), are perhaps in the prophet’s eye. But if we are correct in our view of the date of writing (see Introd. II.) these princes must have been as yet mere children, and could hardly... [ Continue Reading ]
THEIR MASTERS’ HOUSES. — Better, _their lord_’_s house,_ meaning the temple of their idol-deity. Probably the true interpretation of this obscure verse is that the idolaters had adopted a usage prevalent in the Philistine temples of Dagon — that of leaping over the threshold on entering the idol’s t... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FISH GATE. — See Note on 2 Chronicles 33:14; Nehemiah 3:3. THE SECOND. — The word “city” is to be supplied. The new or lower city is meant. The same expression occurs in 2 Kings 22:14; Nehemiah 11:9. FROM THE HILLS. — The “hills” are probably, Mount Zion and Mount Moriah, the sites of the old... [ Continue Reading ]
MAKTESH. — Better, _the mortar,_ a term indicating probably some part of the city lying in a hollow: perhaps that part which was in the valley of Tyropœon. This quarter is described by Josephus as “full of houses” (_B.J._ V. iv. § 1). Hence some detect in the name “mortar” an allusion to the noisy d... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MEN THAT ARE SETTLED ON THEIR LEES. — The figure is taken from wine which has become harsh from being allowed to stand too long on the lees. The persons intended are selfish sybarites, whose souls have stagnated in undisturbed prosperity, and whose inexperience of affliction has led them to deny... [ Continue Reading ]
Part of the curse on apostasy in Deuteronomy 28 is, “Thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.”... [ Continue Reading ]
EVEN THE VOICE OF THE DAY. — Better, _Hark to the day!_ What is heard is the cry of the baffled warrior, unable either to fight or flee.... [ Continue Reading ]
(14-18) The judgment, in reference to its destructive character.... [ Continue Reading ]
CLOUDS AND THICK DARKNESS. — As when Jehovah revealed Himself on Mount Sinai: see Deuteronomy 4:11.... [ Continue Reading ]
ALARM. — Better, _war cry. _... [ Continue Reading ]
WALK LIKE BLIND MEN. — _i.e.,_ groping about in fancied insecurity. The metaphor is taken from Deuteronomy 28:29. Their blood shall be poured out as recklessly as dust, and their flesh cast aside like the vilest refuse. Compare the sentence on Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 22:19): “He shall be buried with the... [ Continue Reading ]
HE SHALL MAKE EVEN A SPEEDY RIDDANCE. — Literally, _He shall effect a destruction, yea, a terrible one._ Comp. Isaiah 10:23, from which passage this phraseology is probably borrowed.... [ Continue Reading ]