Zephaniah 1:16

A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. A DAY OF THE TRUMPET - namely, of the besieging enemy (, "Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet"). AND ALARM - the war shout (Maurer). AND AGAINST THE HIGH TOWERS - literally, angles; because city walls did not used to be built in a direct line, but with sinuous curves and angles, so that besiegers advancing might he assailed, not only in front, but on both sides, caught as it were in a 'cul-de-sac;' towers were built especially at the angles. So Tacitus describes the walls of Jerusalem ('History,' 5: 11, 5)....

14-18 This warning of approaching destruction, is enough to make the sinners in Zion tremble; it refers to the great day of the Lord, the day in which he will show himself by taking vengeance on them. This day of the Lord is very near; it is a day of God's wrath, wrath to the utmost. It will be a day of trouble and distress to sinners. Let them not be laid asleep by the patience of God. What is a man profited if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? And what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Let us flee from the wrath to come, and choose the good part that shall never be taken from us; then we shall be prepared for every event; nothing shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord....

A DAY OF THE TRUMPET AND ALARM - o that is, of the loud blast of the trumpet, which sounds alarm and causes it. The word is especially the shrill loud noise of the trumpet (for sacred purposes in Israel itself, as ruling all the movements of the tabernacle and accompanying their feasts); then also of the “battle cry.” They had not listened to the voice of the trumpet, as it called them to holy service; now they shall hear “the voice of the Archangel and the trump of God” 1 Thessalonians 4:16. AGAINST THE HIGH TOWERS - Literally, “corners” , and so “corner-towers.” This peculiarity describes Jerusalem, whose walls “were made artificially standing in a line curved inwards, so that the flanks of assailants might be exposed.” By this same name...

EXPOSITION. ZEPHANIAH 1:1 Part I. THE JUDGMENT UPON ALL THE WORLD, AND UPON JUDAH IN PARTICULAR. ZEPHANIAH 1:1 § 1. _Title and inscription. _THE WORD OF THE LORD (see note on Micah 1:1). Zephaniah, "Whom the Lord shelters" (see Introduction, § II.). THE SON OF, etc. The genealogy thus introduced shows that the prophet was of illustrious descent; or it may be inserted to distinguish him from others who bore the same name.

A DAY OF THE TRUMPET AND ALARM AGAINST THE FENCED CITIES,.... The trumpet of the enemy, sounding the alarm of war against the fenced cities of Judea, which were taken before Jerusalem; calling and gathering the soldiers together, and animating them to the assault of them; and blowing them in a way of triumph; and as expressive of victory, having got possession of them: AND AGAINST THE HIGH TOWERS; or "corners" x; towers being usually built corner-wise, and full of corners, and on the corners of walls of cities; sometimes these signify princes, magistrates, and great men, Zechariah 10:4. x פנות "pinnas", Montanus, Castalio; "angulos", Junius Tremellius, Burkius....

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS CHAPTER 1 The Day of the Lord, the Day of Judgment _ 1. The judgment of all the world (Zephaniah 1:1) _ 2. The judgment will destroy the evildoers in Judah (Zephaniah 1:4) 3. The day of the Lord (Zephaniah 1:14) Zephaniah 1:1. The first verse is the superscription, and tells us, as pointed out in the introduction, of the connection of Zephaniah and the date of his prophecy. Then comes the announcement of the judgment. It is to consume all things from off the face of the land, man and beast, the fowls of heaven, the fishes of the sea, and end the stumb

THE DOOM OF JUDAH AND JERUSALEM. Zephaniah 1:2. Riding as it were on the crest of a tidal wave of destruction, which sweeps off man and beast from the face of the ground, Yahweh stretches His hand against Judah and Jerusalem, the centre of the world's offence, to cut off the priests and worshippers of Baal, together with all such as prostrate themselves before the host of heaven, mingle the worship of Yahweh with that of Molech, or otherwise prove traitor to the God of their fathers, withdrawing from His allegiance and ceasing to inquire after Him. ZEPHANIAH 1:2. GROUND: the cultivated, inhabited, civilised world. Zephaniah 1:3. For the stumbling-blocks with (a rendering as dubious as it

THE TRUMPET AND ALARM. an alarming trumpet. Figure of speech _Hendiadys_. a trumpet, yea,. trumpet [call] "to arms"! Compare Zephaniah 2:2. TOWERS. Hebrew corners. Put by Figure of speech _Metonymy_ (of Adjunct), App-6, for the towers usually fixed there....

The terrors of the Day of the Lord The day of the Lord is described as a day of battle and assault upon the fenced cities, but also as a day of darkness and supernatural terrors. In Arabic the term "day" often means "battle-day," as the "day of Bedr," and this may have been its original application in Hebrew; cf. Isaiah 9:4, "in the day of Midian." The day of the Lord is the day of His self-revelation to judge evil and bring His work of redemption among men to completion. On the one side His revelation of Himself fills men with terror and anguish, on the other side it is the cause of universal gladness, for the oppressions under which the world groaned come to an end and the reign of God begins: "The Lord is King! let the earth rejoice, let the multitude of the isles be glad … for he cometh to rule the earth; he shall rule the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity" ...

_THE DAY OF THE LORD DESCRIBED -- ZEPHANIAH 1:14-18:_ The prophet wrote, "The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly." God gave the people warning, but they continued in their rebellion. Zephaniah described the terrible day of the Lord telling the people that it would be a day of wrath or anger and a day of trouble and torment. There would be disaster and destruction. It would be a time of darkness and despair. There would be storm clouds and shadows. The fulfillment of this prediction is seen in 2 Kings 24 and 25. It was a time of terrible destruction. The trumpet would sound forth the battle cry but the fortified cities and the mighty fortresses would fall. Sin brings punishment and humiliation. This distress was being brought upon them "because they have sinned against