Zephaniah 2:1-3. Exhortation to men to seek righteousness, if perchance they may be hid in the Day of the Lord 1. The prophet addresses himself to Judah. _Gather yourselves together_ The sense is obscure. The verb (_ḳash_) is used of gathering _straw_, Exodus 5:12, _sticks_, Numbers 15:32; 1 Kings... [ Continue Reading ]
The verse is probably in some disorder: the first two clauses can hardly present the original text, and the last two clauses look like duplicates of one another. _Before the decree bring forth_ The "decree" is God's purpose, the determined day of the Lord, and its "bringing forth" would mean, its g... [ Continue Reading ]
_all ye meek of the earth_ Though the exhortation to seek the Lord (Amos 5:6; Isaiah 55:6) be addressed specially to the prophet's own people of Judah, there is no necessity for rendering, meek of the _land_. The "meek" are those humble before Jehovah, cf. Zephaniah 3:12; they are further described... [ Continue Reading ]
_For Gaza shall be forsaken_ The connecting word _for_appears to refer to the exhortation in Zephaniah 2:3: seek the Lord, it may be ye shall be hid, for many shall be overwhelmed. There is an assonance in the words "Gaza shall be forsaken" (_-azza -azûba_) which cannot be reproduced. "Forsaken" is... [ Continue Reading ]
The judgment of the Day of the Lord upon the nations The nations on whom the impending judgment shall fall are: (1) the Philistines (Zephaniah 2:4); (2) Moab and Ammon (Zephaniah 2:8); (3) Cush or the Ethiopians (Zephaniah 2:12); and (4) Assyria (Zephaniah 2:13). In relation to Judah the four natio... [ Continue Reading ]
_the sea coast_ Or, THE REGION BY THE SEA. The reference is to the strip of territory belonging to the Philistines; Ezekiel 25:16. The Cherethites are the Philistines, or at least those along the coast (1 Samuel 30:14). The word is supposed to have some relation to Crete, from which it is believed t... [ Continue Reading ]
The text of Zephaniah 2:6 is probably in disorder, as the rhythmical balance of the verse is quite obscured. The Sept. also read differently, the words _the sea coast_being wanting in their text. These words should probably be omitted as a marginal explanation of _it_, and the verse read, _and it_(l... [ Continue Reading ]
The promise of the surrounding countries to Israel as its possession is more common in later writings; Obadiah 1:19 ff.; Zechariah 9:7; but comp. already Amos 9:12; Isaiah 11:14; Jeremiah 49:2. _turn away their captivity_ R.V. _bring again their captivity_. The sense of the expression is not quite c... [ Continue Reading ]
Moab and Ammon 8. _I have heard the reproach of Moab_ It is the Lord who speaks. The "reproach" or contempt of Moab is most likely that expressed in words, not that exhibited m insulting deeds; cf. Jeremiah 48:27-29; Ezekiel 35:12; Isaiah 16:6, "We have heard of the pride of Moab, he is very proud;... [ Continue Reading ]
Jehovah's oath by Himself, _as I live_, is rare in early writings, but very common in Ezekiel. _Moab shall be as Sodom_ The vicinity of the two peoples or at least of Moab to the Dead Sea may have suggested the threat that the fate of the cities of the plain shall overtake them. _the breeding of n... [ Continue Reading ]
Comp. Zephaniah 2:8; Isaiah 16:6; Jeremiah 48:29. In the last clause Sept. reads: _magnified themselves against the Lord of hosts_, omitting _people_. Jeremiah 48:26; Jeremiah 48:42.... [ Continue Reading ]
will be _terrible unto them_ lit. _over_them. Malachi 1:14, "I am a treat king, and my name terrible among the nations." For "terrible" Sept. reads, _will appear_. _he will famish all the gods_ lit., as marg., _make lean_(Isaiah 17:4). Hitzig, followed by Keil, thinks the meaning to be, that by dest... [ Continue Reading ]
Threat against Ethiopia Ethiopia or Cush was the country lying south of Egypt. Stretching from Syene (Assouan) southward, it corresponded to Nubia and the modern Soudan. Its capital is supposed to have lain near the 4th Cataract, on the great western bend of the Nile, about midway between Abu Hamed... [ Continue Reading ]
_stretch out his hand_ See on Zephaniah 1:4.... [ Continue Reading ]
Threat against Assyria The passage naturally implies that the Assyrian empire had not yet fallen.... [ Continue Reading ]
_all the beasts of the nations_ Sept. _all the beasts of the earth_, as the phrase usually runs (Genesis 1:24; Psalms 79:2), or beasts of the field. The phrase seems to stand in apposition to _flocks_, the idea of which it expands. The word "flocks" seems nowhere to be used of wild creatures, but al... [ Continue Reading ]
A _ḳinah_or elegy on Nineveh. _the rejoicing city_ R.V. THE JOYOUS CITY. there is _none beside me_ there is NONE ELSE. She felt unique in her power and splendour. The same words are used of herself by Babylon, Isaiah 47:8. _shall hiss_, and _wag his hand_ Expressions of scorn and hatred. Ezekiel... [ Continue Reading ]