
Study questions, maps, charts, outlines, and links to help you study the Old Testament book of Zephaniah.
Jump to: Background; ** Maps; ** Key Words; ** Encyclopedias; ** Commentaries; ** Articles; ** GotQuestions ** Next **
Basics
- Zephaniah prophesied to the southern kingdom of Judah approximately 630-625 BC.
- Zephaniah is the only prophet descended from a king.
- Zephaniah dates his message to the reign of Josiah (640-609 BC), probably prior to Josiah’s reforms.
- 628 BC – Josiah tore down the altars to Baal (2 Chronicles 34:3-7).
- 622 BC – Josiah found the Book of the Law (2 Chronicles 34:8-35:19).
- Zephaniah was a contemporary of Jeremiah.
- Politically, the weakening of the Assyrian empire gave Judah a degree of independence for the first time in 50 years which King Josiah took advantage of.
- Theme: Judgment and destruction are certain unless you repent.
- Zephaniah was a contemporary of Jeremiah and Habakkuk.
Outline
- 1:1-2:3 – Judgment on Judah
- 2:4-15 – Judgment on the nations
- 3:1-7 – Judgment on Jerusalem
- 3:8-20 – Salvation in the Day of the Lord
Genre: Understanding Prophecy
Background
- Introduction to the Prophets
- Chart: Bible History at a glance
- Blue Letter Bible: Old Testament Timeline
- Biblehub: Habakkuk Overview
- Biblehub: The Divided Kingdom
- Chart: Kings of Israel & Judah
- Bible Atlas: Assyria
- Bible Atlas: Babylon
- Bible Atlas: Chaldea
- Bible Atlas: Jerusalem
- Ray C Stedman: Overview of the Book
- John MacArthur: Author, Date, Background
- ESV: Introduction to Minor Prophets
- ESV: Introduction to Zephaniah
- ESV: The Global Message of Zephaniah
- NIV: Introduction to Zephaniah
- Minor prophets quotes in the New Testament
- James van Dine: Analysis of Zephaniah
- David Malick: An Introduction to the Book of Zephaniah
- David Malick: An Argument of the Book of Zephaniah
- JVernon McGee:Zephaniah and Haggai – Introductory Notes, Outlines
- Charles Swindoll: Book of Zephaniah Overview
- Hampton Keathley: Zephaniah – Overview
Maps from Bible-History.com
Maps from Studylight.org
- The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (1)
- The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (2)
- The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (3)
- The Rise of Assyria
- Israel & Judah in the days of Jeroboam II and Uzziah
- Assyrian Empire under Tiglath-Pileser III
- The Syro-Ephraimite War
- Tiglath-Pileser III’s Campaigns
- Fall of Samaria and Deportation of Israelites
- The Fall of the Kingdom of Israel
- Assyrian Districts after the Fall of Samaria
- Prophets of the 8th Century BCE
- Hezekiah’s Preparation for Revolt
- Judah under King Hezekiah
- Hezekiah’s Jerusalem
- Sennacherib’s Campaign against Judah
- Assyria in the 7th century BCE
- The Rise of the Neo-Babylonian Empire
- The Reign of Josiah
- The Districts of Judah under King Josiah
- The Golden Age of King Josiah
- Nebuchadnezzar’s Campaigns against Judah
Key Words
- Day (13x) (of the Lord; on that day; a day of ; in that day) – Zep 1:7; Zep 1:8; Zep 1:9; Zep 1:10; Zep 1:14; Zep 1:15; Zep 1:16; Zep 1:18; Zep 2:2; Zep 2:3; Zep 3:8; Zep 3:11; Zep 3:16.
- earth (8x) – Strong’s H127 in Zep 1:2; Zep 1:3; Strong’s H776 in Zep 1:18; Zep 2:3; Zep 2:11; Zep 3:8; Zep 3:19; Zep 3:20.
- gather (5x) – Strong’s H7187b in Zep 2:1; Strong’s H622 in Zep 3:8; Zep 3:18; Strong’s H6908 in Zep 3:19; Zep 3:20.
- remnant (4x)- Strong’s H7611 in Zep 1:4; Zep 2:7; Zep 2:9; Zep 3:13; Strong’s H7605 in Zep 1:4.
- nations (3x) – Strong’s H1471 in Zep 2:11; Zep 3:6; Zep 3:8.
- destroy (2x) – Strong’s H6 in Zep 2:5; Zep 2:13.
- destruction – Strong’s H7724b in Zep 1:14.
- Woe (2x) – Strong’s H195 in Zep 2:5; Zep 3:1.
- anger (4x) – Strong’s H639 in Zep 2:2; Zep 2:3; Zep 3:8.
- wrath (2x) – Strong’s H3117 in Zep 1:15; Zep 1:18.
- midst (4x) – Strong’s H7130 in Zep 3:11; Zep 3:15; Zep 3:17; Strong’s H8432 in Zep 2:14.
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
- Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology: Zephaniah – Theology
- American Tract Society: Zephaniah
- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary: Zephaniah
- Easton’s Bible Dictionary: Zephaniah
- Fausset Bible Dictionary: Zephaniah, the Book Of; Zephaniah
- Holman Bible Dictionary: Zephaniah, Book Of; Zephaniah
- Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible: Zephaniah; Zephaniah (1)
- Kitto’s Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature: Zephaniah
- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Book of Zephaniah
- McClintock and Strong: Zephaniah, Book Of,; Zephaniah
- The Nuttall Encyclopedia: Zephaniah
- The Jewish Encyclopedia: Zephaniah
Commentaries & Study Bibles
- Ligionier.org Top 5 Commentaries: Zephaniah
- Tim Challies Best Commentaries:
- Commentary Reviews: Zephaniah
- Walter Kaiser-Preacher’s Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentary on the Bible: Zephaniah
- Matthew Henry: Zephaniah
- Albert Barnes Notes: Zephaniah
- Reformation Study Bible Notes: Zephaniah
- Geneva Study Bible: Zephaniah
- Precept Austin Commentaries & Sermons: Zephaniah
Articles
- The Message of Zephaniah An Urgent Echo — Greg A. King
- The Day of the Lord in Zephaniah — By Greg A. King
- The Remnant in Zephaniah (1995)– Greg A. King
- The Remnant in Zephaniah (1994) — Greg A. King
- The Historical Testimony of the Prophet Zephaniah – H Ferguson
- Literary Look at Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah by Richard D. Patterson
- Zephaniah’s Day of the LORD – Jonathan Patterson
- Zephaniah: Protology in Eschatology – Mark A Winder
- Zephaniah 1:7, 14 The Prophet’s Watchword: Day of the LORD-Richard Mayhue
- The Commanding Importance of the Prophetic Scriptures – Charles Feinberg
- D. Rudman, “A Note on Zephaniah,” Biblica 80 (1999): 109-112.
- Additional Articles On Zephaniah at Bible.org
- Hampton Keathley: The Minor Prophets
GotQuestions.org
- Book of Zephaniah – Bible Survey
- What are the Major Prophets and Minor Prophets?
- Who are the Chemarim / Chemarims in Zephaniah 1:4?
- What does it mean to worship the starry host or the host of the heavens (Zephaniah 1:5)?
- When did Moab and Ammon eventually worship the Lord (Zephaniah 2:11)?
- What can ordinary people do about sinful religious leaders (Zephaniah 3:4)?
- What does it mean that God will rejoice over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17)?
- Who was Baal?
- What is the day of the Lord?
Bible Study Helps
- Bible Study 101
- Interpreting Narratives
- Study Software & websites
- More Maps & Charts
- Hebrew word studies by Precepts Austin
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Previous: Habakkuk
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