{"id":78833,"date":"2020-08-13T16:37:19","date_gmt":"2020-08-13T13:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=78833"},"modified":"2020-08-13T16:37:19","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T13:37:19","slug":"zephaniah-and-the-really-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/zephaniah-and-the-really-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Zephaniah And The Really Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Zephaniah prophesied at a time when Judah finally began to assert its independence from Assyria, enjoying prosperity and peace under King Josiah\u2019s reign. Like Isaiah\u2019s iconic lone watchman on the watchtower perceiving Babylonian storm clouds forming in the distance (Is. 21), Zephaniah foresaw and understood the devastating nature of the upcoming catastrophe that would soon befall the people, speaking of the upcoming \u201cday of the Lord,\u201d in terms more terrible and terrifying than any prophet before him.<\/span><\/p>\n

We do not know much about Zephaniah the person besides his ancestry. If his great- great- grandfather Hezekiah was indeed the great King Hezekiah of Judah,\u00a0 then Zephaniah came from royal stock, which gives added meaning to his criticisms of the behaviors of princes and nobility (e.g. 1:8: \u201cAnd it shall be on the day of the Lord\u2019s slaughter, that I will visit upon the princes, and upon the king\u2019s sons\u2026\u201d). Much of his prophecy refers to Jerusalem specifically; he even names its gates, which indicates his familiarity with the capital, as would befit a king\u2019s descendant (see 1:10\u201311). Rabbinic tradition suggests that his audience was the educated nobility of Judah: \u201cJeremiah prophesied in the markets, Zephaniah in the synagogues, and Huldah with the women.\u201d (<\/span>Pesikta Rabbati<\/span><\/i> 26). This claim is evidenced in the book by his repeated references to the princes, prophets, and priests (see 1:8\u20139; 3:3\u20134).<\/span><\/p>\n

As a poet, Zephaniah does not use as many poetic devices, preferring a terse, staccato style to convey his ideas. His central message is that the people have to prepare for the upcoming cataclysm which he calls \u201c<\/span>yom Hashem<\/span><\/em> \u2013 the day of the Lord.\u201d To emphasize his point, he repeats this phrase and emphasizes the word \u201cday\u201d throughout his prophecy:<\/span><\/p>\n

14 The Lord\u2019s <\/span>great day of judgment<\/b> is almost here; it is very rapidly approaching!
\n<\/span>There will be a bitter sound on the <\/span>Lord\u2019s Day of judgment<\/b>; at that time warriors will cry out in battle.<\/span><\/p>\n

15 <\/span>That day<\/b> will be:
\n<\/span>a day<\/b> of God\u2019s anger,
\n<\/span>a day<\/b> of distress and hardship,
\n<\/span>a day<\/b> of devastation and ruin,
\n<\/span>a day<\/b> of darkness and gloom,
\n<\/span>a day<\/b> of clouds and dark skies (Zephaniah 1:14\u201315).<\/span><\/p>\n

Previous prophets had already spoken about the \u201cday of the Lord\u201d as a day when the nations would be punished and Israel delivered (see Amos 8:1\u20133, Hos 1:4, Is.4:4, and Mic 5:10\u201311). However, Zephaniah expanded this idea far beyond his predecessors, targeting both the corrupt leadership, as well as the complacent people (\u201cAnd I will punish the men Who rest untroubled on their lees, Who say to themselves, \u2018The LORD will do nothing, good or bad.\u2019\u201d (1:12). This day is not only a terrifying day of judgment, but also quickly approaching (1:7).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both social injustice and idolatry will cause the upcoming upheaval which will encompass Judah and its neighbors, ultimately expanding to the entire world. Most terrifyingly, survival and deliverance are not guaranteed, even for the righteous.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":false,"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"Zephaniah And The Really Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day","main_caption":"Social injustice and idolatry will cause the upcoming upheaval - and most terrifyingly, survival and deliverance are not guaranteed, even for the righteous","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":false,"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":false},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":""},"links":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78833"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78833"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78835,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78833\/revisions\/78835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}