Chap. 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 17:10; 1 Kings 17:12, and does not otherwise occur. It is very doubtful if the word could be used in a metaphorical or mental sense, collect yourselves, that is, reflect, that ye may understand and repent. Rothstein (in Kautzsch’s Bible) suggests a root ḳûsh, and renders, Bow yourselves and be bowed, but the Arabic verb on which he bases this sense (ḳáwisa, 5 taḳáwwasa) is a denominative from ḳaus “a bow,” and does not mean to bow down but to be bow-shaped, or curved in the back. With more plausibility Ewald appealed to the Aramaic word signifying to be old (ḳâsh), assuming that the primary sense of the word was to be (become) withered, grey in colour. If this primary sense could be established his rendering turn pale! i.e. be ashamed, might be accepted, as it would agree very well with the next clause. Budde proposes at once to read be ashamed (root, bôsh), but if this common word had originally stood in the text it is not easy to understand how the present difficult reading could have arisen. There is a similarly obscure word in Isaiah 46:8.

O nation not desired] R.V. O nation that hath no shame, marg. longing. In usage the Heb. word means to long, to desire greatly, but this sense is supposed to be secondary, the primary meaning being to be pale, whitish (hence the word silver in Heb., = “white money”). The radical meaning of most Heb. words signifying “to be ashamed” is to be (become) white, because to be ashamed meant, to be practically confounded, and terror or dismay was an element in the feeling.

2. 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 giving birth to its contents or effects. This is rather unnatural language; a different construction would be more probable: Before the decree be brought forth, given birth to or revealed.

before the day pass as the chaff] Or, with R.V. marg., as a parenthesis: (like chaff the day passeth by). But it is not the passing by of the day that is the point but its advance; and on the other hand the advance of chaff before the wind is not a usual or suitable figure.

Instead of chaff (mts) Sept. read flower (nts), rendering the first two clauses of the verse, Before ye become as the flower that passes away. The reading flower is no doubt an error; with the substitution of “chaff” the passage would run: Before ye become like the chaff that passes by. This is a simple reading; how far it reflects the original text must remain uncertain.

The last clause, “day of the anger of the Lord,” looks like an explanation of the more general words, “the fierceness of the anger of the Lord” in the previous clause. The Hexaplar Syriac translation indicates that the last clause was not original in the Sept.; on the other hand, a corrector in the Sinaitic MS. (Swete, א c. b) suggests omission of the preceding clause.

3. 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 as those that do His judgment or ordinance, that is, obey in life the statutes of the Lord. They are exhorted to renew, or to continue more importunately, their seeking of the Lord in face of the approaching day of trouble.

It may be ye shall be hid] The figure is that of finding refuge from a storm passing over, or a foe sweeping past. Isaiah 26:20, “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers; hide thyself for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast”; Job 14:13, “Oh that thou wouldst hide me in Sheòl, that thou wouldst keep me secret until thy wrath be past.” Even amidst what looks like absolute certainty of the divine judgment, the prophets cannot renounce the idea of the possibility of the people’s repenting and averting the impending wrath; cf. Jeremiah 7:5-7; Jeremiah 26:3; Jeremiah 36:3; Jeremiah 36:5; Amos 5:6; Amos 5:15.

4. 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 used probably as in Isaiah 6:12; Isaiah 7:16, in the sense of depopulated. There is a similar paronomasia in “Ekron shall be rooted up” (‘eḳron te‘âḳçr), which the Greek is able partially to imitate, Ἀκκαρὼν ἐκριζωθήσεται.

drive out Ashdod at the noon day] The expression at noon day occurs again Jeremiah 15:8 (Jeremiah 6:4 is different) and stands in parallelism with suddenly in the next clause. It is also curious that in Jeremiah 15:8, “a spoiler at noon day,” the term spoiler (shoded) would form an assonance with Ashdod. The idea meant to be suggested by the phrase “at noon day” is not clear. The usual explanation, to the effect that, as the hot noon was the time when men rested in the East, an attack at such an hour would be unexpected, is rather puerile (1 Kings 20:16). The idea might rather be that Ashdod shall be stormed by sheer and open force. See Appendix.

The Philistine towns are enumerated in their order from south to north. The first three lay near the coast, while Ekron was somewhat further inland.

4–15. 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 2:4-7); (2) Moab and Ammon (Zephaniah 2:8-15); (3) Cush or the Ethiopians (Zephaniah 2:12); and (4) Assyria (Zephaniah 2:13-15). In relation to Judah the four nations named lay respectively west, east, south, and north. The passage appears to be written in the rhythm of the ḳinah or Elegy, though in some verses the rhythm is imperfect. Comp. Ezekiel 19. Cambridge Bible, and more fully, Budde in the Zeitsch. für Alttest. Wissensch., 1882, to whom is due the merit of discovering the true nature of the Elegiac rhythm.

5. 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 the Philistines migrated into Palestine. In Amos 9:7, Deuteronomy 2:23, Jeremiah 47:4 the Philistines are said to have come from Caphtor, which may be Crete. In 2 Samuel 8:18 the Cherethites and Pelethites (Philistines?) appear as mercenaries among David’s household troops. According to Joshua 13:3-4 the territory of the Philistines was reckoned to the Canaanites.

6. 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 (land of the Philistines, Zephaniah 2:5) shall be.…

dwellings and cottages for shepherds] R.V. pastures, with cottages, marg. or, caves. The word rendered “cottages” (k’rôth) is obscure. Bochart, whom Keil follows, suggested that the word was infin. of the verb “to dig,” and rendered “for digging,” supposing that the reference was to subterranean huts dug by the shepherds to escape the heat (hence R.V. marg., caves). The idea has no probability. The peculiar construction (which appears similar to that in Job 20:17, the floods, the brooks of honey) suggests that “dwellings” and “cottages” are mere variant expressions, having the same meaning. So Hitzig: shall be for meadows of pastures for shepherds. The sense of pasture is seen, Isaiah 30:23, though the plur. is masc. Psalm 65:13, while in the present passage the word is fem. It is possible, indeed, that the word is a mere transcriptional duplicate of the preceding word, as the letters forming the two words are frequently confused. The term, however, stood in the text of the Sept., who rendered it Crete, i.e. the country of the Cherethites: and Crete shall be a pasture (n’vath) of shepherds. Either the order of words was different in the text of the Sept., or they translated in entire disregard of Shemitic grammar. The verse with the necessary omissions may read:

And it shall be dwellings (or, pastures) for shepherds—and folds for flocks.

7. 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 certain. Others render: restore their prosperity (Job 42:10), or, turn their fortunes, Hosea 6:11; Amos 9:14. The phrase does not imply that the Exile had taken place.

8–11. 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; … the injuriousness of his boastings.”

revilings of the children of Ammon] These revilings seem also to denote spoken obloquy (Ezekiel 21:28), though the term is also used of opprobrious deeds, Numbers 15:30, Ezekiel 20:27. Comp. Ezekiel 25:3; Ezekiel 25:6; Ezekiel 25:8, “Because thou saidst, Aha! against my sanctuary, when it was profaned.”

Whereby they have reproached my people] Rather: wherewith … and they have magnified. The phrase have magnified themselves, &c. is scarcely explanatory either of “reproach” or “revilings,” but expresses an additional delinquency—they have presumptuously violated the border of Israel and seized his territory. The charge is an old one against Ammon: Amos 1:13, “They have ripped up the women with child of Gilead that they might enlarge their border”; Jeremiah 49:1, “Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth Milcom possess Gad?” Moab also, whenever possible, overstepped what Israel regarded as its frontier and took possession of the territory of Reuben and Gad, as appears from the Moabite Stone. After Israel beyond Jordan was carried captive by Tiglath Pileser (b.c. 734), and especially after the fall of the northern kingdom (722), Moab and other peoples would naturally overflow the depopulated districts. For “their border” Sept. has “my borders”; cf. Jeremiah 48:26; Jeremiah 48:42, “he (Moab) hath magnified himself against the Lord.”

9. 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 nettles] a possession of nettles, which overgrow uncultivated places, Proverbs 24:31; Job 30:7; Isaiah 34:13.

and saltpits] These were common around the Dead Sea: Deuteronomy 29:23; cf. Isaiah 13:19; Jeremiah 49:18. The idea suggested is that of utter barrenness. To sow with salt was a symbolical act, signifying to doom to perpetual unfruitfulness and desolation (Jdg 9:45). Ezekiel 47:11 predicts that, though the waters of the Dead Sea shall be sweetened when Israel is finally restored, the miry places and marshes about it shall be used for salt.

shall spoil them] i.e. make a spoil of them, viz. Moab and Ammon. There is a certain inconsistency in the verse, which is not to be removed by drawing a distinction between the country of Moab and Ammon and the peoples themselves, and fancying that the country shall share the fate of Sodom, while the peoples become the servants of Israel (Hitzig). It is better to consider the prophet’s predictions to be ideal, and to threaten two fates to Moab and Ammon, one, destruction like Sodom and Gomorrah, and the other, absorption by Israel.

remnant of my people] As R.V., my nation.

10. 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.

11. 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 destroying all the nations the Lord will make lean or enfeeble all their gods, for the vigour of the god is proportionate to the robustness and power of the nation. This kind of reflection is not likely to have passed through the mind of the prophet. His idea appears to be that by terrible deeds Jehovah will make Himself known to the nations, who will fear Him alone, perceiving the impotency of their former gods; comp. Isaiah 2:20; Isaiah 30:22, and Ezekiel 25 ff. The use of the term make lean in regard to gods is certainly strange.

every one from his place] i.e. each individual person, not each nation. The phrase “from his place” seems to mean, everyone where he dwells, the idea being that, without making pilgrimages to Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:3; Zechariah 8:22; Zechariah 14:16), the peoples shall worship Jehovah, every man in his own land (Malachi 1:11). The prep, from might have a pregnant sense, each coming from his place, but this meaning is decidedly less natural.

the isles of the heathen] The term “isles” appears to have been applied to the island-like coasts of the Mediterranean, and then to have been used of distant countries in general, Isaiah 41:1; Isaiah 59:18, Ezekiel 39:6.

12. 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 and Old Donkola.

ye shall be slain] lit. are the slain of my sword, Isaiah 66:16. Comp. Jeremiah 25:33. The words are a prediction.

13. stretch out his hand] See on Zephaniah 1:4.

13–15. Threat against Assyria

The passage naturally implies that the Assyrian empire had not yet fallen.

14. all the beasts of the nations] Sept. all the beasts of the earth, as the phrase usually runs (Genesis 1:24; Psalm 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 always of those tended by the shepherd. The term “beasts” is generally used of wild creatures, but in Isaiah 46:1 it is used of tame animals, and elsewhere of creatures in general. The term nation (here sing.) is used of locusts (Joel 1:6), just as “people” is used of the ants and conies (Proverbs 30:25-26), and many assume that it is so used here, rendering, all kinds of animals in crowds (Keil, R.V. marg.). The construction is against such a sense, and there seems no reason for departing from the ordinary meaning of nation. Nineveh shall be a common pasture for every tribe of people. On the other hand, Wellhausen appears to take “beasts” in a figurative sense, rendering a motley medley of people, the reference being to the tribes who own the flocks. But though “beasts” be sometimes used figuratively of peoples, when the idea is to be expressed that they shall attack and devour another people (Isaiah 56:9), in a passage like the present such a sense is entirely unnatural.

cormorant and the bittern] R.V. pelican and porcupine. The first word is usually supposed to denote the pelican (Deuteronomy 14:17; Isaiah 34:11; Psalm 102:6). Sept. renders the second “hedgehog”; by others it is supposed to mean the bittern (Tristram). For upper lintels, marg. more literally: chapiters (so R.V.), that is, the carved tops of the pillars now flung to the ground, or of those still standing amidst the ruins.

Their voice shall sing] lit. a voice that singeth = hark! they sing! The idea of “singing” is strange; Sept. takes the word in a more general sense of the cry of birds or wild creatures.

desolation shall be in the thresholds] Instead of “desolation,” Sept. (with difference of one letter) reads ravens, a reading which many follow. Cf. Isaiah 34:11.

uncover the cedar work] The text is probably in disorder. The term “uncover” is that rendered rase to the foundation, Psalm 137:7 (see on Habakkuk 3:13). The supposed form rendered “cedar work” does not occur elsewhere. The slightest possible change in pointing would give her cedar, which might mean, her cedar work. The word, however, might possibly be some form of the verb to make lean (Zephaniah 2:11), either 1 pers. impf., I will make her void and rase her, or with Aramaic spelling (as Isaiah 63:3), 3 pers. perf., they shall make (lit. have made) her void and rase her, which is equivalent to the passive she shall be made void, &c. But all this is little satisfactory.

15. 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 27:36; Lamentations 2:15-16; Job 27:23; Nahum 3:19.