Book of Zephaniah
From Christianity Knowledge Base
| Old Testament and Tanakh |
Jewish, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox
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Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox
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Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox
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Russian and Oriental Orthodox
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| Oriental Orthodox |
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| Books of Nevi'im |
| First Prophets |
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| 1. Book of Joshua |
| 2. Book of Judges |
| 3. Books of Samuel |
| 4. Books of Kings |
| Later Prophets |
| 5. Book of Isaiah |
| 6. Book of Jeremiah |
| 7. Book of Ezekiel |
| 8. Minor prophets |
Zephaniah is one of the minor prophets, written during the time that Josiah was king of Judah, c. 630 BC. The book warns of God's coming judgement against Judah and neighboring nations unless they repented of idolatry. Although Jerusalem would be destroyed, in time it would be rebuilt and populated by a righteous people.
All of these prophecies have been fulfilled. Although Josiah did institute religious reforms, Judah and its neighbors were conquered by Babylon c. 597 BC, when Jeconiah was king of Judah. Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed eleven years later. However, Babylon was in turn conquered by Persia c. 539 BC, and King Cyrus the Great of Persia allowed the Jewish people to return to Judah and rebuild the temple c. 537 BC.
