Zephaniah

• DatesMinistry in the reign of Josiah, 640–609 BC (debated)
• GenreMinor Prophets
• AuthorshipZephaniah son of Cushi
• TimelineDivided Kingdom
• Key textsZephaniah 1; Zephaniah 3
• Read the textZephaniah in the World English Bible
• Covered in classSession 3

What the sources say, and how sure we are

• The text says

  The book opens by dating Zephaniah to the days of Josiah and traces his ancestry four generations to “Hizkiah.”Zeph 1:1

• Debated

  Many scholars read “Hizkiah” as King Hezekiah, which would make Zephaniah royal. Others think it is another person of that name. It is also debated whether the book was written before or after Josiah’s reform of about 621 BC.Zeph 1:1; 2 Kgs 22–23