Who is the Author?

The author of the book Zephaniah was the prophet Zephaniah. The name “Zephaniah,” also the name of three other men in the Old Testament, means “Yahweh hides,” “Yahweh has hidden,” or “Yahweh treasured.” This may point to God’s protection of his people during the impending difficulties in Zephaniah’s day, or to God’s protection of Zephaniah in his childhood during Manasseh’s wicked reign (2 Kings 21:16). Other than the information given in Zephaniah 1:1, little is known about this prophet. His ancestry is traced back four generations, which is unique among the prophets. This implies that he was a man of prominence, even royalty. As the great-great-grandson of Hezekiah, king of Judah, Zephaniah was the only Old Testament prophet known to have such high social standing. He was thus a distant relative of King Josiah, in whose reign he prophesied. The prophet may also have been a resident of Jerusalem, indicated by his words “from this place” (v. 4) and his familiarity with the city (vv. 10–11).1 This prophet is placed last among the minor prophets, as he was chronologically the last before the captivity, living not long before Jeremiah, who prophesied at the time of the captivity.2