Charter for Change
Try reading Zephaniah as an early piece of liberation theology. Of Zephaniah the prophet we know nothing save that his name means ‘God protects’ and he seems to be familiar with Jerusalem. Scholars question whether he was a direct descendant of Hezekiah, but if he were not actually of royal blood he was fairly well connected with the establishment while nevertheless capable of seeing clearly what was wrong, where it was heading, and with a ‘yen’ for ordinary people. A possible, but perhaps less likely, scenario is that he was simply one citizen speaking up for the rest. The suggestion that he was a cultic prophet whose job was to proclaim the word of God and offer prayers on behalf of the people might also explain his acute sensitivity to their lot.
Despite uncertainty as to the historical background there is a prima facie case for dating him in the early part of King Josiah’s reign (640-609), when reform was in the air but the evils of his predecessor, Manasseh (687-642), were still around and the benefits had not yet kicked in.
So what did Zephaniah see when he looked out on the world? As we read the text, we may find ourselves distracted by similar features in our own time and place and what Zephaniah has to say may come across with added force as we allow our world to creep into his text and his text into our world. Our circumstances may help us to appreciate his. His world may throw light on ours.
It is also helpful to read it from the point of view of ‘the little person’ — a minority group, the voiceless, or someone with a strong social conscience finding themselves surrounded by the greedy and the complacent. Such people figure frequently in the Old Testament, especially in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, as ‘the people of the land’. They were the common people, as opposed to the ruling class or courtiers, some of whom were responsible for quelling the court revolt against Amon, for killing the conspirators and for putting Josiah on the throne (2 Kings 21: 23).