Zephaniah 2:1-7

Zephaniah 2. Doom on Philistia [Moab and Ammon], Ethiopia, and Assyria.

Zephaniah 2:1-Judges : . Having spent its rage on Judah, the storm of Divine judgment sweeps south by the Philistian sea-board, uprooting cities and their inhabitants, driving them off like chaff, and leaving the once fertile plain a pasturage for shepherds and folds for flocks.

Zephaniah 2:1 . The meaning of the first words is highly uncertain. An attractive suggestion yields, “ Get you shame, yea, be abashed, O nation unabashed,” the reference being to the Philistines, rather than Judah, as many scholars maintain.

Zephaniah 2:2 . The text here is both corrupt and overladen. The original should perhaps be reduced to read, “ Ere ye become fine dust, as chaff which passeth away.”

Zephaniah 2:3 . A late interpolation, offering escape for the meek and humble (of Judah).

Zephaniah 2:4 . “ As for Ashdod— by noon-day (after but a morning’ s siege) they shall rout her.”

Zephaniah 2:5 . Cherethites: a parallel designation of the Philistines, in allusion to their Cretan origin (p. 56, 1 Samuel 30:14 *, Ezekiel 25:16).

Zephaniah 2:6 . Here also the text is overladen. Read simply, “ And thou shalt become pastures for shepherds and folds for flocks.”

Zephaniah 2:7 . The first and last clauses are clearly post-exilic additions (after the manner of Zephaniah 2:3), turning the prophecy into a glorification of “ the remnant of Judah.” The original may have read as follows: “ By the seashore shall they feed; in the houses of Ashkelon at even shall they lay them down.”