Zephaniah 2:8-11

8-11. The doom of Moab and Ammon. On the location of these nations see comments on Amos 1:13-15; Amos 2:1-3.

I have heard The evil deeds and words of the Moabites and Ammonites have reached the ear of Jehovah (compare Genesis 4:10; Genesis 18:20).

Reproach… revilings Expressed not only in words, but also in hostile attacks upon the territory of the Hebrews. These were not confined to any one period, but continued throughout the entire history (compare Numbers 22 ff.; Judges 3:12 ff; Judges 10:7 ff.; 1 Samuel 11:1-5; 2 Samuel 8:2 and passages mentioned below). Other prophets condemn these two nations for their hostile attitude toward the people of Jehovah (Moab, Numbers 24:17; Isaiah 15, 16, Jeremiah 48:0; Ezekiel 25:8 ff.; Ammon, Amos 1:13-15; Jeremiah 49:0; Ezekiel 25:1-7).

Reproached my people Every attack and every act of hostility constituted an insult to the people that was under the special protection of Jehovah.

Magnified themselves against their border That is, the border of my people; LXX. reads “my borders,” that is, the borders of Jehovah’s land (compare Jeremiah 48:26; Jeremiah 48:42). “Magnified themselves” is literally “they made great” or “did great things,” which means not only “they uttered great things” but “they did great things” as well. The great and arrogant deeds consisted chiefly in violating the boundaries of Israel and endeavoring to annex Israelitish territory (Amos 1:13; Jeremiah 49:1).

Zephaniah 2:9-10 announce the judgment.

As I live A formula of asseveration, which is very common in Ezekiel (see on Amos 4:2; Amos 8:14). The accumulation of the divine titles serves to add solemnity to the utterance (compare Isaiah 1:24).

Jehovah of hosts See on Hosea 12:5.

God of Israel Emphasizes the peculiar relation of Jehovah to Israel, and his special interest in its welfare.

Sodom,… Gomorrah The overthrow of the cities of the Plain (Genesis 19:25) is frequently used as a type of utter destruction (Isaiah 1:9; Deuteronomy 29:23). The next three expressions describe the completeness of the destruction.

Breeding of nettles R.V., “possession of nettles”; margin, “of wild vetches.” The territories shall remain uncultivated and desolate, so that nothing but nettles will grow there. The meaning of the first word is not quite certain; “possession” expresses the right idea. The precise plant meant is uncertain. Post thinks that the word is a generic term which may be applied to any wild thorn or shrub. Tristram identifies it with the “prickly acanthus, a very common and troublesome weed… abundant among ruins” (compare Isaiah 14:23).

Salt pits Where salt pits exist vegetation is dead; hence the presence of salt pits symbolizes desolation and barrenness (compare Deuteronomy 29:23; Isaiah 13:19; Jeremiah 49:18; also, “he sowed it with salt,” Judges 9:45).

Perpetual desolation There is to be no restoration.

Residue… remnant See on Zephaniah 2:7; compare Zephaniah 2:3, and reference there.

Shall spoil them Better, shall take them as spoil; the expression is identical in meaning with “shall possess [R.V., “inherit”] them,” in the last clause. “Them” some commentators refer to the people of Moab and Ammon in distinction from the land, which is threatened with utter destruction and desolation. This distinction is made “because a land turned into an eternal desert and salt steppe would not be adapted for a possession for the people of Jehovah.” It is very doubtful, however, that the author meant to make this distinction. The description must not be pressed too literally, and there can be no serious objection to the supposition that the prophet means to threaten two distinct calamities, complete destruction and annexation to Judah.

Zephaniah 2:10 repeats the statement of the guilt which is responsible for the judgment (see on Zephaniah 2:8). In the last clause LXX. omits “the people of,” and reads, “against Jehovah of hosts” (see on their border, Zephaniah 2:8).

In Zephaniah 2:8-9 Jehovah is the speaker, so also in Zephaniah 2:12; therefore Zephaniah 2:12 forms a natural continuation of Zephaniah 2:9. In Zephaniah 2:10-11 Jehovah is spoken of in the third person, which makes it quite probable that these verses contain the words of another speaker. If Zephaniah 2:10 is original (see pp. 519f.) it must be explained as a repetition by the prophet, in his own words, of the condemnation which in Zephaniah 2:8 he places in the mouth of Jehovah. In a similar manner would have to be explained Zephaniah 2:11. The prophet has announced, in the words of Jehovah, the complete destruction of Moab and Ammon; before turning to another nation he makes a comment out of his own heart: “Jehovah will be terrible unto them.…”

Terrible In causing utter destruction. When they see his terrible power they will recognize him as the God (Malachi 1:14).

Unto them The people of Moab and Ammon.

For Better, yea; introducing a new act of Jehovah (G.-K., 148d). He will not be satisfied with overawing the two nations; before the whole world he will show himself supreme.

He will famish all the gods of the earth A peculiar expression; literally, he will make lean. If the verb is original the thought of the prophet seems to be that by his terrible manifestations, Jehovah will prove himself the true God with such effectiveness that he will take away from the deities now worshiped by the other nations their devotees with their gifts. By the withdrawal of these gifts the deities are made lean, and finally they will starve to death. In other words, the prophet looks forward to the time when the nothingness of all the other deities will be recognized, and when all men will worship Jehovah.

Every one from his place The most natural interpretation of these words is that every one will worship Jehovah wherever he lives, that is, without going to a central sanctuary. This marks a distinct advance over passages like Isaiah 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-4, and moves in the direction of the utterances of Jesus in John 4:20 ff. The interpretation of Kleinert and others, which makes the prophet say that everyone will go from his home to Jerusalem to worship there, is less natural.

All the isles of the heathen R.V., “of the nations”; margin, “coast lands.” The term seems to have been applied in the beginning to the coast lands and islands of the Mediterranean, but in time it became equivalent to “distant regions” (Isaiah 41:1; Isaiah 59:18).