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in Ps. Doroth. and Ps. Epiph., that he sprang “from the tribe of Simeon, from the mountain of Sarabathá” (al. Baratha or Sabartharam), is quite worthless. The date at which he lived is determined by the statement in the heading to his book, to the effect that he prophesied under king Josiah the son of Amos, who reigned from 641 to 610 b.c. This agrees both with the place assigned to his book in the series of the minor prophets, namely, between Habakkuk and Haggai, and also by the contents of his prophecies. According to Zep 2:13., where he predicts the destruction of the kingdom of Asshur and the city of Nineveh, the Assyrian empire was still in existence in his time, and Nineveh was not yet conquered, which took place, according to our discussions on Nahum (pp. 380ff.), at the earliest, in the closing years of Josiah's reign, and possibly not till after his death. Moreover, his description of the moral depravity which prevailed in Jerusalem coincided in many respects with that of Jeremiah, whose labours as a prophet commenced in the thirteenth year of Josiah. Along with the worship of Jehovah (Zep 1:5; cf. Jer 6:20), he speaks of idolatry (Zep 1:4-5; cf. Jer 7:17-18), of false swearing by Jehovah, and swearing by the idols (Zep 1:5; Jer 5:2; Jer 7:9, and Jer 5:7; Jer 12:16), of the wicked treatment of the thorâh (Zep 3:4; Jer 8:8-9), of the fruitlessness of all the admonitions that have hitherto been addressed to Judah (Zep 3:2; Jer 2:30; Jer 7:28), and of the deep moral corruption that has pervaded all ranks - the royal family, the princes, the prophets, and the priests (Zep 1:4, Zep 1:8-9; Zep 3:3-4; cf. Jer 2:8, Jer 2:26). He describes the nation as a shameless one (Zep 2:1; Zep 3:5; cf. Jer 3:3; Jer 6:15; Jer 8:12), and Jerusalem as a rebellious city (מוראה, Zep 3:1; cf. Jer 6:17; Jer 5:23), as stained with blood and the abominations of idolatry (Zep 3:1; cf. Jer 2:22-23, Jer 2:34), and as oppressive towards widows and orphans, and with its houses full of unrighteous possessions (Zep 3:1 and Zep 1:9; cf. Jer 5:27-28; Jer 6:6).
The only point open to dispute is whether Zephaniah's prophecy belonged to the first or the second half of the thirty-first year of Josiah's reign. Whilst Ewald supposes that Zephaniah wrote at a time when “not even any preparation had yet been made in Jerusalem for that important and thorough reformation of religion which king Josiah attempted with such