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ZENTA—ZEPHANIAH
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ὁ ἐν ἄστει (2) Zenodotus of Mallus, the disciple of Crates, who like his master attacked Aristarchus.

See F. A. Wolf, Prolegomena ad Homerum, section 43 (1859 edition); H. Düntzer, De Zenodoti studiis Homericis (1848); A. Römer, Über die Homerrecension des Zenodotus (Munich, 1885), F. Susemihl,Geschichte der griechischen Litteratur in der Alexandrinerzeit, i. p. 330, ii. p. 14; J. E. Sandys, Hist. of Class. Schol. (1906), ed. 2, vol. i. pp. 119–121.

ZENTA, a market town of Hungary, in the county of Bács-Bodrog, 133 m. S.E. of Budapest by rail. Pop. (1900) 28,582. It is situated on the right bank of the river Theiss, and is historically known for the decisive victory won in its vicinity by Prince Eugene of Savoy over the Turks on the 11th of September 1697.

ZEOLITES, a family of minerals consisting of hydrated silicates of alumina with alkalis or alkaline earths or both. The water they contain is readily lost, and before the blowpipe it is expelled with intumescence; hence the name zeolite, from the Greek ζεῖν (to boil) and λίθος (a stone), given by A. Cronstedt in 1758. In some other characters, as well as in their origin and mode of occurrence, they have points in common. Several species have been distinguished, of which the following are the more important. Apophyllite (q.v.) and pectolite (see Pyroxene) are also sometimes included.

Heulandite
Group
Heulandite H4CaAl2(SiO3)6+3H2O.
Brewsterite H4(Sr, Ba, Ca)Al2(SiO3)6+3H2O.
Epistilbite H4CaAl2(SiO3)6+3H2O.
Stilbite
Group
Wellsite (Ba, Ca, K2)Al2Si3O10+3H2O.
Philipsite (K2, Ca)Al2(SiO3)4+4H2O.
Harmotome H2(K2, Ba)Al2(SiO3)5+5H2O.
Stilbite CaAl2(SiO3)6+6H2O.
Gismondite CaAl2(SiO3)4+4H2O.
Laumontite H4CaAl2Si4O14+2H2O.
Chabazite
Group.
Chabazite (Ca, Na2)Al2(SiO4)2+4H2O, &c.
Gmelinite (Na2, Ca)Al2(SiO3)4+6H2O.
Levynite CaAl2Si3O10+5H2O.
Analcite NaAl(SiO3)2+H2O.
Natrolite
Group.
Natrolite Na2Al2Si3O10+2H2O.
Mesolite (Ca, Na2)Al2Si3O10+2H2O.
Scolecite CaAl2Si3O10+3H2O.
Edingtonite BaAl2Si3O10+3H2O.
Thomsonite (Na2, Ca)Al2(SiO4)2+2½H2O.

Some of the chemical formulae given above are only approximate, since in some species the composition varies between certain limits and can be best expressed by the isomorphous mixing of different molecules (see, for example, Chabazite). They are all readily decomposed by hydrochloric acid, usually with the separation of gelatinous silica. By the action of various reagents several substitution products have been prepared artificially: thus, crystallized products, in which the alkalis or alkaline earths are replaced by ammonium or silver, &c., have been obtained.

The zeolites are often beautifully crystallized, and belong to several crystal-systems. The crystals usually show evidences of twinning, and when examined in polarized light they frequently exhibit optical anomalies and a complex structure. The hardness (H. = 3½-5½) and specific gravity (2.0-2.4) are comparatively low, and so are the indices of refraction and the double refraction.

The water of zeolites presents many points of interest. Laumontite loses water on exposure to air, and the crystals soon crumble to powder unless they are kept in a moist atmosphere. All the zeolites lose a portion of their “water of crystallization” in dry air (over sulphuric acid), and a considerable portion at a temperature of 100° C, increasing in amount to 200° or 300°; the actual amount lost depending not only on the temperature, but also on the tension of aqueous vapour in the surrounding atmosphere. In some species the remaining water is expelled only at a red heat, and is therefore to be regarded as “water of constitution.” With the progressive loss of water there is a progressive change in the optical characters of the crystals. When a partially dehydrated and opaque crystal is exposed to moist air the water is reabsorbed, the crystal becoming again transparent and regaining its original optical characters. Not only may water be reabsorbed, but such substances as ammonia, hydrogen sulphide and alcohol may be absorbed in definite amounts and with an evolution of heat. The water of zeolites may therefore be partly driven off and reabsorbed or replaced by other substances without destroying the crystalline structure of the material, and it would thus seem to differ from the water of crystallization of most other hydrated salts.

Zeolites are minerals of secondary origin and in most cases have resulted by the decomposition of the felspars of basic igneous rocks: in fact their chemical composition is somewhat analogous to that of the felspars with the addition of water. Nepheline and sodalite are often altered to zeolites. They usually occur as crystals lining the amygdaloidal and other cavities of basalt, melaphyre, &c. Usually two or more species are associated together, and often with agate, calcite and some other minerals. Less frequently they occur in cavities in granite and gneiss, and in metalliferous veins (e.g. harmotome); while only exceptionally are they primary constituents (e.g. analcite) of igneous rocks. Several species have been observed in the Roman masonry at the hot springs of Bourbonne-les-Bains in France: and phillipsite has been dredged from the floor of the deep sea.

See Analcite, Chabazite, Harmotome, Heulandite, Natrolite, Phillipsite, Scolecite, Stilbite.  (L. J. S.) 

ZEPHANIAH, the ninth of the minor prophets in the Bible. The name (Yah[weh] “hides” or “treasures”; there is a similar Phoenician compound of Baal) is borne by various individuals, in Jer. xxix. 25 (cf. lii. 24); Zech. vi. 10, 14; 1 Chron. vi. 36, and among the Jews of Elephantine in Egypt (5th century B.C.). The prophet's ancestry is traced through Cushi (cf. Jer. xxxvi. 14) to his great-grandfather Hezekiah, who may, in spite of 2 Kings xx. 18, xxi. 1, be the well-known king of Judah (c. 720-690). This would agree fairly with the title (i. 1) which makes the prophet a contemporary of King Josiah (c. 637), and this in turn appears to agree (a) with the internal conditions (i. 4-6, cf. 2 Kings xxiii. 4, 5, 12) which, it is held, are evidently earlier than Josiah's reforms (620); (b) with the denunciation of the royal household, but not of the (young) king himself (i. 8, iii. 3); (c) with the apparent allusion in ch. i. to the invasion of the Scythians (perhaps c. 626), and (d) with the anticipated downfall of Assyria and Nineveh (ii. 13, 607 B.C.). Zephaniah's prophecies are characterized by the denunciation of Judah and Jerusalem and the promise of a peaceful future, and these are interwoven with the idea of a world-wide judgment resulting in the sovereignty of a universally recognized Yahweh. The theme in its main outlines is a popular one in biblical prophecy, but when these 53 verses are carefully examined and compared with prophetical thought elsewhere, several difficult problems arise, an adequate solution of which cannot as yet be offered.

After the title (i. 1) and the announcement of the entire destruction of every living thing (2-3), the fate of Judah and Jerusalem is heralded (4-6). The name of Baal (so LXX.; remnant implies a date after Josiah's reforms) and of the idolatrous priests will be cut off, together with them that worship the “host of heaven” (condemned later than 620 in Jer. xix. 13, cf. xliv. 15-19) and swear by the Ammonite god Milcom (or perhaps by their Moloch; for the persistence of his grim cult, see Moloch). Silence is enjoined at the presence of Yahweh (v. 7, cf. Zech. ii. 13) and there follows a fine description of “the Day of Yahweh” (vv. 7-18).[1] The inveterate popular belief in the manifestation of the warring deity on behalf of his people (e.g. Isa. xxxiv. 8, lxiii. 4; Jer. xlvi. 10; Obad. 15; Ezek. xxx. 3) is treated (a) ethically, as a day of judgment upon sin and pride (Amos v. 18; Isa. ii. 12-21) and (b) apocalyptically, is bound up with ideas of a universal doom. Punishment will fall upon an oppressive court, upon those who wear foreign apparel, and who “leap over the threshold” (v. 9, cf. 1 Sam. v. 5, a Philistine custom)—a protest against heathen intercourse, for which cf. Isa. ii. 6, and Costume, Oriental. The blow falls upon the north side of Jerusalem (v. 10 seq., the merchant quarter (?), cf. Zech. xiv. 21); the city will be ransacked and the indifferent or apathetic, who thought that Yahweh could do neither good nor evil (so, of the idols, Isa. xli. 23; Jer. x. 5) will be ruined. With v. 13 contrast the promises Isa. lxv. 21. “That day is a day of wrath” (v. 15)[2] with celestial signs (cf. Amos v. 18, 20, viii. 9; Isa. xiii. 10; Joel ii. 2, iii. 15), war and distress, when wealth shall not avail (v. 18, cf. Isa. xiii. 17, of the Medes against Babylon, and more generally Ezek. vii. 19). Thus Yahweh's jealousy fired by the dishonour shown towards him in Judah will make an end of all them that dwell in the earth (v. 18, cf. v. 2 seq., and see Isa. x. 23, where a remnant is promised).


  1. For “day” (i.e. of battle) cf. the Arab usage, W. R. Smith, Proph. of Israel, p. 398. The victorious and divine kings of Egypt in the XIXth and XXth Dynasties are likened to Baal in his “hour” (J. H. Breasted, Hist. Doc. Eg., iii. §§ 312, 326, iv. § 106).
  2. The Vulgate Dies irae dies illa, whence the striking hymn by Thomas of Celano (c. 1250).