Atomic Bible

Priest during the reign of Zedekiah

Zephaniah

Named in 6 verses across 2 books, first in 2 Kings 25:18.

צְפַנְיָהוּZephaniah

The name means “the Lord is my secret.” Hitchcock's Bible Names, 1869

Father
Maaseiah

About Zephaniah Written by AI

Zephaniah was a priest who served during the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. He is mentioned several times in the books of Jeremiah and 2 Kings. Zephaniah was the son of Maaseiah and held the position of second priest, subordinate to the high priest Seraiah. King Zedekiah sent Zephaniah, along with others, to inquire of the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah concerning the Babylonian threat. Zephaniah is also mentioned in a letter from Shemaiah, a false prophet in Babylon, who accused Zephaniah of not rebuking Jeremiah for his prophecies. After the fall of Jerusalem, Zephaniah was among the captives taken to Riblah, where Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had him executed.

Drafted by an AI model for STEPBible's TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Check it against the verses below.

Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897

This entry is on the name Zephaniah, and may cover more than one person or place by that name.

Jehovah has concealed, or Jehovah of darkness. (1.) The son of Cushi, and great-grandson of Hezekiah, and the ninth in the order of the minor prophets. He prophesied in the days of Josiah, king of Judah (B.C. 641-610), and was contemporary with Jeremiah, with whom he had much in common. The book of his prophecies consists of:

(a) An introduction (1:1-6), announcing the judgment of the world, and the judgment upon Israel, because of their transgressions.

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(b) The description of the judgment (1:7-18).

(c) An exhortation to seek God while there is still time (2:1-3).

(d) The announcement of judgment on the heathen (2:4-15).

(e) The hopeless misery of Jerusalem (3:1-7).

(f) The promise of salvation (3:8-20).

(2.) The son of Maaseiah, the “second priest” in the reign of Zedekiah, often mentioned in Jeremiah as having been sent from the king to inquire (Jer. 21:1) regarding the coming woes which he had denounced, and to entreat the prophet’s intercession that the judgment threatened might be averted (Jer. 29:25, 26, 29; 37:3; 52:24). He, along with some other captive Jews, was put to death by the king of Babylon “at Riblah in the land of Hamath” (2 Kings 25:21).

(3.) A Kohathite ancestor of the prophet Samuel (1 Chr. 6:36).

(4.) The father of Josiah, the priest who dwelt in Jerusalem when Darius issued the decree that the temple should be rebuilt (Zech. 6:10).

M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, third edition (1897), public domain, from CrossWire. Shown as written; its Scripture quotes are from older translations.

GenesisMatthewRevelation

Where the Bible names him

  1. 2 Kings 25:18

    The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.

  2. Jeremiah 21:1

    This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said,

  3. Jeremiah 29:25

    this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “In your own name you have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. You said to Zephaniah:

  4. Jeremiah 29:29

    (Zephaniah the priest, however, had read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet.)

  5. Jeremiah 37:3

    Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet with the message, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us!”

  6. Jeremiah 52:24

    The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.

From STEPBible's TIPNR, Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0): names, family, references and the AI written article. Verse text is the BSB.