Re-thinking the Day of YHWH and Restoration of Fortunes in the Prophet Zephaniah: An Exegetical and Theological Study of 1:14-18; 3:14-20

337 Pages·2011·2.363 MB·English

by  Michael Ufok Udoekpo

Michael Ufok Udoekpo
Re-thinking the Day
of YHWH and Restoration
of Fortunes in
the Prophet Zephaniah
An Exegetical and Theological Study of 1:14-18; 3:14-20
D A S A L T E T E S T A M E N T I M D I A L O G
a n o u t l i n e o f a n o l d t e s t a m e n t d i a l o g u e
Vol. 2
Peter Lang
g
The prophecy of Zephaniah is a compendium of prophetic thoughts on the
nature of YHWH’s relationship with His people. This research critically
builds on past scholarships and exegetically demonstrates the thematic,
literary and theological relationships of Zeph 1:14-18 and 3:14-20 with
the rest of the Twelve Minor Prophets, Deuteronomistic History and with
Psalm 126 and insists on Zephaniah’s creative and unique understan-
ding of God, His judgment and saving roles.
Taking the judgment and wrath narrative in Zeph 1:14-18 as its pericope
of exegetical departure, the author diachronically and synchronically
studies in detail the contents, meaning, relevance and the theological
values of Zephaniah’s Day of YHWH to all cultures and religious
communities. In particular, he emphasizes the fuller and salvific notion
of a God who not only judges, intervenes in human history, punishes
sinners, but loves, shows mercy, rewards, saves, inspires hope and re-
stores the fortunes of the remnant who repents (Zeph 3:14-20).
Michael Ufok Udoekpo, currently an Associate Pastor in the Church
of the Good Shepherd, Holbrook, NY was born in 1966 in Southern
Nigeria. He studied philosophy at the Claretian Institute of Philosophy
and theology at Bigard Memorial Seminary, Nigeria. Udoekpo has
Bachelor’s Degrees in philosophy and theology from the Pontifical Urban
University, Rome. Having been ordained a priest for the Catholic Diocese
of Ikot Ekpene in 1995, Udoekpo served in various administrative,
editorial, teaching and pastoral capacities both in Nigeria and the United
States. He attended St. John’s University, New York and the Catholic
University of America, Washington DC for his postgraduate education in
theology and biblical studies, and obtained his doctorate from Angeli-
cum, Rome. Udoekpo is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and
the Catholic Biblical Association of America.
www.peterlang.com
Re-thinking the Day of YHWH
and Restoration of Fortunes
in the Prophet Zephaniah
D A S A L T E T E S TA M E N T I M D I A L O G Michael Ufok Udoekpo
a n o u t l i n e o f a n o l d t e s t a m e n t d i a l o g u e
Band /Vol. 2
Herausgegeben von / edited by
Michael Fieger & Sigrid Hodel-Hoenes
PETER LANG
Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Oxford • Wien
D A S A L T E T E S TA M E N T I M D I A L O G Michael Ufok Udoekpo
a n o u t l i n e o f a n o l d t e s t a m e n t d i a l o g u e
Re-thinking the Day
of YHWH and Restoration
of Fortunes in
the Prophet Zephaniah
An Exegetical and Theological Study
of 1:14-18; 3:14-20
PETER LANG
Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Oxford • Wien
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Bibliothek
Die Deutsche Bibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbiblio-
grafie; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at ‹http://dnb.ddb.de›.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data: A catalogue record for this book is
available from The British Library, Great Britain
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Udoekpo, Michael Ufok.
Re-thinking the day of YHWH and restoration of fortunes in the prophet
Zephaniah : an exegetical and theological study of 1:14-18; 3:14-20 / Michael Ufok
Udoekpo.
p. cm. – (Das Alte Testament im dialog = An outline of an Old Testament dialogue ;
v. 2)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-3-0351-0123-2
1. Bible. O.T. Zephaniah–Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title.
BS1645.52.U36 2010
224‘.9606–dc22
2010040781
Die Herausgeber bitten die Leserinnen und Leser um Verständnis für die knappe
deutschsprachige Bibliographie. In Anbetracht der Herkunft des Autor sind die
Herausgeber bereit, die Bibliographie in der Form zu publizieren.
Cover design: Thomas Jaberg, Peter Lang AG
ISSN 1662-1689
ISBN 978-3-0351-0123-2
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
General Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
A. Preamble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
B. Status Quaestionis and Motivations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
C. Purpose of this Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
D. Key Working Definitions and Limitations of this Study . . . . 28
1. Defining OT and Prophetic Eschatology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2. The Limitations of this Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
E. Contributions and Originality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
F. Method and Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Chapter One
A Survey of the History of Research on the Day of
YHWH and General Background of Zephaniah . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
1.1 Day of YHWH Studies and Multiple Schools of thought . . . 43
1.1.1 Studies on the Day of YHWH before 1950 . . . . . . . . 44
1.1.2 Studies on the Day of YHWH in the 1950s and 1960s . . 56
1.1.3 Studies on the Day of YHWH in the 1970s and 1980s . . 72
1.1.4 Studies on the Day of YHWH in the 1990s to Date . . 77
1.2 Background of Zephaniah and Studies on his Day
of YHWH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
1.2.1 Person, Style and Historical Origin of Zephaniah . . . . 81
1.2.2 The Timing and the Socio-Historical Setting . . . . . . . 88
5
1.2.3 Josiah’s Reforms in Retrospect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
1.2.4 Marvin A. Sweeney’s Studies on Zephaniah . . . . . . . . 98
1.2.5 Other Specific Studies on Zephaniah’s Day
of YHWH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
1.3 A Summary Reflection on Chapter One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Chapter Two
A Study of the Day of YHWH in the Prophet Zephaniah . . . . . 109
2.1 An Overview of Zephaniah’s Message of the Day
of YHWH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
2.2 The Literary Structure of the Text of Zephaniah . . . . . . . . . 111
2.3 The Place of Zephaniah 1:14–18 and 3:14–20
in the Book of Zephaniah overall (Zeph 1–3) . . . . . . . . . . . 116
2.4 An Exegetical Study of Zephaniah 1:14–18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
2.4.1 Text of Zephaniah 1:14–18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
2.4.2 Translation and Textual Criticism
of Zephaniah 1:14–18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
2.4.3 Literary Structure and the Delimitation
of Zephaniah 1:14–18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
2.4.4 An Exegetical Analysis of Zephaniah 1:14–18 . . . . . . 127
2.4.4.1 Near is the Day of the Lord
(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:2)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:7)(cid:3)(cid:8)(cid:9)
( , v 14) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
2.4.4.2 Further Characterization of Day of YHWH
(vv15–16) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
2.4.4.2.1 Day of Wrath
(cid:10)(cid:3)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:2)(cid:5)(cid:2)(cid:8)(cid:7)(cid:11)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:3)(cid:4)
( , v 15a) . . . . . 131
2.4.4.2.2 Day of Distress and Tribulation
(cid:2)(cid:9)(cid:3)(cid:12)(cid:13)(cid:3)(cid:5)(cid:2)(cid:8)(cid:12)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:3)(cid:4)
( , v 15b) . . . . . . . . 132
2.4.4.2.3 Day of Ruin and Devastation
(cid:2)(cid:10)(cid:3)(cid:14)(cid:13)(cid:3)(cid:5)(cid:2)(cid:10)(cid:14)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:3)(cid:4)
( , 15c) . . . . . . . . . . 133
2.4.4.2.4 Day of Darkness and Gloom
(cid:2)(cid:15)(cid:16)(cid:10)(cid:3)(cid:5)(cid:17)(cid:14)(cid:18)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:3)(cid:4)
( , v 15d) . . . . . . . . . 134
2.4.4.2.5 Day of Cloud and Black Cloud
(cid:15)(cid:16)(cid:8)(cid:11)(cid:3)(cid:5)(cid:19)(cid:20)(cid:11)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:3)(cid:4)
( , v 15e) . . . . . . . . . . 135
6
2.4.4.3 Day of Trumpet Blast and War Cry
(cid:2)(cid:11)(cid:8)(cid:21)(cid:3)(cid:5)(cid:8)(cid:16)(cid:3)(cid:14)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:3)(cid:4)
( , v 16) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
2.4.4.3.1 Fortified Cities and Towers
(cid:3)(cid:20)(cid:16)(cid:2)(cid:15)(cid:11)(cid:3)(cid:5)(cid:21)(cid:3)(cid:8)(cid:12)(cid:7)(cid:2)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:4)(cid:8)(cid:11)(cid:2)(cid:5)(cid:15)(cid:11)
( ,
v 16bc) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
(cid:6)(cid:22)(cid:10)(cid:15)(cid:5)(cid:8)(cid:8)(cid:12)
2.4.4.4 Distress to the People ( , v 17) . . . . 140
(cid:5)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:2)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:3)(cid:4)
2.4.4.5 Additional Consequences of
(v 18) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
(cid:5)(cid:7)(cid:2)(cid:23)(cid:3)(cid:5)(cid:24)(cid:25)(cid:26)
2.4.4.5.1 Worthlessness of
(v 18a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
2.4.4.5.2 Day of YHWH’s Wrath
(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:2)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:21)(cid:8)(cid:7)(cid:11)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:7)
, v 18b) . . . . . . . . . 146
2.4.4.5.3 Universal Consumption
(cid:27)(cid:8)(cid:10)(cid:2)(cid:5)(cid:15)(cid:26)(cid:5)(cid:15)(cid:26)(cid:10)(cid:21) (cid:5)
( , v 18c–f) . . . . . . 146
2.5 A Summary Reflection on Chapter Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Chapter Three
(cid:21)(cid:3)(cid:7)(cid:14)(cid:5)(cid:21)(cid:10)(cid:5)(cid:7)(cid:3)(cid:14)(cid:7)
The Restoration of Fortunes ( )
and the Joy of Salvation in Zephaniah 3:14–20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
3.1 An Exegetical Study of Zephaniah 3:14–20 . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
3.1.1 Translation and Textual Critical Study
of Zephaniah 3:14–20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
3.1.2 Literary Structure and Delimitation
of Zephaniah 3:14–20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
3.1.3 An Exegesis of Zephaniah 3:14–20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
3.1.3.1 Zion is Called to Praise YHWH
(cid:19)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:12)(cid:28)(cid:21)(cid:7)(cid:5)(cid:4)(cid:20)(cid:8)
( , v 14) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
3.1.3.2 Annulment of Judgment and Cause
(cid:6)(cid:4)(cid:29)(cid:16)(cid:14)(cid:13)(cid:5)(cid:8)(cid:3)(cid:25)
for Joy ( , v 15) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
(cid:19)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:12)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:4)(cid:10)(cid:8)(cid:4)(cid:21)(cid:5)(cid:15)(cid:10)
3.1.3.3 No more Fear O Zion ( , v 16) . . 176
3.1.3.4 A Reassurances of the Savior/Warrior
(cid:11)(cid:4)(cid:14)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:8)(cid:3)(cid:7)(cid:30)
( , v 17) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
3.1.3.5 YHWH Gathers Away the Woes
(cid:4)(cid:3)(cid:2)(cid:5)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:2)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:24)(cid:25)(cid:10)
( , v 18) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
7
3.1.3.6 YHWH Puts to an End the Oppressors
(cid:2)(cid:20)(cid:11)(cid:13)(cid:28)(cid:15)(cid:26)(cid:28)(cid:21)(cid:10)(cid:5)(cid:31)(cid:11)
( , v 19) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
3.1.3.7 YHWH Restores the Fortunes
(cid:21)(cid:3)(cid:7)(cid:14)(cid:5)(cid:21)(cid:10)(cid:5)(cid:7)(cid:3)(cid:14)(cid:7)
( , v 20) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
3.2 A Summary Reflection on Chapter Three . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Chapter Four
A Study of the Day of YHWH Traditions
in the Old Testament and in the Prophetic Traditions
of the Minor Prophets other than Zephaniah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
4.1 Antecedent Scriptural Motifs in the Old Testament . . . . . . 197
4.2 The Day of YHWH Tradition in the Prophet Amos . . . . . . 198
4.3 The Day of YHWH Tradition in the Prophet Hosea . . . . . . 209
4.4 The Day of YHWH Tradition in the Prophet Micah . . . . . 214
4.5 The Day of YHWH Tradition in the Prophet Joel . . . . . . . 218
4.6 The Day of YHWH Traditions in the Prophets Obadiah,
Jonah, Nahum and Habakkuk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
4.7 The Day of YHWH Traditions in the Prophets Haggai,
Zechariah and Malachi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
4.8 The Day of YHWH in the Twelve: A Synthesis
of Scholarly Opinions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
4.9 A Summary Reflection on Chapter Four . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Chapter Five
The Day of YHWH in Zephaniah and in Other Traditions:
A Comparative Synthesis and Theological Values of 1:14–18
and 3:14–20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
5.1 The Relationship of Zephaniah 1:14–18 and 3:14–20
with Dodekapropheton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
5.2 The Relationship of Zephaniah 1:14–18 and 3:14–20
with Other Prophetic Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
8