Zephaniah 2:4

2:4-15 Those are really in a woful condition who have the word of the Lord against them, for no word of his shall fall to the ground. God will restore his people to their rights, though long kept from them. It has been the common lot of God's people, in all ages, to be reproached and reviled. God shall be worshipped, not only by all Israel, and the strangers who join them, but by the heathen. Remote nations must be reckoned with for the wrongs done to God's people. The sufferings of the insolent and haughty in prosperity, are unpitied and unlamented. But all the desolations of flourishing nations will make way for the overturning Satan's kingdom. Let us improve our advantages, and expect the performance of every promise, praying that our Father's name may be hallowed every where, over all the earth.

For Gaza shall be forsaken,.... Therefore seek the Lord; and not to the Philistines, since they would be destroyed, to whom Gaza, and the other cities later mentioned, belonged; so Aben Ezra connects the words, suggesting that it would be in vain to flee thither for shelter, or seek for refuge there; though others think that this and what follows is subjoined, either to assure the Jews of their certain ruin, since this would be the case of the nations about them; or to alleviate their calamity, seeing their enemies would have no occasion to insult them, and triumph over them, they being, or quickly would be, in the like circumstances. Gaza was one of the five lordships of the Philistines; a strong and fortified place, as its name signifies; but should be demolished, stripped of its fortifications, and forsaken by its inhabitants. It was smitten by Pharaoh king of Egypt; and was laid waste by Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah 47:1 and afterwards taken by Alexander the great; and, having gone through various changes, was in the times of the apostles called Gaza the desert, Acts 8:26 . There is a beautiful play on words in the words, not to be expressed in an English translation (h). According to Strabo's account (i), the ancient city was about a mile from the haven, for which (he says) it was formerly very illustrious; but was demolished by Alexander, and remained a desert.

Zephaniah 2:4-7 . For Gaza shall be forsaken — The prophet digresses here to foretel the fate of some cities and nations bordering on Judea; probably with a view to show that when Judea should be invaded, and Jerusalem attacked, there would be no place for the Jews to escape to, since all the neighbouring cities would be brought to ruin, as well as those of Judea. Nebuchadnezzar, as history informs us, took many of the cities of the Philistines. Wo to the inhabitants of the sea-coasts — Wo to the Philistines who live upon the coast of the Mediterranean sea: compare Ezekiel 25:16 , where, as well as here, they are called Cherethites, or Cherethims. The LXX. read, παροικοι Κρητων , strangers of the Cretans. They are supposed to have been a colony removed from Crete to Palestine. O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee — The Canaanites, properly so called, were the same with the Philistines, and seated in that part of Palestine: see Joshua 13:3 . And the sea-coast shall be dwellings for shepherds — The merchants, who inhabited there before, being driven far away by the calamities of the times, or carried into captivity, and no others resorting thither.

And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah — This is a declaration that the sea-coasts, of which the Philistines should be dispossessed, should afterward come into the possession of the Jewish people, namely, after their return from their captivity; and that they should feed their flocks there, which should lie down in the evening in the desolate or ruined houses of Ashkelon.

For; it is time to seek some refuge, high time to seek it in God, for your neighbours, as well as you, shall be destroyed, there shall he no refuge for you among your neighbours. Gaza; a chief city of the Philistines, very strong by its situation, and by art fortified; a frontier toward Egypt, and not full three miles from the sea. Shall be forsaken; when the conquering army of the Chaldeans shall come against it, shall be forsaken either by the flight or captivity of the inhabitants. Ashkelon; another of the strong cities of the Philistines, which fell to the tribe of Dan, and was a maritime town. A desolation; utterly wasted, so the abstract doth imply. They; Babylonians: see Ezekiel 25:15-17 . Shall drive into captivity, cast them out of their own and force them into a strange land. Ashdod; a strong fortified city of Palestina, called in aftertimes Azotus. At the noon-day; it shall be taken by force at noon, or the citizens led away captive in the heat of the day, and under parching heats. Ekron; famous for its infamous idolatry, where Baalzebub was worshipped, the chief seat of devil-worship. Shall be rooted up; utterly extirpated, no more to spring up: see Jeremiah 47:4,5 : it shall be as a tree pulled up by the roots; or maimed, as horses that are houghed, as Joshua 11:9 .

4. For—He makes the punishment awaiting the neighboring states an argument why the ungodly should repent (Zep 2:1) and the godly persevere, namely, that so they may escape from the general calamity. Gaza shall be forsaken—In the Hebrew there is a play of similar sounds, Gaza Gazubah; Gaza shall be forsaken, as its name implies. So the Hebrew of the next clause, Ekron teeakeer. at the noonday—when on account of the heat Orientals usually sleep, and military operations are suspended (2Sa 4:5). Hence an attack at noon implies one sudden and unexpected (Jer 6:4, 5; 15:8). Ekron—Four cities of the Philistines are mentioned, whereas five was the normal number of their leading cities. Gath is omitted, being at this time under the Jews' dominion. David had subjugated it (1Ch 18:1). Under Joram the Philistines almost regained it (2Ch 21:16), but Uzziah (2Ch 26:6) and Hezekiah (2Ki 18:8) having conquered them, it remained under the Jews. Am 1:6; Zec 9:5, 6; Jer 25:20, similarly mention only four cities of the Philistines.

Verses 4-7. - § 2. The admonition is enforced by the announcement of the punishment that is about to fall on various nations, which shall prepare the way for the general acceptance of true religion ; and first the sentence shall reach the Philistines. Verse 4. - There is reason enough why Judah should tremble when the nations around her, such as the powerful and turbulent Philistines, fall before the invading host. Four of the five cities of the Philistines are mentioned, as denoting the whole territory, which again is the representative of the heathen world more definitely particularized later on. Thus the four quarters of the world are virtually specified: the Philistines representing the west,, the Moabites and Ammonites (vers. 8-10) the east, the Cushites (vers. 11, 12) the south, and the Assyrians (vers. 13-15) the north. Gaza (see note on Amos 1:6) shall be forsaken; depopulated and desolate. There is a paronomasia in the Hebrew: Azzah will be azubhah. Some of the other localities are treated in the same manner (comp. Micah 1:10-15 , and notes there). Ashkelon a desolation (see note on Amos 1:8). They shall drive out Ashdod. The inhabitants shall be expelled. (For Ashdod, see note on Amos, loc. cit. ) At the noon day. The hottest part of the day, the most unlikely time for a hostile attack, hence the expression is equivalent to "unexpectedly and suddenly" (comp. Jeremiah 15:8 ). Ekron shall be rooted up.

In the Hebrew paronomasia, Ekron ("the Deep-rooted") shall be teaker . (For Ekron, see note on Amos, loc. cit ., where the fulfilment of prophecy concerning that town is noted.) Gaza (see note on Amos 1:7), after being depopulated and again re-peopled by Alexander the Great, fell into the hands of Ptolemy, and was destroyed by Antiochus, B.C. 198 (Polybius, 'Reliq.,' 16:40; Pusey, p. 457). Often rebuilt, it was as often razed to the ground; and the present representative of the ancient town, Ghuzzeh, stands upon a hill composed of the accumulated ruins of successive cities. Of the condition of Ashkelon, Dr. Thomson writes, "There are no buildings of the ancient city now standing, but broken columns are mixed up with the soil .... Let us climb to the top of these tall fragments at the southeast angle of the wall, and we shell have the whole scene of desolation before us, stretching terrace after terrace, quite down to the sea on the northwest .... No site in this country has so deeply impressed my mind with sadness. They have stretched out upon Ashkelon the line of confusion and the stones of emptiness. Thorns have come up in her palaces, and brambles in the fortresses thereof, and it is a habitation of dragons and a court for owls ( Isaiah 34:11-13 )" ('The Land and the Book,' p. 546). "It was for ages," says Dr. Porter, "a great and strong city. Under the Philistines, the Hebrews, the Greeks, the Romans, the Saracens, the Crusaders, it was a place of note.

4 . For Gaza shall be forsaken ] The connecting word for appears to refer to the exhortation in Zephaniah 2:3 : seek the Lord, it may be ye shall be hid, for many shall be overwhelmed. There is an assonance in the words “Gaza shall be forsaken” ( ‘azza ‘azûba ) which cannot be reproduced. “Forsaken” is used probably as in Isaiah 6:12 ; Isaiah 7:16 , in the sense of depopulated. There is a similar paronomasia in “Ekron shall be rooted up” ( ‘eḳron te‘âḳçr ), which the Greek is able partially to imitate, Ἀκκαρὼν ἐκριζωθήσεται. drive out Ashdod at the noon day ] The expression at noon day occurs again Jeremiah 15:8 ( Jeremiah 6:4 is different) and stands in parallelism with suddenly in the next clause. It is also curious that in Jeremiah 15:8 , “a spoiler at noon day,” the term spoiler ( shoded ) would form an assonance with Ashdod. The idea meant to be suggested by the phrase “at noon day” is not clear. The usual explanation, to the effect that, as the hot noon was the time when men rested in the East, an attack at such an hour would be unexpected, is rather puerile ( 1 Kings 20:16 ). The idea might rather be that Ashdod shall be stormed by sheer and open force. See Appendix . The Philistine towns are enumerated in their order from south to north. The first three lay near the coast, while Ekron was somewhat further inland. 4–15 .

The judgment of the Day of the Lord upon the nations The nations on whom the impending judgment shall fall are: (1) the Philistines ( Zephaniah 2:4-7 ); (2) Moab and Ammon ( Zephaniah 2:8-15 ); (3) Cush or the Ethiopians ( Zephaniah 2:12 ); and (4) Assyria ( Zephaniah 2:13-15 ). In relation to Judah the four nations named lay respectively west, east, south, and north. The passage appears to be written in the rhythm of the ḳinah or Elegy, though in some verses the rhythm is imperfect. Comp. Ezekiel 19. Cambridge Bible , and more fully, Budde in the Zeitsch. für Alttest. Wissensch ., 1882, to whom is due the merit of discovering the true nature of the Elegiac rhythm.