Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Zephaniah 2:13
And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, [and] dry like a wilderness.
13. stretch out his hand ] See on Zep 1:4.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
13 15. Threat against Assyria
The passage naturally implies that the Assyrian empire had not yet fallen.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Zephaniah began by singling out Judah amid the general destruction, I will also stretch out My Hand upon Judah Zep 1:4; he sums up the judgment of the world in the same way; He will stretch out, or, Stretch He forth, His Hand against the north and destroy Asshur, and make Nineveh a desolation. Judah had, in Zephaniahs time, nothing to fear from Assyria. Isaiah Isa 39:6 and Micah Mic 4:10 had already foretold, that the captivity would be to Babylon. Yet of Assyria alone the prophet, in his own person, expresses his own conformity with the mind of God. Of others he had said, the word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, and I will destroy thee; As I live, saith the Lord, Moab shall be as Sodom. Ye also, O Ethiopians, the, slain of My sword are they. Of Assyria alone, by a slight inflection of the word, he expresses that he goes along with this, which he announces.
He does not say as an imprecation, May He stretch forth His hand; but gently, as continuing his prophecies, and, joining on Asshur with the rest; only instead of saying He will stretch forth, by a form almost insulated in Hebrew, he says, And stretch He forth His Hand. In a way not unlike, David having declared Gods judgments, The Lord trieth the righteous; and the wicked and the lover of violence doth His soul abhor, subjoineth, On the wicked rain He snares, signifying that he (as all must be in the Day of judgment), is at one with the judgment of God. This is the last sentence upon Nineveh, enforcing that of Jonah and Nahum, yet without place of repentance now. He accumulates words expressive of desolateness. It should not only be a desolation Zep 2:4, Zep 2:9, as he had said of Ashkelon, Moab and Amman, but a dry, parched , unfruitful Isa 53:2 land. As Isaiah, under the same words, prophesies that the dry and desolate land should, by the Gospel, be glad, so the gladness of the world should become dryness and desolation. Asshur is named, as though one individual , implying the entireness of the destruction; all shall perish as one man; or as gathered into one and dependent upon one, its evil King. The north is not only Assyria, in that its armies came upon Judah from the north, but it stands for the whole power of evil (see Isa 14:13), as Nineveh for the whole beautiful, evil, world. The world with the princes of this world shall perish together.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Zep 2:13-15
He will stretch out His hand against the north.
National pride and national ruin
Two facts are suggested–
I. That men are often prone to pride themselves on the greatness of their country. The men of the city of Nineveh–the capital of Assyria–were proud of their nation. There was much in the city of Nineveh to account for, if not to justify, the exultant spirit of its population. It was the metropolis of a vast empire; it was a city 60 miles in compass, it had walls 100 feet high, and so thick and strong that three chariots could be driven abreast on them; it had 1500 massive towers. Italy, Austria, Germany, America, England, each says in its spirit, I am, and there is none beside me. This spirit of national boasting is unjustifiable. There is nothing in a nation of which it should be proud, except moral excellence. On the contrary, how much ignorance, sensuality, worldliness, intolerance, impiety, that should humble us in the dust. It is moreover a foolish spirit. It is a check to true national progress, and its haughty swaggerings tend to irritate other countries.
II. That the greatest country must sooner or later fall to ruin. He will stretch out His hand against the north, and destroy Assyria. Flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, etc. Not only a receptacle for beasts, but a derision to travellers. Every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand. This is the fate that awaits all the nations under heaven, even the greatest. (Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 13. He will – destroy Assyria] He will overthrow the empire, and Nineveh, their metropolitan city. See on Jonah and Nahum.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And he, the Lord God of Israel, or the Chaldean monarch as Gods servant herein,
will stretch out his hand, engage all his power, and use it to the utmost, against the north, i.e. as follows, Assyria, which lay northward of Judea, but more due north from Babylon, if I mistake not.
Destroy Assyria; overthrow that great and ancient kingdom of Assyria. of which more at large in Nahum. Nineveh; chief city of that kingdom. See Nah 1:1. A desolation; most desolate, Nah 3:10-12.
And dry like a wilderness; will turn those well-watered places into dry, thirsty, and barren land, as a wilderness.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. Here he passes suddenly tothe north. Nineveh was destroyed by Cyaxares and Nabopolassar, 625B.C. The Scythian hordes,by an inroad into Media and thence in the southwest of Asia (thoughtby many to be the forces described by Zephaniah, as the invaders ofJudea, rather than the Chaldeans), for a while interrupted Cyaxares’operations; but he finally succeeded. Arbaces and Belesis previouslysubverted the Assyrian empire under Sardanapalus (that is, Pul?), 877B.C.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he will stretch out his hand against the north,…. Either the Lord, or Nebuchadnezzar his sword; who, as he would subdue the nations that lay southward, he would lead his army northward against the land of Assyria, which lay to the north of Judea, as next explained:
and destroy Assyria; that famous monarchy, which had ruled over the kingdoms of the earth, now should come to an end, and be reduced to subjection to the king of Babylon:
and will make Nineveh a desolation; which was the capital city, the metropolis of the Assyrian monarchy: Nahum prophesies at large of the destruction of this city:
[and] dry like a wilderness; which before was a very watery place, situated by rivers, particularly the river Tigris; so that it was formerly like a pool of water, Na 2:6 but now should be dry like a heath or desert, Dr. Prideaux places the destruction of Nineveh in the twenty ninth year of Josiah’s reign; but Bishop Usher earlier, in the sixteenth year of his reign; and, if so, then Zephaniah, who here prophesies of it, must begin to prophesy in the former part of Josiah’s reign.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Prophet proceeds here to the Assyrians, whom we know to have been special enemies to the Church of God. For the Moabites and the Ammonites were fans only, as we have elsewhere seen, as they could not do much harm by their own strength. Hence they stirred up the Assyrians, they stirred up the Ethiopians and remote nations. The meaning, then, is, that no one of all the enemies of the Church would be left unpunished by God, as every one would receive a reward for his cruelty. He speaks now of God in the third person; but in the last verse God himself said, that the Ethiopians would be slain by his sword. The Prophet adds here, He will extend his hand to the north; that is, God will not complete his judgments on the Ethiopians; but he will go farther, even to Nineveh and to all the Assyrians.
Nineveh, we know, was the metropolis of the empire, before the Assyrians were conquered by the Babylonians. Thus Babylon then recovered the sovereignty which it had lost; and Nineveh, though not wholly demolished, was yet deprived of its ruling power, and gradually lost its name and its wealth, until it was reduced into a waste; for the building of Ctesiphon, as we have elsewhere seen, proved its ruin. But the Prophet, no doubt, proceeds here to administer comfort to the Jews, lest they should despair, while the Lord did not interfere. And the extension of the hand means as though he said, that his own time is known to the Lord, and that he would put forth his power when needful. Assyria was north as to Judea: hence he says, to the north will the Lord extend his hand, and will destroy Assyria; he will make Nineveh a desolation, that it may be like the desert. It follows—
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.]
Zep. 2:13.) The prophet dwells longer on the heathen power of the north, the Assyrian kingdom with its capital, Nineveh, because Assyria was then the imperial power, seeking to destroy the kingdom of Judah. This explains the announcement, in the form of a wish, as the use of the contracted forms, yet and ysm, clearly shows. Assyria was north-east, but invaded Palestine from the north, hence regarded as situated thus [Keil].
Zep. 2:14. Cormorant and bittern] or pelican and porcupine (cf. Isa. 34:11), from whence the words are adopted [Wordsworth]. Lintels] or knops of pillars (Amo. 9:1). The capitals of the pillars do not lie on the ground, but now stand unattached, after the roofs and doors, which rested upon them, are thrown down [Hitzig].
Zep. 2:15.] This city, proud and haughty, sheltered behind defences of water, would become a lair of beasts, a desolate waste, a hissing to men. All would exult in its ruins, wave the hand, and declare that she richly deserved her fate.
THE JUDGMENT UPON ASSYRIA.Zep. 2:13-15
The prophet dwells upon the kingdom of Assyria with its splendid capital, Nineveh. It was the imperial power then seeking to destroy Judah, But the sentence of Jonah and Nahum was to be executed. No opportunity of repentance now. The most populous and ambitious kingdom of Eastern races has to be entirely laid waste.
I. Its capital would become a heap of ruins. God will stretch out his hand and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation. Nineveh, strongly built and splendidly adorned, secure in its streams and impregnable in its defences, would become an arid waste. Dry like a wilderness.
II. Its ruins would be complete. They would become
1. A lair of wild beasts. Herds crouch were once ran broad streets, loud with the wheels of traffic or the tramp of armies. Wild beasts wander and climb about the fallen stones, seeking a prey or finding a covert within its dismantled walls. Pelicans from the neighbouring marshes, and hedgehogs from the adjacent fields, make their homes in the sculptured capitals of her fallen columns.
2. A home of unclean birds. Birds perch and sing on the lintels of broken windows, joyous in existence amid extensive ruins. The music of the palace, men-singers and women-singers, have ceased to be; but the song of the bird startles the spectator in the lonely scene.
3. A heap of desolation. Desolation shall be in the thresholds. On spots where porters watched and multitudes thronged, heaps of rubbish stand. The thresholds of house and temple, mart and palace, are covered with dust. The sands carried by winds from the desert, have buried the wreck of former grandeur, and hid every trace of its magnificence.
III. Its ruins would become a derision to travellers. Every one that passeth by her shall hiss and wag his hand. He shall hiss with scorn, and motion with the hand in detestation, not in joy (Nah. 3:19). The desolation would astonish, and the ruin of the immense and stately city would be a source of joy. The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more.
HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES
Zep. 2:13. Desolation. No desolation is like that of decayed luxury. It preaches the nothingness of man, the fruitlessness of his toils, the fleetingness of his hopes and enjoyments. Grass in a court or on a beaten road, much more in a town, speaks of the passing away of what has been; that man, wont to be there, is not there now. It leaves the feeling of void and forsakenness [Pusey].
Zep. 2:15. I am, &c. Pride will fall. The more selfish and secure in sin, the greater the human shame and the Divine indignation. This was the language of
1. Pride. Deification of its own might.
2. Selfishness. I alone, and no other that I care for.
3. Defiance. I am, who dare touch me? No security in worldly strength and prosperity.
4. Self-deception. Judgments from God humble the most haughty, and turn the most mirthful into mourning. Thus Divine retribution
Falls most sure
On wicked men, when they are most secure.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 2
Zep. 2:13-15. This doom on Nineveh was carried out to the very letter. It was not simply the largest city of the ancient world. In the mouth of the Hebrew prophets it was the name of a district, 25 miles long, by 15 broad, which included four large cities, besides villages and forts, within its protecting walls. About six centuries B. C., this vast populous district was conquered and destroyed by the Medes (under Cyaxares), and the Chaldeans (under Nabopolassar, father of Nebuchadnezzar). So complete was the destruction, that with startling abruptness the great city vanished from the face of the earth, and its very ruins were hidden from the eyes of men. In A. D. 1766, Niebuhr, the great historian, stood on the eastern bank, which he took to be acclivities wrought by the hand of nature. It was not till A. D. 1842 that Layard, Rawlinson, and Botta dug into these mounds, exhumed and interpreted the remains which tell the story of the citys greatness, luxury, and culture with a power beyond that of words [S. Cox].
I am. Indulged sin thrives and strengthens in character. Germs of evil gather round the accursed root, until judgments from heaven cut it down.
When we in our viciousness
Grow hard, the wise gods seal our eyes,
In our own slime drop our clear judgments,
Make us adore our errors, and thus
We strut to our destruction.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(13-15) The sentence against Assyria in the north. This was fulfilled as early as B.C. 625, when Nineveh was taken and destroyed by the Medes and Babylonians. It will be remembered that this catastrophe is the theme of Nahums prophecy. Its effects are here described in language similar to that of Nahum 3 which Zephaniah doubtless has in mind.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13-15. The doom of Nineveh.
Stretch out his hand See on Zep 1:4.
Against the north From Ethiopia in the far south Jehovah will turn northward to strike Assyria.
Assyria The beginnings of the Assyrian empire are shrouded in obscurity, but from about the middle of the twelfth century until near the close of the seventh century B.C. it was the great Asiatic world power. Nearly all the prophets, beginning with Amos, look upon it as the divinely appointed agent to execute judgment upon the rebellious Israel; but several of them are convinced that it has gone beyond its commission and that its cruel policy of conquest is contrary to Jehovah’s will; therefore they heap upon Assyria the severest denunciations (for example, Isa 10:5 ff.; Mic 5:6; the entire Book of Nahum).
Nineveh The capital of Assyria in the days of Zephaniah (see on Jon 3:2-3).
Desolation, dry like a wilderness To make Nineveh dry like a wilderness would require a manifestation of extraordinary power, for the city was situated on the banks of one river, the Tigris, while another, the Choser, flowed right through it.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Assyrians ( Zep 2:13-15 ).
Zep 2:13-14
‘And he will stretch out his hand against the north,
And destroy Assyria,
And he will make Nineveh a desolation,
And dry like the wilderness.
And herds will lie down in the midst of her,
All the beasts of the nations,
Both the tawny owl (qa’ath) and the little owl (qippod) will lodge in its lintels,
Their voice will sing in the windows,
Dryness will be in the thresholds,
For he has laid bare the cedar work.’
Having dealt with the far south he quickly moves to the north with which he is more familiar, for there lay Israel’s arch-enemy the Assyrians. They too will be caught up in YHWH’s judgments. They will be destroyed, and that great city Nineveh be flattened into ruins. It will be the dwellingplace of herds, the beasts of the conquering nations. Birds will lodge in its ruined lintels, and will sing in its window spaces. The wood will go dry having been exposed to the sun.
The words translated tawny owl and little owl probably represent birds, although the type is not certain. The names were probably chosen because both began with q and would go well together. Alternately qippod might indicate something like lizards darting around the ruins.
But Zephaniah’s stopping short at Assyria counts against too much emphasis on a world view. He was well aware of nations to the north of Assyria which could have been mentioned.
Zep 2:15
‘This is the joyous city that dwelt carelessly,
That said in her heart, “I am, and there is no other beside me”.
How she has become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in.
Everyone who passes by her will hiss and wag his hand.’
Attention is drawn to the attitude of Nineveh. In a world of poverty and suffering she was a good time city, a roistering city, that grew careless, as great empires do after a time, because they consider themselves invincible (compare Isa 10:12), saying ‘I am and there is none beside me’ (compare Isa 47:8 of Babylon). She was sure that no one could be compared with her. But she would shortly become a scene of destruction occupied by beasts and all who went past her would hiss or shake their heads.
Nineveh would fall to the Babylonians and Medes in 612 BC. For a time its ruins would be a thing to be derided, but in the not too distant future it would become a mound which passers-by simply looked on as a ruin. So quickly would the glory of Nineveh forgotten.
It is a reminder to us how little there is of real, lasting importance in this world. If we wish to achieve anything lasting we should do it by building up the Kingly Rule of God.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Zep 2:13. Will make Nineveh a desolation Dr. Prideaux observes, that, Chyniladanus being king of the Assyrian and Babylonian empire, Nabopolassar his general took the latter from him, in the sixteenth year of Josiah; fourteen years after which, Sarracus the king was slain, and Nineveh destroyed, which completed the fall of Assyria. Rauwolff observes in his Travels, that on this side the river Tigris in Mesopotamia, it is so sandy and dry, that you would think you were in the middle of the deserts of Arabia. See Prideaux’s Connection, An. 612 and 626.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Zep 2:13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, [and] dry like a wilderness.
Ver. 13. And he will stretch out his hand against the north ] i.e. Against Assyria (which lay north from Judea), as is presently added by way of exposition. The Scripture sometimes hath its own interpretation annexed, as Joh 2:19 ; Joh 2:21 ; Joh 7:39 . Howsoever, the Rabbis have this saying among them, Nulla est obiectio in lege quae non habet solutionem in latere; i.e. there is not any doubt in the law but may be resolved by the context.
And destroy Assyria
And will make Nineveh a desolation
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
And He. See note on “For”, Zep 2:4.
stretch out His hand. Idiom for executing judgment.
the north: i.e. against Assyria, because although west of Canaan, the road and entrance was by the north.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Nineveh
(See Scofield “Nah 1:1”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
he will: Psa 83:8, Psa 83:9, Isa 10:12, Isa 10:16, Isa 11:11, Eze 31:3-18
will make: Nah 1:1, Nah 2:10, Nah 2:11, Nah 3:7, Nah 3:15, Nah 3:18, Nah 3:19, Zec 10:10, Zec 10:11
Reciprocal: Gen 10:11 – Nineveh Psa 107:33 – turneth Isa 14:17 – made Jer 49:33 – a dwelling Jer 50:18 – as I Jon 1:2 – Nineveh Jon 3:2 – Nineveh Nah 1:8 – the place
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Zep 2:13. The rest of the chapter is against the Assyrians and especially against the city of Nineveh which was their capital. That empire had invaded the land of Palestine in the days of the 10-tribe kingdom and had taken it into exile. As a punishment its territory was destined to become a wilderness.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Zep 2:13-14. And he will stretch out his hand against the north Nor will the southern nations only be punished, but judgments will be executed by the divine justice on the nations lying toward the north; and will make Nineveh a desolation What is here foretold was fulfilled before the predictions recorded in the foregoing verses. Dr. Prideaux observes, that Chyniladanus being king of the Assyrian and Babylonian empire, Nabopolassar, his general, took the latter from him, in the sixteenth year of Josiah; fourteen years after which Saraccus the king was slain, and Nineveh destroyed, which completed the fall of Assyria. And dry like a wilderness A multitude of people are often compared to, and called waters, in Scripture language; and therefore, figuratively speaking, to make Nineveh dry like a wilderness, may signify depopulating her. Or the words may be taken literally; for Rauwolff observes, in his Travels, that on this side the river Tigris, in Mesopotamia, the ground is so sandy and dry, that you would think you were in the middle of the deserts of Arabia. Prid. Con., Ann. 612 and 626. And flocks shall lie down, &c., all the beasts of the nations The several kinds of wild beasts that are in the country. What is said in this verse, is descriptive of a place lying in ruins and desolation; for in such a case it soon becomes a haunt of wild beasts and birds of every kind. Both the cormorant and the bittern, &c. Bishop Newcome reads, Both the pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the carved lintels thereof; observing of the former, These birds fed in the Tigris, and made their nests in the deserted ruins of the city. The next clause he renders, A cry shall resound in the window: the raven shall be in the porch. For he shall uncover Or lay bare, the cedar-work God will reduce the houses of Nineveh to such a state of desolation, that the floors and ceilings of cedar shall lie open to the injuries of the weather, and to birds to roost and build their nests there. This reference (in mentioning cedar-work) to the former elegance of the city, is finely introduced; and, in the next verse, the grand and affecting description of her desolate state is beautifully contrasted, by her late festivity and pride.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
4. Judgment coming on Assyria 2:13-15
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Zephaniah also prophesied the destruction of Assyria to Judah’s north (really northeast) and her capital Nineveh (cf. Isa 14:24-27; Nah.). Since Nineveh fell to the combined forces of Babylonia, Media, and Scythia in 612 B.C. Zephaniah must have uttered this prophecy before that date. The Lord would make Nineveh a parched desolation (cf. Nahum 3). Until her fall Nineveh had much water surrounding and circulating through it, but in the future she would be dry (cf. Nah 1:8; Nah 2:6; Nah 2:8).
"Nineveh is part of Scripture’s early-warning system." [Note: Motyer, p. 937.]