flourished 7th century BC
One of the 12 Minor Prophets of the Hebrew scriptures, traditional author of the book of Zephaniah.
(The work is part of a larger book, The Twelve, in the Jewish canon.) He prophesied in the reign of Josiah , denouncing the worship of foreign gods, which suggests that he preached before the reforms instituted by Josiah. His dominant theme is the coming "day of the Lord," a time of divine judgment for Judah's sins.