The Apocalypse of Zephaniah (or ''Apocalypse of Sophonias'') is a 1st-century

pseudepigraphic A pseudepigraph (also :wikt:anglicized, anglicized as "pseudepigraphon") is a false attribution, falsely attributed work, a text whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past. Th ...

Jewish text attributed to the Biblical

Zephaniah Zephaniah (, ; – ''Sōfənīəs'') is the name of several people in the Hebrew Bible; the most prominent being the prophet who prophesied in the days of Josiah, king of Judah (640–609 BCE) and is attributed a book bearing his name among th ...

and so associated with the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

, but not regarded as

scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

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or any

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

group. It was rediscovered and published at the end of the 19th century. The canonical

Book of Zephaniah The Book of Zephaniah (, ''Ṣəfanyā''; sometimes Latinized as ''Sophonias'') is the ninth of the Twelve Minor Prophets of the Old Testament and Tanakh, preceded in all traditions by the Book of Habakkuk and followed by the Book of Haggai. T ...

has much

mystical Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight ...

and apocalyptic imagery, and this apocalyptic-style text deals with a similar subject.

Manuscript Tradition

The existence of the ''Apocalypse of Zephaniah'' was known from ancient texts (for example the

Stichometry of Nicephorus The Stichometry of Nicephorus is a stichometry attributed to Patriarch Nicephorus I of Constantinople (c. 758-828). The work appears at the end of the ''Chronographikon Syntomon.'' It consists of a list of New Testament and Old Testament works c ...

) but it was considered lost. In 1881 two fragmentary manuscripts, respectively written in Akhmimic and Sahidic Coptic dialects, and probably coming from the

White Monastery The Coptic White Monastery (), also The Monastery of Abba Shenouda () and The Athribian Monastery () is a Coptic Orthodox monastery named after Saint Shenoute. It is located near the Upper Egyptian cities of Tahta and Sohag, and about south-ea ...

in Egypt, were bought by the

Bibliothèque Nationale A library is a collection of books, and possibly other materials and media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a p ...

of Paris (inventory number ''Copte'' 135O. S. Wintermute, ''Apocalypse of Zephaniah (First Century B.C.-First Century A.D.). A New Translation and Introduction'', in James H. Charlesworth (1985), ''The Old Testament Pseudoepigrapha'', Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company Inc., Volume 2, (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2). Here cited vol. 1 p. 499) and first published by U. Bouriant in 1885. These fragments, together with others later bought by the Staatliche Museum of Berlin (inventory number P 1862), were published in 1899 by SteindorffG. Steindorff ''Die Apokalypse des Elias, eine unbekannte Apokalypse und Bruchstucke der Sophonias-Apokalypse'' Leipzig 1899 who recognized in them fragments of the ''Apocalypse of Zephaniah'', of the '' Apocalypse of Elijah'' and of another text he called ''The Anonymous Apocalypse''. Schürer in 1899E. Schürer
Die Apokalypse des Elias
' in ''Theologische Literaturzeitung'', 1899, No. I. 4-8 showed that the Anonymous Apocalypse is most probably part of the Apocalypse of Zephaniah, but there is not unanimous consensus among scholars. Hedley Frederick Davis Sparks ''The Apocryphal Old Testament: edited by H.F.D. Sparks'' (1984) The two manuscripts are written in Coptic dialects: the older (early fourth century CE) in Akhmimic, the other (early fifth century CE) in Sahidic and very limited in extension. The original text was probably written in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

. In addition to these fragments, one could perhaps add a short quotation from the work of

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria (; – ), was a Christian theology, Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem. A ...

(''

Stromata The ''Stromata'' (), a mistake for ''Stromateis'' (Στρωματεῖς, "Patchwork," i.e., ''Miscellanies''), attributed to Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215), is the third of a trilogy of works regarding the Christian life. The oldest ...

'' V, 11:77) in a passage ascribed to

that is not included in the canonical

Date and origin

Because the Apocalypse of Zephaniah refers to the story of Susanna, it must be later than 100 BCE. It was also probably known to

, and so was written before the last quarter of second century CE. Within this range Wintermute suggests a date before 70 CE, because of a reference to a pro- Edomite tradition. The text contains no unequivocally Christian passages, and the few that recall the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

can be explained as arising also in a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

context. It may therefore be Jewish in origin, but may perhaps have been reworked by a

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

is the probable place of origin.

Content

The narrative tells of Zephaniah being taken to see the destiny of souls after death. *In the short Sahidic fragment, a soul taken out of its body before repentance for its lawlessness is lashed by five thousand angels. Later Zephaniah sees thousands of thousands of beings with human features (with hair and teeth), but the text is interrupted. *The Akhmimic text includes some fragmentary scenes: **It starts with a short fragmentary scene of a burial and with a vision of inhabitants of a town where there is no darkness, because it is the place for the righteous and the saints. Zephaniah then sees all the souls of those being punished and asks the Lord to have compassion. **The main vision is placed upon Mount Seir: in front of bronze gates, the angels of the Lord write down all the good deeds of the righteous, and the angels of the Accuser (the Greek word διάβολος literally meant slanderer or accuser)Encyclopædia Britannica: ''Devil''
/ref> write down all the sins of men, in order to accuse them when their souls leave the world. Zephaniah sees myriads of terrible angels with leopard-like faces, tusks and fiery scourges, who cast the souls of ungodly men into their eternal punishment. The seer looks back and sees a sea of flame and the Accuser, with unkempt lioness's hair, bear's teeth, and serpent body, wishing to swallow him. Zephaniah prays the Lord and the great angel Eremiel, "who is over the abyss", appears and saves him. Two scrolls are read to Zephaniah, one with all his sins and one with his good deeds on earth. The good deeds prevail over the sins and the seer is allowed to cross the river and leave

Hades Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...

. On the boat he puts on an angelic garment. **The Akhmimic fragments ends with some scenes introduced by trumpets sounded by angels. Only three of these scenes have survived. At the first trumpet, victory over the Accuser is proclaimed, and

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

Enoch Enoch ( ; ''Henṓkh'') is a biblical figure and Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch prior to Noah's flood, and the son of Jared (biblical figure), Jared and father of Methuselah. He was of the Antediluvian period in the Hebrew Bible. The text of t ...

Elijah Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worsh ...

and

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

are introduced. At the second trumpet, the heavens are opened and Zephaniah sees the sinful souls (which are given body and hair) tormented in a sea of flame until the day when the Lord will judge. He sees also a multitude of saints praying in intercession for those in these torments. The last trumpet mentioned in the fragments prepares for the announcement that the Lord will rise up in his wrath to destroy the earth and the heavens.

Theology

The ''Apocalypse of Zephaniah'', in accordance with the

Book of Enoch The Book of Enoch (also 1 Enoch; Hebrew language, Hebrew: סֵפֶר חֲנוֹךְ, ''Sēfer Ḥănōḵ''; , ) is an Second Temple Judaism, ancient Jewish Apocalyptic literature, apocalyptic religious text, ascribed by tradition to the Patriar ...

, presents souls as surviving beyond death. It clearly distinguishes between the personal judgment occurring immediately after death and the

final judgment The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the ''Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, resu ...

by the Lord. After death the soul is sought by the fallen angels of

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

and by the angels of the Lord. Judgment is based only on the balance between good deeds and sins during the whole of life, indicating that the book was influenced by Pharisaism. Souls enter bliss or punishment immediately after the first judgment, while waiting for the Lord's coming, but the intercession of the saints makes it possible that, for some, punishment may not be definitive. This view differs from that of other contemporary texts such as

2 Enoch The Second Book of Enoch (abbreviated as 2 Enoch and also known as Slavonic Enoch, Slavic Enoch, or the Secrets of Enoch) is a pseudepigraphic text in the apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, ancestor of Noah, throug ...

Notes

External links

online text
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apocalypse Of Zephaniah 1st-century texts Old Testament pseudepigrapha Apocalyptic literature Book of Zephaniah Jewish texts