Zephaniahצפניה
In the Bible
The prophet Zephaniah (צפניה) — first attested in Jer 21:1 (2 occurrences in the Hebrew Bible).
הַדָּבָ֛ר אֲשֶׁר־הָיָ֥ה אֶֽל־יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ מֵאֵ֣ת יְהֹוָ֑ה בִּשְׁלֹ֨חַ אֵלָ֜יו הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ צִדְקִיָּ֗הוּ אֶת־פַּשְׁחוּר֙ בֶּן־מַלְכִּיָּ֔ה וְאֶת־צְפַנְיָ֧ה בֶן־מַעֲשֵׂיָ֛ה הַכֹּהֵ֖ן לֵאמֹֽר׃
The word that came to Jeremiah from G<small>OD</small>—when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malchiah and the priest Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah, to say,
Gematria & sigil
The consonantal gematria of Zephaniah (צפניה) and its sigil traced on the Lo Shu (Saturn 3×3) by the Aiq-Bekar digital-root method: each letter's value reduces to 1–9, those cells are joined in order — the trace is the sigil.
| Letter | Value | Aiq Bekar |
|---|---|---|
| ץ | 90 | 9 |
| ף | 80 | 8 |
| ן | 50 | 5 |
| י | 10 | 1 |
| ה | 5 | 5 |
| Total | 235 | 1 |
Stellar letters
The 5-consonant name needs its 4 distinct simple-letters to be occupied in the sky. The 7 classical bodies open a sign → its Hebrew simple letter; this name reads only when the planets sit in exactly these signs.
Readable on these rare conjunctions
Zephaniah appears in the stellar reading on 0 of the 12 dated rare conjunctions (proofs.json). Its required simple letters are never all occupied together on these 12 dates — a multi-letter name is rarer than a single-letter one. Open any date in the Reader to inspect that sky.
No readable date among the 12 — this name needs more simultaneous simple letters than any of these conjunctions occupy.
Description
Zephaniah 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 and is attributed a book bearing his name among the Twelve Minor Prophets. His name is commonly transliterated Sophonias in Bibles translated from the Vulgate or Septuagint. The name might mean "Yahweh has hidden/protected," or "Yah lies in wait". The church father Jerome interpreted the name to mean "the watchman of the Lord".
Life & work in brief
Summarised by section — one row per topic, for fast reading.
| Topic | Summary |
|---|---|
| The prophet Zephaniah | The best known Biblical figure bearing the name Zephaniah is the son of Cushi, and great-great grandson of King Hezekiah, ninth in the literary order of the Twelve Minor Prophets. |
| In Islam | In Islam, Safanyah (Arabic: صفني) is recognized by some scholars as a prophet sent to Bani-Israel, though he is not mentioned in the Quran and there are no authentic Hadiths about him. |
| Other Zephaniahs in the Bible | Other individuals named Zephaniah include: |
Prophecies
Key prophetic utterances and visions attributed to Zephaniah, with sources.
| Prophecy / vision | Source |
|---|---|
| The great day of YHWH: a day of wrath, distress and darkness | Zeph 1:15 |
| From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshippers bring offering | Zeph 3:10 |
| The remnant of Israel seeks refuge in YHWH's name; none makes afraid | Zeph 3:12-13 |