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Zephaniah 1

8 “And it shall be, In the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, That I will punish the princes and the king’s children, And all such as are clothed with foreign apparel. 9 In the same day I will punish All those who leap over the threshold, Who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.

Zephaniah mentions the princes and the king's children, and all who are clothed with foreign apparel. Who is he actually referring to?

(This question has a different focus and the answer in the related question does not answer the above question.)

Martin Hemsley
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  • I marked this question as duplicate, as this has already been dealt with before. – bach Oct 27 '21 at 18:17
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    Does this answer your question? Leaping over the threshold in Zephaniah 1:9 – bach Oct 27 '21 at 18:19
  • Hi @Bach, I appreciate you giving Amy the chance to explain if her question is different from the one you indicated. I have seen questions closed before people had a chance to explain how theirs was different. I'm not saying that is the case here, but sometimes there are nuances in the new question that merit keeping it open for further exploration. – Martin Hemsley Oct 27 '21 at 20:22
  • @MartinHemsley I'm not sure if you're referring to my first or second comment. But the second comment is auto-generated when I voted to close (I'm not sure if you're aware of this). In any case, I see no harm in my vote, If the OP feels that her question is different and can explain why she thinks so, I'll be happy to retract my vote. Just from looking at this question, I'm pretty sure the OP did not see that thread and is not aware of it, and that thread seems to effectively answer her question here. – bach Oct 27 '21 at 20:33
  • Thanks for taking the time to clarify that @Bach. As you also know, it generally takes 5 votes from the community to close a question, so that usually gives people time to respond and make adjustments if they so choose. Newer members may not realize that if a question is a duplicate, it may be closed, so I'm wondering if we shouldn't set up a system to help them be aware of that. The questions that I have noticed being closed quickly were due to an early moderator intervention. – Martin Hemsley Oct 27 '21 at 20:47
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    It could be as simple as something like this in the auto-generated blurb: This question has been marked as a possible duplicate. Please show how your question differs from those already asked or it could be closed based on votes by the community. – Martin Hemsley Oct 27 '21 at 21:14
  • @MartinHemsley yes I agree, that would prob be a good idea. But in any case, I have made the OP aware that their question is a duplicate, and they have ample time to respond to this (This may be a problem for newer users though with less than 50 rep, as they cannot comment. I think that rule should be changed too, and at least on their own post they should be allowed to comment). When I first got introduced to BH I posted a question which was marked dupe, I explained why I thought it was different (and it really was), but no one cared and it was closed anyway. Now that is a problem! – bach Oct 28 '21 at 00:45
  • But I try to be careful, and I give the OP a chance to respond, and am more than willing to listen. But as the OP doesn't comment, there's no way to tell what's going through their minds, so keeping the status quo seems the natural option. – bach Oct 28 '21 at 00:47
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. – Martin Hemsley Oct 28 '21 at 01:18

2 Answers2

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Most commentators think that "those who leap over the threshold" is not to be taken literally. Let's see the parallelism in Zephaniah 1:9:

In the same day I will punish 
    All those who     leap over the threshold, 
              Who     fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.

They are the ones who commit violence.

Cambridge:

The connexion here, however, implies that leaping over the threshold is rather an act of violence, suggesting forcible invasion of the house, for the next clause, “that fill their master’s house with violence,” is a further description of those that leap over the threshold.

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Here is the symbolism I see in this passage:

  • The day of the Lord's sacrifice > Crucifixion of Jesus (Heb 9:28)
  • Princes > demonic rulers (Psalm 2:2, Ezekiel 28:2,12)
  • Kings > wicked human rulers (Psalm 2:2, Ezekiel 28:2,12)
  • Foreign apparel > "spiritual clothing" of unrighteousness/lawlessness (opposite of Isa. 61:10 Garment of Salvation; Isa. 61:3 Garment of Praise; Isa. 61:10 Robe of Righteousness)
  • Leap over threshold > perform feats or rituals empowered by spiritual forces (Psalm 18:29 can leap over a wall with God; Lev 18:22 pass seed through the fire to Molech [a spiritual threshold sealing the deal with Satan])

In this context of judgement and punishment, this implies demonic powers and those who practice rebellion and sorcery. You can expect that if a person opens the door to wicked spiritual forces, those forces will bring violence and deceit. (John 10:10)

Jesus made an open show of demonic forces on His (the Lord's) day. Col 2:15

Keenan Diggs
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