Exegesis and Exposition of zephaniah 3: 17-18
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Exegesis and Exposition of Zephaniah 3:17-18 Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord is in the Midst of Jerusalem Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” (NASB95) “The Lord your God is in your midst” is composed of the following: (1) masculine singular proper noun yhwh (יהוה), “the Lord” (2) masculine plural construct form of the noun ʾĕlōhîm (אֱלֹהִים), “God” (3) second person feminine singular pronominal suffix ʾat (אַתְּ), “your” (4) preposition b (בְּ), “in” (5) masculine singular construct form of the noun qereb (קֶרֶב), “midst” (5) second person feminine singular pronominal suffix ʾat (אַתְּ), “your.” The proper noun yhwh (Yahweh), “the Lord” is the covenant keeping personal name of God emphasizing the personal covenant relationship that the future remnant of Israel living during the millennial reign of Christ will enjoy with God. Thus, this word is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ since He will dwell in the midst of this future remnant of Israel during His millennial reign. The noun ʾĕlōhîm means “God,” which emphasizes the transcendent character of the God and also refers to the Lord’s complete sovereign power over all creation and every creature and over every nation and ruler as evidenced by fulfilled prophecy. Here in Zephaniah 3:17 it is emphasizing the Lord Jesus Christ sovereign rulership over the nation of Israel and this future remnant of Israel. It also emphasizes that the Lord will sovereignly intervene and restore this future remnant of Israel to the land promised to them under the Abrahamic covenant. The construct state of the noun ʾĕlōhîm means it is governing the word which follows it and is expressing a genitive relation with this word which is the second person feminine singular pronominal suffix ʾat, which means “your” referring to the city of Jerusalem and in particular the future remnant of Israel living in this city during the millennial reign of Christ. The genitive relation between these two words is possession or relationship expressing the idea that God has a relationship with this future remnant living in the city of Jerusalem during the millennial reign of Christ. The genitive relation is also subordination expressing the fact that God is sovereign over this remnant residing in Jerusalem during the millennial reign of Christ. The noun qereb means “midst” since it pertains to the location of something or someone in the middle, the center or “the midst” of something or someone or a group of people. Here it refers to “the midst” of the future remnant of Israel. This is indicated by the construct state of this noun. This means that qereb is governing the word which follows it and is expressing a genitive relation with this word which is the second person feminine singular pronominal suffix ʾat, which means “your” referring once again to the city of Jerusalem and specifically this future remnant of Israel residing in this city during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. The genitive relation is possession indicating that this midst belongs to this future remnant of Israel. The noun qereb is also the object of the preposition b, which means “in” since it functions as a marker of position or location within a geographical area, defined by the objects around it. Therefore, this prepositional phrase indicates that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God is located within the midst of this future remnant of Israel. Zephaniah under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is employing the figure of ellipsis meaning that he is deliberately omitting the third person masculine singular qal active imperfect form of the verb hā∙yā(h) (הָיָה). However, it is implied from the context. The word means “to exist in a particular state or condition and thus denotes that the Lord “is” in the midst of this future remnant of Israel. The qal stem of the verb is stative meaning that the Lord “exists in the state of being” in the midst of this future remnant of Israel living in the city of Jerusalem during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. The imperfect conjugation of the verb is stative expressing the same thing. Mighty Warrior Who Saves Download 360 Kb. Share with your friends:
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