Bible Commentaries
Zephaniah 3

Verses 1-20

Zephaniah 3:8 Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.

Zephaniah 3:8 Comments - Zephaniah 3:8 has the unique characteristic of containing all twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, as well as the five final consonant forms. No other verse in the Scriptures repeats this incident.

Zephaniah 3:9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.

Zephaniah 3:9 “then will I turn to the people a pure language” - Comments - Grant Jeffery notes that Zephaniah 3:9 gives a clear prophecy that God will restore the Hebrew language to the nation of Israel. [8] No other nation in history has ever risen back up after centuries of being dispersed. In 1948 the nation of Israel was reborn.

[8] Grant R. Jeffrey, The Signature of God (Frontier Research Publications, Inc. 1996), 184-201.

No other language on earth has ever been restored after centuries of being quiet. The Hebrew language was restored along with the nation of Israel. The restoration of this ancient language is mainly credited to Eliezar Ben Yehuda (1858-1922). After he moved to Israel in 1881, he created thousands of words to fit the modern Hebrew culture, becoming the first author of a modern Hebrew dictionary, which promoted the rebirth of the Hebrew language in this restored nation. [9]

[9] Jack Fellman, The Revival of a Classical Tongue: Eliezer Ben Yehuda and the Modern Hebrew Language. (The Hague, Netherlands: Mouton, 1973); “Eliezar Ben Yehuda,” Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia (San Francisco, California: Wikipedia Foundation, Inc.) [on-line]; accessed 20 December 2008; available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliezer_Ben-Yehuda; Internet.