zef - a - nı̄´a ( צפניה , cephanyāh , צפניהוּ , cephanyāhū , "Yah hath treasured"): (1) The prophet. See ZEPHANIAH , BOOK OF . (2) A L evite or priest (1 Chronicles 6:36 (Hebrew 6:21)), called in some genealogies "Uriel" ( 1 Chronicles 6:24; 1 Chronicles 15:5 , 1 Chronicles 15:11 ). (3) Judean father or fathers of various contemporaries of Zechariah, the prophet (Zechariah 6:10 , Zechariah 6:14 ). (4) A priest, the second in rank in the days of Jeremiah. He was a leader of the "patriotic" party which opposed Jeremiah. Nevertheless, he was sent to the prophet as a messenger of King Zedekiah when Nebuchadnezzar was about to attack the city (Jeremiah 21:1 ) and at other crises (Jeremiah 37:3; compare Jeremiah 29:25 , Jeremiah 29:29; 2 Kings 25:18 ). That he continued to adhere to the policy of resistance against Babylonian authority is indicated by the fact that he was among the leaders of Israel taken by Nebuzaradan before the king of Babylon, and killed at Riblah (2 Kings 25:18 parallel Jeremiah 52:24 ).
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source-manifest/isbe— ISBE (PD)