Zephaniah 2:13

Authorized King James Version

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And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.

Original Language Analysis

וְיֵ֤ט And he will stretch out H5186
וְיֵ֤ט And he will stretch out
Strong's: H5186
Word #: 1 of 13
to stretch or spread out; by implication, to bend away (including moral deflection); used in a great variety of application (as follows)
יָדוֹ֙ his hand H3027
יָדוֹ֙ his hand
Strong's: H3027
Word #: 2 of 13
a hand (the open one [indicating power, means, direction, etc.], in distinction from h3709, the closed one); used (as noun, adverb, etc.) in a great v
עַל H5921
עַל
Strong's: H5921
Word #: 3 of 13
above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications
צָפ֔וֹן against the north H6828
צָפ֔וֹן against the north
Strong's: H6828
Word #: 4 of 13
properly, hidden, i.e., dark; used only of the north as a quarter (gloomy and unknown)
וִֽיאַבֵּ֖ד and destroy H6
וִֽיאַבֵּ֖ד and destroy
Strong's: H6
Word #: 5 of 13
properly, to wander away, i.e., lose oneself; by implication to perish (causative, destroy)
אֶת H853
אֶת
Strong's: H853
Word #: 6 of 13
properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)
אַשּׁ֑וּר Assyria H804
אַשּׁ֑וּר Assyria
Strong's: H804
Word #: 7 of 13
ashshur, the second son of shem; also his descendants and the country occupied by them (i.e., assyria), its region and its empire
וְיָשֵׂ֤ם and will make H7760
וְיָשֵׂ֤ם and will make
Strong's: H7760
Word #: 8 of 13
to put (used in a great variety of applications, literal, figurative, inferentially, and elliptically)
אֶת H853
אֶת
Strong's: H853
Word #: 9 of 13
properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)
נִֽינְוֵה֙ Nineveh H5210
נִֽינְוֵה֙ Nineveh
Strong's: H5210
Word #: 10 of 13
nineveh, the capital of assyria
לִשְׁמָמָ֔ה a desolation H8077
לִשְׁמָמָ֔ה a desolation
Strong's: H8077
Word #: 11 of 13
devastation; figuratively, astonishment
צִיָּ֖ה and dry H6723
צִיָּ֖ה and dry
Strong's: H6723
Word #: 12 of 13
aridity; concretely, a desert
כַּמִּדְבָּֽר׃ like a wilderness H4057
כַּמִּדְבָּֽר׃ like a wilderness
Strong's: H4057
Word #: 13 of 13
a pasture (i.e., open field, whither cattle are driven); by implication, a desert

Analysis & Commentary

And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria (ve'yet yado al-tsafon ve'yoved et-Ashur)—The 'north' refers to invasion routes into Israel. Assyria, the superpower that destroyed the Northern Kingdom (722 BC), seemed invincible. Yet God will 'stretch out his hand'—a gesture of sovereign power.

And will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness—Nineveh, Assyria's capital, was one of the ancient world's greatest cities, with massive walls and sophisticated irrigation. The prophecy of it becoming 'dry like a wilderness' (tsiyah ka'midbar) seems impossible—yet it was fulfilled when Babylon and the Medes destroyed Nineveh in 612 BC, just years after Zephaniah's prophecy. The site remained desolate, its location forgotten until archaeological rediscovery in the 19th century.

Historical Context

Nineveh's fall in 612 BC to the combined Babylonian-Median forces was sudden and catastrophic. The city was burned, flooded, and abandoned. Classical writers like Xenophon passed near its ruins without recognizing it. Only in 1842 did archaeologist Paul Émile Botta begin excavating, confirming the prophecy's literal fulfillment.

Questions for Reflection