Zephaniah

Zephaniah, a priest during King Zedekiah's reign, was taken captive to Babylon.

Zephaniah was a priest who served during the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. He is mentioned several times in the books of Jeremiah and 2 Kings. Zephaniah was the son of Maaseiah and held the position of second priest, subordinate to the high priest Seraiah. King Zedekiah sent Zephaniah, along with others, to inquire of the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah concerning the Babylonian threat. Zephaniah is also mentioned in a letter from Shemaiah, a false prophet in Babylon, who accused Zephaniah of not rebuking Jeremiah for his prophecies. After the fall of Jerusalem, Zephaniah was among the captives taken to Riblah, where Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had him executed.

The son of Maaseiah, the “second priest” in the reign of Zedekiah, often mentioned in Jeremiah as having been sent from the king to inquire (Jer. 21:1) regarding the coming woes which he had denounced, and to entreat the prophet’s intercession that the judgment threatened might be averted (Jer. 29:25, 26, 29; 37:3; 52:24). He, along with some other captive Jews, was put to death by the king of Babylon “at Riblah in the land of Hamath” (2 Kings 25:21).