Can you believe this is the second major commentary on Zephaniah in the last few months? Perhaps even more surprising, I must label this volume a winner just like I did the other recent one in the ZECOT. To be sure, they possess different strengths. Both are very unique contributions that don’t mimic each other at all. Some readers are definitely going to favor this one. It’s deep, but very understandable. The last portion of the Introduction does get into the minutiae a bit, but it’s different minutiae than the other one too. I don’t know if I can sell you on having two standalone commentaries on Zephaniah, but that is actually what I think you should do.

One of the reasons that Mr. Chisholm can write so many interesting things in a different lane is that he is open to dispensational theology. Don’t expect a dispensational treatise, as I’m not suggesting that at all; but it can just give some very interesting viewpoints that other commentaries do not. Still, all the basic things you look for are here as well.

The introduction is outstanding and full of learning. It didn’t have as much on structure, but it did seem to have better linkage with the rest of the Old Testament. Its historical background was excellent, but I felt the book was at his best at bringing in material that really illuminated the big picture. He even has some pages that suggest possibilities for a sermon series on Zephaniah. You don’t see that too often.

The scholarly conclusions and the theology are both warmly conservative. The amount of research that he did is very impressive. The introduction runs to 140 pages! They held my interest all the way through.

Mr. Chisholm is a name that has always come up favorably over the years I have been doing Bible study. He has still got it.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.