Dominic Rudman, «A Note on Zephaniah», Vol. 80 (1999) 109-112

The phrase Cr)h yhl) lk t) hzr...hwhy in Zeph 2,11 has long been a source of confusion for commentators and various attempts have been made to explain the term hzr: does YHWH "shrink" the gods by reducing their domains, or can we understand this term as derived from an Aramaic root and translate, "YHWH...will rule..."? An alternative suggestion, long-discarded, takes a more literal line and understands YHWH to "famish" the gods through the withdrawal of burnt offerings made by their worshippers. While this reading is working along the right lines, this passage appears in fact to refer to the Babylonian ritual of providing cult images with formal meals-a practice which will end with the conversion of the nations.

haplography⁴. While this is possible, Ben Zvi points to a possible similar usage of the Qal of #$lx in Exod 17,13 ("Joshua overwhelmed Amalek/made Amalek weak") which may suggest that the Qal of hzr could, after all, be understood causatively⁵.

        An alternative suggestion made by Sabottka is that the verb in Zeph 2,11 is derived from a second root hzr "to be strong, to rule", known from Aramaic (cf. Prov 14,28), and on this basis he translates it "beherrscht"⁶. While this particular suggestion has some sympathy from Ben Zvi and Berlin, the consensus remains that we are dealing with root hzr (I) "to be famished"⁷.

        In what sense, then, can Yahweh be said to "make lean" the gods of the nations? The apparent inappropriateness of this meaning of the verb has been remarked upon more than once⁸. Various explanations have been put forward by commentators. Berlin, for example, translates hzr "shrivel" (so also NRSV, NJPS), arguing that Yahweh will "shrink" the gods by constricting their domain⁹. Watts attempts to sidestep the problem by combining Sabottka’s suggestion with the scholarly consensus and agrees with the NEB’s "reduce to beggary", effectively arguing that Yahweh will famish the gods and rule over them totally¹⁰. Smith puts forward two suggestions, the first being that by destroying the nations, Yahweh will enfeeble the gods, the second being a more literal understanding of the verb in which either by destruction of the nations or by their conversion, sacrificial offerings for the gods would cease (cf. Ezek 44,7)¹¹.

        Perhaps because of a lack of hard evidence, Smith’s latter suggestion has been largely ignored. I have been unable to find any reference to altar-offerings as "food" for the gods in the Akkadian or Egyptian literature. However, there are a number of Akkadian texts which do bear directly on the problem in Zeph 2,11.

        Babylonian Evidence

        When the OT speaks of gods other than Yahweh, it is to all intents and purposes speaking of idolatry (e.g. 1 Chr 16,26 cf. Ps 96,5; Isa 42,17; Jer 2,28; 10,11 cf. 10,12-16). While we know comparatively little about religious practices surrounding the cult image in Palestine, much is known