Zephaniah supplies more personal and chronological details than the preceding prophets. He identifies himself as the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, and states that he ministered during the reign of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. This lineage establishes him as a Jew of royal descent, the great-great-grandson of Hezekiah and a distant cousin of Josiah, while his period of activity places him as a contemporary of Jeremiah, Nahum, and likely Habakkuk. His name means the LORD hides or he whom the LORD hides, a notion reflected in his exhortation that the meek who seek righteousness and humility may be hidden in the day of the LORD's anger. Commentators have inferred from his call to repentance that he may have collaborated with Josiah in the reforms that began around 621 BC, an approximate date for the book. The Day of the LORD constitutes Zephaniah's central theme, an expression he employs more frequently than any other Old Testament writer. In the opening chapter God declares that judgment is imminent and describes it as a day of wrath, trouble, distress, devastation, desolation, darkness, gloominess, clouds, thick darkness, trumpet, and alarm, concluding that He will make speedy riddance of all who dwell in the land. The second chapter opens with a concise summons to repentance that offers limited hope to those who return to God, then pronounces judgment upon the surrounding nations of Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Ethiopia, and Assyria. The third chapter confronts wicked Jerusalem for its persistent corruption of every deed, resulting in the outpouring of divine indignation, yet promises that a faithful remnant of meek and humble people who trust in the name of the LORD will ultimately be restored from captivity. Zephaniah's Messianic prophecy portrays the LORD as the King of Israel dwelling in the midst of His people, removing judgments, casting out the enemy, saving by His might, and rejoicing over them with gladness, love, and singing, a vision that anticipates Christ's second coming and the establishment of peace and justice in His Millennial Kingdom.