Tsephaniah
/ˌtsɛfəˈnaɪə/noun
A transliteration of the Hebrew biblical name Zephaniah, borne by a seventh-century BCE prophet and several other biblical figures.
Did you know?The name belongs to the prophet who proclaimed the biblical “Day of the Lord,” making concealment and apocalyptic revelation strikingly opposite themes within one name.
Etymological Timeline
First Millennium BCE
Biblical Hebrew
צְפַנְיָה (Ṣəfanyāh)
“Yahweh has hidden or protected; formed from ṣ-p-n, “to hide,” and Yah, a shortened form of the divine name Yahweh”
3rd–2nd Century BCE
Ancient Greek
Σοφονίας (Sophonias)
“Greek transliteration of the Hebrew personal name in the Septuagint”
4th–5th Century CE
Latin
Sophonias
“Latin form used in biblical translations, including the Vulgate”
Old English Period
Old English
Sefanias
“An Old English biblical rendering of the prophet’s name”
Middle English
English
Sofonias / Sophonias
“Medieval English forms inherited through biblical and ecclesiastical Latin”
Modern English
English
Zephaniah / Tsephaniah
“Modern English forms; Tsephaniah reflects a more direct transliteration of the Hebrew consonants”