How might other mentions in Scripture of God’s outstretched hand help to further appreciate Zephaniah’s use of the term?

The last time the Lord had stretched out his arm for his people was in the time leading up to and including the exodus. The phrase describes the Lord’s work of destruction against Egypt. In the plagues, God stretched out his hand to accomplish judgment (Exodus 7:5). He also instructed Moses and Aaron to stretch our their respective hands in order to inaugurate the various plagues (Exodus 7:19; Exodus 8:5–6, Exodus 8:16–17; Exodus 9:22; Exodus 10:12, Exodus 10:21–22; Exodus 14:16, Exodus 14:21, Exodus 14:26–27). This work of the Lord against Egypt is also reflected in other texts as the Lord’s strong arm being raised for his people’s salvation (e.g., Exodus 6:6; Deuteronomy 4:34; Deuteronomy 5:15; Deuteronomy 7:19; Deuteronomy 9:29; Deuteronomy 11:2; Deuteronomy 26:8). Thus, the image of the Lord’s outstretched hand was used to refer to judgment on the Lord’s enemies as well as salvation for his people.^1,2 (In more colloquial terms, a hand can either hurt you or feed and care for you.)

But how can we explain the switch from God’s outstretched hand being against his enemies to against his own people? In Exodus, the Lord’s hand was raised against Egypt but for Israel; now his hand of judgment is raised against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. It is noteworthy that this combination of outstretched hand against also appears in the books of the prophets, particularly in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zephaniah. Isaiah 5:25–30 is insightful in this respect. It introduces the concept of the Lord’s outstretched hand against his people. The verse also presents a refrain, applied to Judah, that for all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still. The prophet Isaiah develops the material from Exodus of the Lord’s outstretched hand, applying it to Judah.

That Zephaniah would reverse a salvation context in the book of Exodus to a judgment context fits the pattern of his earlier reversal with respect to the creation narrative in Genesis 1:1–31. Judah is now treated just as Egypt was: because of spiritual idolatry and rebellion against the Lord, they will be judged as Egypt was. Thus, Zephaniah 1:4 introduces the theme of the Lord’s coming in judgment against Judah and Jerusalem in a way similar to what he does with pagan nations. “The potency of such a statement in Zephaniah would not have been lost on the reader: the God who was once for Judah is now against him.”³