Some lexicons give the sense as treasured or protected.
About
Prophet in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah. The book's heading traces him back four generations, through Cushi, Gedaliah and Amariah to Hezekiah, spelled Hizkiah in the KJV. The verse does not call that ancestor a king, though many readers take him to be King Hezekiah. Zephaniah announced that the Lord's great day was close, a day of wrath on Judah and Jerusalem. He called the humble to seek the Lord and spoke against the Philistine cities, Moab, Ammon and Assyria, and against the oppressing city with its princes, judges, prophets and priests. Its closing song has the Lord rejoicing over Zion with singing.
Relationships
ContemporaryJosiahKing of Judah in whose days the word of the Lord came to Zephaniah
Key Scripture AppearancesKJV
Zephaniah 1:1
The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.Zephaniah 1:1, KJV
Zephaniah 1:14
The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.Zephaniah 1:14, KJV
Zephaniah 2:3
Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.Zephaniah 2:3, KJV
Zephaniah 3:9
For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.Zephaniah 3:9, KJV
Zephaniah 3:17
The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.Zephaniah 3:17, KJV
See how Zephaniah connects to every other figure in Scripture.