An example of a righteous person who is the son of a righteous person is Zephaniah, son of Kushi (Megillah 15a). “The eight princes among men” (Micah 5:4) are Jesse, Saul, Samuel, Amos, Zephaniah, Zedekiah, Elijah, and the Messiah (Sukkah 52b). He prophesied close to the destruction of the Temple (Seder Olam Rabbah 20).

It appears he is a scion of royalty, related to Hezekiah (king of Judah in the late eighth century B.C.E.) and King Josiah (late seventh century B.C.E.). It was a time of upheaval - the Temple would be destroyed in 586 B.C.E. - and a time of reform, initiated by Josiah in 621. In Jerusalem, Zephaniah, “God has hidden,” arises and speaks, evoking the moral concerns of his predecessors.
Indeed, Zephaniah’s condemnation of Judah’s failings hearkens back to the problems confronting Josiah in the book of Kings:

And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place,
And the name of the idolatrous priests with the priests;
And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; (Zephaniah 1:4-5)

The worship of Baal, the praying to deities of the sky, the mimicking of their neighbors in custom and dress - these are old bones of contention dredged up by the contentious and angry prophet of the poetic soul. However, despite his anger and vituperaton - everyone in his path feels the power of his ire - Zephaniah has created an unforgettable legacy in his three- chapter prophecy.

The great day of the Lord is near,
It is near and hasteth greatly,
Even the voice of the day of the Lord,
Wherein the mighty man crieth bitterly.
That day is a day of wrath,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of wasteness and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloominess,
(Zephaniah 1:14-15)

Catastrophe awaits the people, and this is no hyperbole. But those who see the light will be included in the saving remnant of Israel:

At that time will I bring you in,
And at that time will I gather you;
For I will make you to be a name and a praise
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I turn your captivity before your eyes,
Saith the Lord. (Zephaniah 3:20)

Zephaniah is rarely mentioned when our people speak of the great prophets. Yet the rabbis knew of his righteousness. Zephaniah, our “hidden” prophet, our prince of Israel.