Zephaniah 1:11 commands, 'Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!' This appears to be a district name in Jerusalem, possibly a commercial quarter in a low-lying area (hence 'mortar' or hollow). The term literally means a mortar for pounding or grinding, but here designates a neighborhood, perhaps in the Tyropoeon Valley or another depression where merchants gathered. Zephaniah's prophecy targets this area as a center of commerce and wealth that will face divine judgment. The name's concreteness—a physical hollow—becomes metaphorically apt for those who will be ground down in judgment.