Isaiah chapter 4:1
It is difficult to tell whether the first verse of Isaiah 4 is a conclusion of Isaiah 3's condemnation of Judah, or whether it leads into the new theme beginning in 4:2, which is a description of the aftermath of Jesus' Second Coming, the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom.
Isaiah 4:1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying,
“We will eat our own food and wear our own apparel;
Only let us be called by your name,
To take away our reproach.”
The Septuagint Greek Lexham version is translated directly into English from the original koine Greek this way:
Isaiah 4:1 LEX And seven women will seize one man, saying, “We will eat our own bread, and we will wear our own clothing, only let your name be given to us; remove our reproach!”
The context is still Zion, so the women are probably Jewish. Seven is a complete number, meaning all, everything, finished. It sounds like the ratio of mortal men to mortal women is going to be badly out of balance. This kind of resembles the Latter-Day Saints (Mormon)’s polygamy solution, though I'm not sure it means that there will be polygamy in the Millennial Kingdom: however, the inheritance of the land will mostly go to the men, and thus any woman without a male relative is going to need to come under the roof of a Jewish man. Will the women call upon Jesus ("the name") in repentance and supplication as they suggest their solution to this problem? If this is correct, then the chapter is divided at the correct place.
But when there is a question, we always use the Bible to interpret the Bible. Here is a parallel event with Gentile men in the prophet Zechariah, describing the same time frame, the nations going up to seek the Lord of hosts after the Second Coming:
Zechariah 8:23 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”
I think this is a confirmation that God is fulfilling Jacob's prophetic blessing on his son Judah. Let's look at the whole thing:
Genesis 49
8 “Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father’s children shall bow down before you.
9 Judah is a lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
11 Binding his donkey to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
He washed his garments in wine,
And his clothes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
And his teeth whiter than milk.
In this context, it seems clear that it is the sons of Judah (Jews) who will be elevated in the sight of the nations. This verse is a contrast to Isaiah 3:4-7, where the scarcity of Jewish men for leadership caused Jerusalem to be ruled by teenagers and women.
So Isaiah 4:1 can be seen as a righteous resolution of that sinful inversion of God's plan for leadership; now the daughters of Zion will no longer be in leadership positions, but instead seek the headship of men, specifically of the descendants of Judah.
Rom 11:26-27 NKJV
26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
"The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins."
Because “all Israel will be saved,” according to Paul in Romans 11:26, all twelve tribes will be resurrected and judged, but will also inherit land, unlike the church, whose portion is Jesus, not the Promised Land.
Zechariah 13:8-9 NKJV
8 And it shall come to pass in all the land,"
Says the LORD,
"That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die,
But one-third shall be left in it:
9 I will bring the one-third through the fire,
Will refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them. I will say,
'This is My people';
And each one will say,
'The LORD is my God.' "
Because two thirds of the living Jews “will be cut off and die” during Jacob’s Trouble, Judah’s portion will be populated by a very small remnant of mortals who survive the Tribulation, but as with the other tribes, the dead of Judah will be resurrected and judged (Parable of the Talents, Matt. 25:14-31), and the profitable servants will inherit their portions in Judah’s division of land. Since “cut off” means that those who are resurrected will not be able to procreate, I am assuming that there will be resurrected Jews who do not need wives in the traditional sense, but as the inheritors of land, they can receive mortal women into their individual clans.
But alternately or additionally, it may also refer to a class of Jewish women who become like nuns. The verse has been interpreted as Jesus being “the name” that they desire to be called by.
This interpretation leads perfectly into Isaiah 4:2, which describes the Branch of the Lord, a reference to Jesus through His ancestor Judah. We'll get into that next, but here are a few verses of Jeremiah that confirm Judah is that Branch, through his descendant David:
Jeremiah 23
5 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD,
“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
6 In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell safely;
Now this is His name by which He will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
7 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that they shall no longer say, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’
8 “but, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own land.”
So I conclude that the first verse of Isaiah 4 is a segue to verse 2, and that those ancient Bible scholars who divided the Scriptures into chapters and verses probably knew what they were doing. 😊
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