“And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.”
My Notes
What Does Isaiah 4:1 Mean?
"And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach." The prophecy describes the aftermath of judgment: so many men have been killed in warfare that seven women compete for one man. They offer to provide their own food and clothing — waiving every marital expectation — just to bear his name and remove the stigma of being unmarried and childless.
The phrase "seven women shall take hold of one man" (hecheziku sheva nashim be'ish echad — seven women will grab one man) reverses the cultural norm: in ancient Israel, men pursued women. Here, the desperation reverses the dynamic. Seven women grab a single man. The number seven represents completeness — the reversal is total.
The "to take away our reproach" (esoph cherpathenu — to gather up/remove our disgrace) reveals the motivation: in the ancient world, an unmarried, childless woman bore social stigma. The reproach wasn't just personal loneliness. It was communal judgment — the woman without husband or children was considered cursed. The women offer everything to remove this mark.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What reproach are you carrying that makes you desperate for someone to remove it?
- 2.How does the reversal of normal social roles illustrate the severity of divine judgment?
- 3.What does the women wanting a NAME (not provision) teach about the power of identity and belonging?
- 4.What social stigma in your context creates the kind of desperation Isaiah describes?
Devotional
Seven women for one man. They'll feed themselves. They'll clothe themselves. Just let them bear his name. Just take away the shame of being unmarried and childless. The desperation is the prophecy's point: judgment has killed so many men that the normal social order has collapsed.
The 'seven women' represents complete reversal: in normal times, men pursued women, provided for them, offered bride-price. Here, women pursue a man and offer to provide for THEMSELVES — waiving every cultural expectation of the husband's provision. The desperation is so great that the women don't want provision. They just want a name. The reproach of being unmarried outweighs every material need.
The 'to take away our reproach' reveals what the women actually fear: not hunger, not cold (they'll handle those themselves). They fear the STIGMA. In the ancient world, the unmarried woman bore a social reproach that material provision couldn't fix. The shame wasn't about economics. It was about identity — being unnamed, unclaimed, uncovered by a man's household. The reproach was existential.
Isaiah uses this image to describe the severity of divine judgment: the war that killed the men was God's judgment on Judah's sin (chapter 3). The aftermath — women desperate just for a name — illustrates what happens when judgment falls on a society. The normal structures collapse. The basic relationships are disrupted. The social fabric tears.
What reproach are you carrying that makes you willing to abandon every expectation just to have it removed?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man,.... Not in the days of Ahaz, when Pekah, son of Remaliah, slew…
In that day - The time of calamity referred to in the close of the previous chapter. This is a continuation of that…
It was threatened (Isa 3:25) that the mighty men should fall by the sword in war, and it was threatened as a punishment…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture