Text -- Isaiah 4:1 (NET)

4:1 Seven women will grab hold of one man at that time. They will say, “We will provide our own food, we will provide our own clothes; but let us belong to you– take away our shame!”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Isa 4:1

¹ tn Or “in that day” (ASV).

sn The seven to one ratio emphasizes the great disparity that will exist in the population due to the death of so many men in battle.

² tn Heb “eat” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “buy.”

³ tn Heb “wear” (so NASB, NRSV); NCV “make.”

⁴ tn Heb “only let your name be called over us.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28, and BDB 896 s.v. I ָקרָא Niph. 2.d.(4). The language reflects the cultural reality of ancient Israel, where women were legally the property of their husbands.

⁵ sn This refers to the humiliation of being unmarried and childless. The women’s words reflect the cultural standards of ancient Israel, where a woman’s primary duties were to be a wife and mother.