Bible · Isaiah

Isaiah 4

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1And 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.2In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.3And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:4When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.5And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.6And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.

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Notes for this chapter

Historical Background

Isaiah Chapter 4 Study Notes

Isaiah 4 is one of the shortest chapters in the book, yet it carries extraordinary depth. It functions as both a conclusion to the sombre warnings of chapter 3 and an opening into one of Scripture's most luminous visions of restoration. The opening verse carries the weight of the preceding chapter's judgments, while verses 2 through 6 lift the reader's eyes toward a future of breathtaking beauty and divine protection. This is a chapter that moves from desolation to glory, from reproach to holiness, from exposure to shelter.

Core Teaching

The opening verse completes the grim picture drawn in chapter 3, where Isaiah described the devastating losses Israel would suffer through war and divine judgment. The image of seven women clinging to one man reflects the severity of the casualties among Israel's men, a society turned upside down by military defeat and social collapse. In the ancient Near East, a woman without a husband carried deep social stigma, described here as “reproach.” What is striking is that these women offer to provide their own bread and clothing, normally the husband's responsibility under the covenant of marriage.

They ask only for his name. Adam Clarke observes that this verse is a striking picture of how profoundly desperate the conditions would become, with the normal social order entirely reversed. Matthew Henry reads it as a sobering close to the warnings of the previous chapter, showing that pride and vanity, which Isaiah had rebuked in Israel's daughters, would give way to humiliation and need. The seven women may symbolise completeness or totality, suggesting that across the whole society, this crisis would be felt.

With verse 2 the atmosphere changes entirely. The phrase “the Branch of the LORD” is one of the most significant messianic titles in the Old Testament. The Hebrew word “tsemach,” meaning a sprout or growth from the ground, appears again in , , and , each time pointing toward the coming Messiah. Here Isaiah introduces this title for the first time in Scripture, and it stands in deliberate contrast to the barrenness and shame described just before.

Where chapter 3 spoke of ruined fields and stripped beauty, chapter 4 speaks of a Branch that is “beautiful and glorious.” Barnes' Notes draws attention to the double designation here, beautiful in his divine nature and glorious in the honour given to him, which together describe the full person of Christ. The “fruit of the earth” has been interpreted both as referring to the Messiah in his humanity, the fruit born of the earth through the incarnation, and as the abundant blessing that flows from his reign. The phrase “them that are escaped of Israel” anticipates the remnant theology that runs throughout Isaiah, those who survive judgment and are preserved by grace.

Commentary Insights

Verses 3 and 4 speak of holiness and purification. The remnant left in Zion is described as holy, and this holiness is not merely positional but has been produced through a divine cleansing. The phrase “written among the living in Jerusalem” connects powerfully with the idea of the Book of Life found in , 13:8, and 20:15. Ellen White draws on this image in The Great Controversy, describing the heavenly record that preserves the names of the faithful.

The purification described in verse 4 comes “by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning,” language that echoes John the Baptist's announcement that Christ would baptise with the Holy Spirit and fire. The Adventist understanding of the investigative or pre-Advent judgment finds resonance here, as God's purifying work in his people is presented not as punishment alone but as necessary preparation for glory. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown note that this cleansing of filth and blood refers both to moral pollution and to the violence and injustice that had stained Jerusalem, both of which must be dealt with before the new era can begin.

The closing verses of the chapter present one of the most moving images in all of prophetic literature. God promises to recreate over Mount Zion the very sign that accompanied Israel in the wilderness, the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. This is not a coincidence of imagery. Isaiah is deliberately evoking the Exodus, the defining moment of God's protective presence with his people, and declaring that a new Exodus, a greater deliverance, is coming.

The word “create” in verse 5 is the Hebrew “bara,” the same word used in Genesis 1 for God's original creative act. God does not simply restore what was lost; he creates something entirely new. The cloud and fire speak of both concealment and revelation, protection and glory, guidance and warmth. Over every dwelling place and every assembly the divine canopy rests, suggesting that this glory is not reserved for the temple alone but covers the entire community of the redeemed.

Ellen White writes warmly of this restored relationship in Patriarchs and Prophets, noting that the visible tokens of God's presence were his pledge of faithfulness to his people.

Reflection & Application

The final verse completes the picture with the image of a tabernacle, a shelter from heat, storm, and rain. The word used here connects to the ancient tent of meeting, the place where God dwelt among his people in the wilderness years.

Go deeper — references Classic commentaries on this chapter

Matthew Henry's Commentary Matthew Henry (1662–1714) Adam Clarke's Commentary Adam Clarke (1760–1832) Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871) Barnes' Notes on the Bible Albert Barnes (1798–1870) EGW Writings Ellen G. White Blue Letter Bible Study tools and lexicon

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