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1 And in
that day [yowm] seven [sheba`] women ['ishshah] shall take hold [chazaq] of
one ['echad] man, ['iysh] saying, ['amar] We will eat
['akal] our own bread, [lechem] and wear [labash] our own
apparel: [simlah] only let us be called [qara'] by thy name, [shem] to take
away ['acaph] our reproach. [cherpah] KJV-Interlinear
1 For seven
women will take hold of one man in that day, saying, "We will eat our own
bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away
our reproach!" NASB
Isaiah's prophecy continues and shows the absolute devastation and humiliation and poverty that society has fallen into.
Throughout history, there has always been a sort of balance between men and women in the world. Even in times of adversity from war, disease, or natural catastrophe, the end result was such that neither gender was so decimated that future prospects of mates would have been difficult if not impossible.
However, here is defined a period in history, 'in that day,' when society will have been so decimated, that its future prospects will be virtually eliminated.
The number seven is often used in scripture to designate a completed action from God. In seven days God completed the restoration of the world, from the Genesis account. He rested on the seventh day. His restoration had been completed. No further work was required for the sustaining or support of humanity and human history.
And here, the judgment of the previous verses from the previous chapter, and in this first verse, has been completed. This will be the state of humanity at the end of the Tribulation. This is not a giving of permission to each man to have seven wives, but is a description of the total and complete devastation of humanity.
Shall take hold, 'chazaq,' refers to the panic seizing of, to fasten hold, to bind, repair, retain. And indicates a situation of total helplessness, wherein one grasps at anything and everything in order to survive, but cannot.
And the reason why is that no men are available. And the symbolism of no men being available is that in this world, the masculine gender is used to refer to the production and support of this world. That ability, on which everyone relied, has vanished. It has been judged and is not gone. Search as you may, there is nothing out there to search for, much less find, much less restart society.
At the end of the Tribulation, will be a judgment so great, that humanity will be virtually non-existent or extinct.
Jesus said that if those days were not cut short, then no human being would remain alive.
So, from the worlds perspective, the restart of humanity has been all but lost, and this is the picture being painted and concluded with this verse.
The remainder of the verse shows the total devastation and humiliation of humanity. Given in feminine terms and from the feminine perspective, women would be so helpless that they would do anything such as cook their own food, get their own clothes, do all that they need for themselves, just to have the name of some husband such that their own self-image would not be a reproach to society or the public view.
This simply means that society will have fallen so low, and is in such dire shape, having rejected God, that society will continue to look to themselves for a solution, rather than to God. Their arrogance and stubbornness will be so great, that even in the virtually near annihilation of humanity, people will still refuse to turn to God.
People got themselves into this mess by their rejection of God, and even when all is lost, they will continue to reject God. That picture continues in the book of Revelation as society receives judgment after judgment and continues relentlessly in their rejection of God.
And no, this verse is not the giving of permission for having multiple wives. And no, this verse does not suggest that the Millennium will restart with just a few men and many women. The context continues from the previous chapter, and ends in this verse with the total and completed judgment of God, on humanity.
The rest of the chapter paints a very different picture, of Gods restoration, in proper form, of society, even after what will appear to have been the total destruction of humanity.
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