Isaiah 7:22
in Isaiah 7and from the abundance of milk they give, he will eat curds; for all who remain in the land will eat curds and honey.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and it shall come to pass, that because of the abundance of milk which they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the midst of the land.
KJV
And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land.
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This verse in Isaiah 7
Commentary
8 notes on this verseSecond, from the slightness of provisions: butter and honey, because of the lack of bread: they that were fed delicately have died in the streets (Lam 4:5).
This site's exposition
On that day a man
on Isaiah 7:21-22
A man will raise "a young cow and two sheep," a picture of farming so reduced that a household counting flocks is glad of three. Yet those few give milk enough that curds become the diet of "all who remain," the abundance coming because so few remain to share it.
This site's exposition
all who remain in the land will eat curds and honey
Curds and honey appeared in verse 15 as the child's food. Here they are what the few survivors eat, and Aquinas reads them as the diet of a land without bread. Barnes adds that milk abounds when fields lie untilled and become open pasture.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 21 onwards) And it shall come to pass on that day, a man shall nurture a cow of oxen, and two sheep, and because of the abundance of milk, he shall eat butter; for everyone who is left in the midst of the land shall eat butter and honey. And it shall come to pass on that day, every place where a thousand vines were worth a thousand silver shekels, there shall be thorns and briers. With arrows and bows they shall come there, for thorns and briers shall cover the whole land.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give,....
The prophet Isaiah had his commission renewed in the year that king Uzziah died, ch. vi. Jotham his son reigned, and reigned well, sixteen years. All that time, no doubt, Isaiah prophesied as he was commanded, and yet we have not in this book any of his prophecies dated in the reign of Jotham; but this, which is put first, was in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham.
There shall also be such want of men that the milk of one cow and two sheep shall serve a whole family, which used to keep abundance of servants and consume a great deal, but is now reduced.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For the abundance of milk ... - On account, or by means of the great quantity of milk. This image also denotes that the land should be desolate, and abandoned by its inhabitants. Such a range would the cow and sheep have in the lands lying waste and uncultivated, that they would yield abundance of milk. For butter and honey - This shall be the condition of all who are left in the land. Agriculture shall be abandoned, The land shall be desolate.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֗ה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מֵרֹ֛ב | mero | from [the] abundance of | H7230 → | 149 times |
| עֲשׂ֥וֹת | asot | producing of | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| חָלָ֖ב | chalav | milk | H2461 → | 44 times |
| יֹאכַ֣ל | yokhal | he will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| חֶמְאָ֑ה | chemah | curd<s> | H2529 → | 10 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| חֶמְאָ֤ה | chemah | curd<s> | H2529 → | 10 times |
| וּדְבַשׁ֙ | udevash | and honey | H1706 → | |
| יֹאכֵ֔ל | yokhel | he will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַנּוֹתָ֖ר | hanotar | <the> [one who] remains | H3498 → | 106 times |
| בְּקֶ֥רֶב | bekerev | in [the] midst of | H7130 → | 227 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
וְהָיָ֗הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
מֵרֹ֛בfrom [the] abundance of
meroH7230 →149 times
עֲשׂ֥וֹתproducing of
asotH6213 →2628 times
חָלָ֖בmilk
chalavH2461 →44 times
יֹאכַ֣לhe will eat
yokhalH398 →810 times
חֶמְאָ֑הcurd<s>
chemahH2529 →10 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
חֶמְאָ֤הcurd<s>
chemahH2529 →10 times
וּדְבַשׁ֙and honey
udevashH1706 →
יֹאכֵ֔לhe will eat
yokhelH398 →810 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַנּוֹתָ֖ר<the> [one who] remains
hanotarH3498 →106 times
בְּקֶ֥רֶבin [the] midst of
bekerevH7130 →227 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 3:4John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 1:8
“He was a hairy man,” they answered, “with a leather belt around his waist.” “It was Elijah the Tishbite,” said the king.
- Mark 1:6
John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
- Leviticus 11:22
Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket, or grasshopper.
- Matthew 11:8
Otherwise, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear fine clothing are found in kings’ palaces.
- Zechariah 13:4
And on that day every prophet who prophesies will be ashamed of his vision, and he will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive.
- 2 Kings 1:8
Through
2 Samuel 17:29honey, curds, sheep, and cheese from the herd for David and his people to eat. For they said, “The people have become hungry, exhausted, and thirsty in the wilderness.”
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 16:2
“Why do you have these?” asked the king. Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine…
- 2 Samuel 16:2
Through
Isaiah 7:15By the time He knows enough to reject evil and choose good, He will be eating curds and honey.
it leads to
- Amos 5:15
Hate evil and love good; establish justice in the gate. Perhaps the LORD, the God of Hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”
- Matthew 3:4
John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
- Amos 5:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
On this verse
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.