Isaiah 7:22 · Bible study
Isaiah 7:22 Commentary: Butter and Honey in a Desolate Land
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Does the abundance of milk and honey promise blessing or signal judgment? A close reading of Isaiah 7:22 and its context in the Immanuel prophecy.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The abundance of milk and the diet of butter and honey in a desolate land signal judgment and depopulation, not blessing.
- Key words: חֶמְאָה (chem’ah, “curds/butter”) and דְּבַשׁ (devash, “honey”), simple, wild foods eaten when agriculture has collapsed.
- Main debate: Whether this verse promises fertility (a minority view) or describes the stripped-down existence of a remnant under judgment (the consensus of most commentators).
- Theological theme: God’s judgment includes provision, but provision that reminds of loss; the remnant survives but does not thrive.
- Best use: A sobering reminder that abundance is not always a sign of favor; it can be the echo of emptiness.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
and from the abundance of milk they give, he will eat curds; for all who remain in the land will eat curds and honey.
WEB World English Bible 2000
It shall happen, that because of the abundance of milk which they shall give he shall eat butter, for everyone will eat butter and honey that is left within the land.
KJV King James Version 1769
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.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
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.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And it hath come to pass, From the abundance of the yielding of milk he eateth butter, For butter and honey doth every one eat Who is left in the heart of the land.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
and it shall come to pass, from the abundance of milk they shall give, [that] he shall eat butter; for every one that remaineth in the midst of the land shall eat butter and honey.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And for the abundance of milk he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that shall be left in the midst of the land.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y será que á causa de la abundancia de leche que darán, comerá manteca: cierto manteca y miel comerá el que quedare en medio de la tierra.
E será que, por causa da abundância de leite que lhe derem, ele comerá manteiga; e comerá manteiga e mel todo aquele que for deixado no meio da terra.
Et il y aura une telle abondance de lait
und wird so viel zu melken haben, daß er Butter essen wird; denn Butter und Honig wird essen, wer übrig im Lande bleiben wird.
En het zal geschieden, dat hij vanwege de veelheid der melk, die zij geven zullen, boter zal eten; ja, een ieder, die overgebleven zal zijn in het midden des lands, die zal boter en honig eten.
ed esse daranno tale abbondanza di latte, che egli mangerà della crema; poiché crema e miele mangerà chiunque sarà rimasto superstite in mezzo al paese.
A wszakże dla obfitości mleka, którego nadoi, będzie jadł masło; masło zaiste i miód będzie jadł, ktokolwiek pozostanie w ziemi.
по изобилию молока, которое они дадут, будет есть масло; маслом и медом будут питаться все, оставшиеся в этой земле.
因為出的 奶 多，他就得吃 奶油， 在境 內 所剩的 人都 要吃 奶油 與蜂蜜。
And they will give so much milk that he will be able to have butter for his food: for butter and honey will be the food of all who are still living in the land.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Isaiah 7:22
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse describes desolation, not blessing. The abundance of milk and the diet of butter (curds) and honey point to a land so depopulated that few people are left to consume what the land yields. Barnes notes that ‘the few remaining inhabitants shall be dependent on what a very few cows and sheep shall produce, and on honey obtained from the rocks where bees would lodge.’ Calvin explicitly argues against reading this as a promise of fertility; he says it is ‘a far heavier affliction that a country should want inhabitants than that it should have a small supply of herds and flocks.’ Jamieson-Fausset-Brown describe the butter and honey as ‘food of spontaneous growth,’ the resource of those left behind. Keil and Delitzsch add that bread and wine would be unattainable, and that the monotony of this diet would be ‘ad nauseam.’ The consensus is firm: butter and honey in this setting signal judgment, not prosperity, a stripped-down existence for a remnant scraping by from the wild.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The verse describes the diet of those who remain after the Assyrian invasion—curds and honey—whatever its precise significance, and the context makes clear that this is a reduced, survival diet, not a sign of agricultural prosperity.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Judgment or blessing? | Most commentators agree that the verse describes judgment and desolation, not prosperity. | Some (mentioned by Calvin) have read the abundance of milk as a sign of fertility; the majority reject this, arguing that the context (vv.23, 25) makes desolation clear. |
| Meaning of 'butter' (chem’ah) | The word refers to curdled milk or a thick milk product, a common food in the ancient Near East. | Translations vary: 'butter' (KJV, WEB, ASV, YLT), 'curds' (BSB, modern versions). The difference is one of English rendering, not Hebrew meaning, it is a dairy product that can be eaten with honey. |
| Identity of 'he' in verse 22a | The subject is the same man mentioned in v.21 who keeps the cow and two sheep. | None significant; the flow is clear: the man (v.21) eats butter because of the abundance of milk his few animals give. |
| Relationship to v.15 (Immanuel and butter/honey) | Both verses mention the same foods; this links the child to the conditions of invasion and judgment. | Some see v.15 as a sign of hardship (the child will grow up in hard times); others see a contrast with v.22 (the child’s diet is a sign of judgment, not blessing). |
| Meaning of 'left' (הנותר) | Refers to those who survive the Assyrian invasion, a remnant. | The Targum and Jarchi interpreted 'the righteous' who are left; Gill extends it to all, righteous and unrighteous. The debate is about which group is meant, but the basic sense of 'remnant' is agreed. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Isaiah 7:22 belongs to a complex passage (7:10, 25) where God gives King Ahaz a sign, the virgin-born Immanuel (v.14), and then pronounces judgment upon Judah for refusing to trust. The surrounding verses paint a picture of invasion and agricultural collapse. Verse 18 says Yahweh will ‘whistle for the fly from Egypt and the bee from Assyria.’ Verse 20 describes the Lord shaving the land with a razor hired from Assyria, removing every sign of pride and fruitfulness. Verses 21, 25 complete the image: a man will keep only one young cow and two sheep (v.21), a drastic reduction from the herds that once filled the land. The abundance of milk (v.22) comes not because the land is rich but because the cattle have vast pastures, since the cultivated fields are overrun with briers and thorns (v.23). Agriculture, vineyards and grain fields, has ended. The hills that sustained vineyards worth a thousand shekels now grow only thorns (v.23). People will hunt with bows and arrows (v.24), and even the tilled hills become open range for oxen and sheep (v.25). In this context, butter and honey are not a delicacy but a survival ration, the food of nomads and refugees. The phrase ‘land flowing with milk and honey’ (Exodus 3:8) is ironically inverted: this is no promised land, but a land whose richness only mocks its emptiness.
Textual Notes
The supplied commentary excerpts note no significant textual variants for Isaiah 7:22. The Lange commentary discusses textual and grammatical issues for surrounding verses, but not for this verse. The Hebrew text is stable across the major manuscripts.
Reception History
Throughout church history, this verse was read as part of the larger Immanuel prophecy (Isaiah 7:10, 25). Early Christian interpreters saw in the butter and honey a typology of the simple, humble life of the Messiah and his people, especially in a hostile world. Some connected the wild honey to John the Baptist’s diet (Matthew 3:4), seeing the same desert fare. Later Reformed and Protestant commentators, including Calvin and Matthew Henry, emphasized the judgment context: the butter and honey are not luxury but evidence of devastation. The verse has been used in sermons to caution against equating material provision with divine favor. Across traditions, the note of the remnant, God preserving some even in wrath, remained constant.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Scarcity of people displaces abundance of land. Fewer people mean the land’s yield is measured by what is left, not by what once was. The butter and honey are not a sign of blessing but of the silence that follows judgment.
- The diet of a remnant reveals the depth of judgment. No bread, no wine, no meat, only the simplest, wild-gathered foods. The Immanuel child who was to eat butter and honey (v.15) now shares the fare of a devastated country.
- God preserves life even when he withholds peace. The remnant survives. Judgment does not annihilate; it reduces. The butter and honey sustain the few who are left, a thread of mercy woven into the fabric of wrath.
Five-point outline
- The economic collapse: one cow and two sheep (v.21)
- The ironic abundance: milk from deserted pastures (v.22a)
- The monotonous diet: butter and honey, nothing else (v.22b)
- The agricultural ruin: vineyards gone, thorns everywhere (v.23)
- The social disorder: people become hunters, land becomes range (vv.24, 25)
Illustration hooks
- A family forced to live off their garden after a financial crash; they have plenty of tomatoes but no bread, no meat, no variety. Provision is real but painful.
- An abandoned farming community where the few remaining residents eat what they can forage while the fields go wild, the land is lush, but the economy is dead.
- The irony of “plenty” in a prison camp: basic rations are abundant relative to the number of prisoners, but that abundance points to the emptiness of the camp.
Questions your congregation is asking
- How can we tell the difference between a blessing from God and a provision that is actually a form of judgment?
- If judgment leaves a remnant, how does that shape our view of suffering and discipline?
- What does it mean that the Immanuel sign includes both a promise (v.14) and a prophecy of hardship (vv.15, 22)?
Leading a Discussion
This verse challenges the assumption that abundance always equals blessing. In context, the butter and honey are signs of a land emptied of people and of normal life. As you discuss, let the text push you to think about how God’s provision can come in forms we do not expect, and sometimes in forms that remind us of loss.
Discussion questions
- What does verse 21 describe? How many animals does the man keep, and what does that number suggest about the state of the country?
- Verse 22 says there is an “abundance of milk.” Where does that abundance come from, according to the surrounding verses?
- Why would butter and honey be the only food? What foods are missing, and why does that matter?
- Compare verse 22 with the promise to Immanuel in verse 15. The same foods appear, but the meaning seems very different. How do you account for the shift?
- Most commentators read this as a picture of judgment. What elements in the text support that reading? Are there any elements that could support a reading of blessing?
- How does the image of a few people eating butter and honey from wild land speak to times of scarcity in your own life or community?
- If God can provide for a remnant even in the middle of judgment, what does that tell you about his character? How does that shape your trust in him during hard times?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| II Samuel 17:29 | honey, butter, sheep, and cheese of the herd, for David and for the people who were with him to eat; for they said, “The people are hungry, weary, and thirsty in the wilderness.” |
| Isaiah 7:15 | He shall eat butter and honey when he knows to refuse the evil and choose the good. |
| Matthew 3:4 | Now John himself wore clothing made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes argues that the abundance of butter and honey in this passage is not a sign of prosperity but of desolation. With the land abandoned and agriculture stopped, a few wandering livestock produce surplus milk, and wild bees multiply freely among the overgrown flowers. The few survivors are reduced to a primitive diet of dairy and wild honey.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin reads the abundance of milk as a sign of curse, not blessing. The land will be so devastated and depopulated that only a few survivors remain, so even a small amount of milk is enough for everyone. The surplus of milk points to the scarcity of people, not fertility.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
This commentator observes that the butter and honey mentioned here are not delicacies but the basic food of a land thrown back to desert pastoralism after invasion. Immanuel represents the young generation raised on this sparse fare, a sign of the humble conditions following Assyrian devastation.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Note draws attention to the abundance of milk as the specific reason for eating butter, and that butter with honey becomes the common food of the remnant left in the land. This detail highlights the reversal from scarcity to plenty for those who survive.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill explains that with few cattle and abundant pastures, the remaining cows and sheep yield so much milk that butter becomes a staple food. He specifically broadens the meaning: this prosperity applies to every survivor in the land, not only the righteous as some rabbinic interpreters claimed.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB points out that the "abundance" mentioned is ironic: the land lies desolate from war, so the few survivors enjoy rich milk and wild honey from unplanted pastures. The abundance comes not from prosperous farming but from the countryside returning to a wild, unworked state.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch highlights the ironic reversal: the land's abundance of milk comes from desolation, not prosperity. With the population decimated, a few animals yield plenty, but the monotonous diet of cream and honey, with no bread or wine, reflects the grim aftermath of judgment. The hills once full of
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange interprets the virgin as an unmarried princess from the royal house who is already pregnant, not a future prophecy of the Messiah. This sign was meant to expose and punish the sin of Ahaz and his family. Immanuel is a type foreshadowing Christ, not the Messiah himself.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry emphasizes that even after comforting promises to Ahaz, the warnings are real because he is a corrupted branch of David's house. God's covenant love for David's sake will not be entirely removed, but Ahaz's own sin will still bring harsh punishment.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley observes that the abundance of butter comes not from thriving farms but from a lack of people to eat it. The poor once sold butter to afford cheaper grain, but now the land is so empty of inhabitants that there are no buyers. This surplus is a sign of depopulation, not prosperity.