Isaiah 7:22

and from the abundance of milk they give, he will eat curds; for all who remain in the land will eat curds and honey.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The prophet Isaiah delivers this oracle to King Ahaz of Judah during the Syro-Ephraimite coalition threat to announce impending national collapse. The message describes a future where agricultural infrastructure fails and the surviving population reverts to subsistence living.

The words — The Hebrew חֶמְאָה (chemʾah) literally means curds or thickened milk, paired here with חָלָב (ḥālāḇ) for milk. The text states that dairy production and wild honey will replace cultivated crops as the primary food source for those remaining in the land.

The thread — This dietary imagery appears in Isaiah 7:15 as a sign for the child Immanuel, in 2 Samuel 17:29 as provisions for David’s fleeing forces, and in Matthew 3:4 where John the Baptist consumes wild honey. The recurring motif links subsistence food to divine action across distinct historical moments.

Why it lands — The verse requires a reader to acknowledge that political rebellion and divine judgment dismantle economic security. It demands sober recognition that survival will depend entirely on what the degraded land can naturally yield.

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The Hebrew words

וְהָיָ֗הve./ha.Yahand/ it will be מֵרֹ֛בme./Rofrom/ [the] abundance of עֲשׂ֥וֹתa.Sotproducing of חָלָ֖בcha.Lavmilk יֹאכַ֣לyo.Khalhe will eat חֶמְאָ֑הchem.'Ahcurd<s>כִּֽי־ki-for חֶמְאָ֤הchem.'Ahcurd<s>וּדְבַשׁ֙u./de.Vashand/ honey יֹאכֵ֔לyo.Khelhe will eat כָּל־kol-every הַנּוֹתָ֖רha./no.Tar<the>/ [one who] remains בְּקֶ֥רֶבbe./Ke.revin/ [the] midst of הָאָֽרֶץ׃ha./'A.retzthe/ land

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Isaiah 7:15 By the time He knows enough to reject evil and choose good, He will be eating curds and honey.
2 Samuel 17:29 honey, 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.”
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.