Question: Does Isaiah reveal more about polygamy than what is in Isaiah 4:1, which people use as an argument online both for and against polygamy?
Answer: Because Isaiah spoke about “all things” concerning God’s people (3 Nephi 23:2–3), he indeed covers many aspects of the doctrine of marriage, not only what is in Isaiah 4:1. The entire verse states, “Seven women will take hold of one man in that day, and say, ‘We will eat our own food, wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name—take away our reproach!’”
Using a single verse or passage from Isaiah to support one’s personal interpretation amounts to prooftexting, not careful analysis. It is common for people who quote Isaiah 4:1, who argue for or against polygamy, not to have “searched the words of Isaiah diligently” as Jesus commanded. Their interpretations, therefore, usually start with a false premise and cannot be trusted.
Because the Book of Isaiah doesn’t lend itself to a piecemeal approach, in order to understand any one part, one must first comprehend the whole. However, that is a price the most vocal commentators on the subject of polygamy seem unwilling to pay, choosing instead to confuse others on the subject, for which actions they must know they are answerable to their Maker.
A wiser course is to leave off the discussion of polygamy entirely. Notably, those to whom it is given to know the doctrine behind “polygamy,” as some call it, have the least to say about it. What can be said of Isaiah 4:1 is that it reflects a circumstantial situation in which righteous women who survive the world’s end-time destruction appeal to righteous men to raise families.
See also “Apocalyptic Commentary of Isaiah 4:1–4 on Seven Women”
