Journal
The Seven Women Seeking the Bridegroom: Isaiah 4:1 as Transition Point in a Redemption Allegory

Title
The Seven Women Seeking the Bridegroom: Isaiah 4:1 as Transition Point in a Redemption Allegory
Publication Type
Journal Article
Year of Publication
2024
Authors
Marcum, Jared (Primary)
Journal
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Pagination
295–332
Volume
61
Publisher
The Interpreter Foundation
Abstract
Nephi laboriously copied many of the words of Isaiah in hopes that his readers would rejoice in Christ. While Isaiah 4:1 (2 Nephi 14:1) is generally not viewed as Messianic, there may be an allegorical interpretation that would place this verse among Isaiah’s other Messianic writings. A pre-Nicene patristic writer, Victorinus of Poetovio, interpreted the seven women of Isaiah 4:1 as representing the seven churches of the Apocalypse and the one man as Christ. Victorinus’s Christ-centered interpretation of Isaiah 4:1 has received very little attention in modern scholarship. This paper uses textual analysis to determine if a Christ-centered allegorical interpretation may be considered a strong reading of the verse and the surrounding text (Isaiah 3–4). The results of this analysis show that Isaiah 4:1 may symbolize Zion’s turning point in a doctrinally rich allegory of Zion’s sin, sorrow, repentance, and redemption through Jesus Christ.
Subject Keywords
Bibliographic Citation
Terms of use
Items in the BMC Archive are made publicly available for non-commercial, private use. Inclusion within the BMC Archive does not imply endorsement. Items do not represent the official views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of Book of Mormon Central.