john t. willis, the genre of isaiah 5,1-7

8/1/2019 John T. Willis, The Genre of Isaiah 5,1-7

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The Genre of Isaiah 5:1-7Author(s): John T. WillisSource: Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 96, No. 3 (Sep., 1977), pp. 337-362Published by: The Society of Biblical LiteratureStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3266189Accessed: 11/09/2008 11:17

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JBL 96/3 (1977) 337-62

THE GENRE OF ISAIAH 5:1-7JOHN T. WILLIS

ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY, ABILENE, TX 79601

VER a centuryof scholarlyresearch has produced a numberof views asto the genre of Isa 5:1-7. Critical divergences on this issue are duebasicallyto the interpretationof the biblical text and/ or to the definition of aparticulargenre. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the various positionsthat have been proposed on this matter, to evaluate the arguments in supportof each position, to defend a view which seems most natural and in keepingwith the subjectmatter and setting of this pericope, andto make some generalobservations with regardto methodological problems in determininga genregrowing out of this study.

I. An Uncle's SongJerome and Luther1 ranslate the Hebrewdwdy in Isa 5:1 as "my(paternal)cousin,"while Aquila2and Ewald3render t by "my(paternal)uncle."Ehrlich,in his celebratedRandglossen, attempts to give a logical defensefor the latter.He argues that the pronominal suffix with dod (preferably-o ratherthan -i)belongs to the whole phrasesirat dodo, and not to dodo alone. Accordingly,dod serves to give a special meaning to the nomen regens sirat, viz., "einesOheimsLied,"whichis an idiomatic expression meaning "eine oft wiederholteMoralpredigt.""To sing an uncle's song" means something near the Englishphrase "to talk like a Dutch uncle." However, the Israelite expression isstrongerbecause the uncle was also the father-in-law of the groom since oneusuallymarriedhis paternalcousin. It was customary for the uncle to subjecthisnephew'sbehavior to carefulscrutinyand to reprovehim when necessary.4

'Jerome (Vulgate):patruelis mei; M. Luther ("Lectureson Isaiah Chapters 1-39," Luther'sWorks[ed. J. Pelikan; St. Louis: Concordia, 1969] 57): my cousin.2Aquilatranslated 'n1 by rrarpafiXhcov (Cod. gr. 5=710 rrarpai6AhXcp) Iov; see the criticalapparatus in J. Zeigler, Septuaginta Vetus Testamentum Graecum. XIV. Isaias (Gottingen:Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1939; 2., durchgesehene Auflage, 1967) 137.3G. H. A. von Ewald, Commentary on the Prophets of the Old Testament II (London:Williams and Norgate, 1876)44, and 44, n. *, translatingyadld by Vetterand dodby Oheim.Thetranslator,J. F. Smith, renders the former by "dear friend" and the latter by "friend,"in bothinstances obscuring the finer point of Ewald's meaning.4A. B. Ehrlich, Randglossen zur Hebrdischen Bibel IV (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1912) 19-20.

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JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE

Thisingeniousview, however,must be rejected.(1) Whileit is truethat dodmeans "(paternal) uncle" in a number of passages (Lev 10:4; 20:20; 25:49[twice]; Num 36:11; 1 Sam 10:14, 15, 16; 14:50;2 Kgs 24:17; Amos 6:10; Jer32:7, 8, 9, 12; 1 Chr 27:32; Esth 2:7, 15), it also means "beloved, darling,friend,"in many passages in Canticles (1:13, 14, 16;2:3, 8, 9, 10, 16, 17;4:16;5:2, 4, 5, 6 [twice], 8, 9 [twice], 10, 16;6:1[twice], 2, 3 [twice]; 7:10, 11, 12, 14[Eng.9, 10, 11, 13];8:5, 14),and this is the more naturalmeaning in Isa 5:1.5 2)Apparently there is no real support for Ehrlich's definition of "an uncle'ssong" (if there is, Ehrlich does not present the evidence, and no scholar sinceEhrlichhas attempted to do so, as far as the presentwriter knows). Instead, itappears that he invented this definition to make sense out of his translation.(3) The following line (Isa 5:1c) does not say, "Myuncle had a vineyard,etc.,"but "My beloved (yddid) had a vineyard, etc."

II. A Satirical Polemic against Palestinian Fertility CultsYadid is used of God's love for man (Deut 33:12;Jer 11:15;Ps 60:7 [5];108:7[6]; 127:2), of man's love for man (Ps 45:1 [heading of Ps 45]), and ofman'slove for God'sdwelling place (Ps 84:2[1]), andyedidut is used of God'slove for man(Jer 12:7),but neitherof these termsis used of man's love for Godin the OT.6Grahampoints out thatyddid andthe contexts in whichit appears

reflecta strongemphasison God'sspecialcareand concern for his own people(Ps 60:7[5]), on the physical blessings he has showered upon them (Ps 127:2),and on the minimalvalue of humanworks (Ps 127:2).They suggest that manhas no moral responsibility in his relationshipto God (Jer 11:13-15).7Undernormal circumstances (he argues), Gray would be correct in insisting thatIsaiahwould not use yidid in speaking of Yahweh,because of its irreverentialconnotations.8 However, men in public often use terms and expressions thatare not theirown andthat do not expresstheirown views, as satiricalpolemicsagainst positions and viewpoints that they oppose.9At the sametime, a number of scholars interpretDod as a divinename onthe basis of the Moabite Stone (Mesha Inscription), line 12,10Amos 8:14

5Fora carefulanalysis of the use of dod in the OT and in ancient Near Easternliterature,withan extensive bibliography, see Sanmartin-Ascaso, "fT17 od," TWAT 11/2 (1974) 152-67.Unfortunately, Theologisches Handworterbuch zum Alten Testament I (ed. E. Jenni; Munich:Kaiser, 1971) does not have a treatment of d6d or yadid.6Cf. E. M. Good, "Love in the OT," IDB 3 (1962) 165.7W. C. Graham,"Notes on the Interpretationof Isaiah 5:1-12,"AJSL 45 (1928/29) 167-68.XG.B. Gray, The Book of Isaiah I (ICC; New York: Scribner's, 1912) 84.9Graham,"Notes," 167.'tSo R. Fey, Amos undJesa/a (WMANT 12;Neukirchen-Vluyn:NeukirchenerVerlag, 1963)142-43, n. 3; H. Wildberger,Jesaja(BKAT 10/2; Neukirchen-Vluyn:NeukirchenerVerlag, 1970)167. However, E. Ullendorff, "The Moabite Stone," DOTT 197-98 reads "the altar-hearth ofDav'id";R. J. Williams, "Moabite Stone," IDB 3 (1962) 420 renders:"BringingAriel [cf. II Sam.23:20;or the altar hearthof (cf. Ezek. 43:15-16)] its DWD backfrom there";and W. F. Albright,"TwoLittle UnderstoodAmarna Letters from the Middle Jordan Valley," BASOR 89 (1943) 16,n 55; "The Moabite Stone," ANET (3d ed.) 320 reads daMidoh,"its chief(tain)," comparingIa'i(luni, "chiefof a tribe,"in the Mari Letters, and translates: "I brought (back) thence (from

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WILLIS: THE GENRE OF ISAIAH 5:1-7

(emended text)," Akkadian divine names like Dadi-ilu and personal nameslike Abu-dadi, Dadiya, and Dadanu,12and OT proper names like Dodai (1Chr 27:4), Dodo (Judg 10:1; 2 Sam 23:9 [Qere], 24; 1 Chr 11:12, 26),Dodavahu (2 Chr 20:37), Eldad (Num 11:26,27), and Elidad (Num 34:21).13Dod has been identifiedwith Adad (or Hadad), the Palestinian counterpartofthe Babylonian god Tammuz, and it has been suggested that Isa 5:1-7 wasmodeled after Cant 8:11-12.14Many Israelites were drawn to the physicalattractions of thefertilitycults, and Isaiah satirizes the potentially harlotrousYahwism that they were practicing by using the divine name Dod forYahweh.15Grahamnotes that severaldetails in Isa 5:1-7 indicate that the prophet isattackingfertilitycult practices.(a) He uses the figureof the vineyard(kerem),which is common in fertilityrites,where the participantsthink of the land as avineyardand of thedeityas the one who fertilizes that land for his darlings. (b)The reference o "pruning"zmr)the vines in v 6 betraysfertilitycult language,sincezmr appearsas a terminustechnicusfor afertilitycult ritualsong in Cant2:12. (c) In a fertility cult song, the soreq (v 2) would have been used of thepeople under the figure of weeds or plants that grew in the vineyard, ratherthan under the figure of the vineyard itself.The prophet composed his song as a satiricalpolemic against the fertilitycult tendencies n Israel'spopularreligion. He begins by saying, "Letme sing, Ipray, . . . my Dod-song" (sirat d6di), which promises to be quite differentfrom the popular Dod-song of his day. He dares to use yadid in speaking ofYahweh, but satirically, in order to emphasize that Yahweh does not reactmagically or mechanicallyto the whims and fancies of his devotees. Instead,he seeksmoral and ethical righteousness(v 7), and it is this that differentiatestrue Yahwism from the fertility cults. The prophet first reveals this when heintroduces the picture of the "wine vat" (yeqeb) (v 2), emphasizing thevineyard'sresponsibilityto produce fruit in keeping with the owner's arduouslabor in its behalf, not the fruit of the soil or of the womb, but of righthumanrelationships (v 7).16There are many particulars that make Graham's view plausible. Othergenuine passages in the book of Isaiah show the prophet'sconcern with highmoral and ethical standardsand practices (1:16-17, 23; 3:14-15; 10:1-2). Theonly otherplacewheredod occurs in the senseof "beloved"outside Isa 5:1is inthere) (the man of) Arel (or Oriel), its chieftain." Against Albright, H. Tadmor, "HistoricalImplications of the Correct Rendering of Akkadian daku,"JNES 17 (1958) 130-31, has shownthat dawidum of Mari and Alalakh should be pronounced dabdum and translated "defeat.""See the LXX d 0eod aov and the critical apparatus in BHS.

'2Wildberger,Jesaja, 167.'3SeeH. Winckler,Altorientalische Forschungen I (1896) 341, who thinks dyd or dwd meansdaimon; the brief discussion of B. Stade, "Zu Jes. 3, 1.17.24. 5,1. 8,if.12-14.16. 9,7-20. 10,26,"ZAW 26 (1906) 134-35; and Sanmartin-Ascaso, "ifT d6d," 159-60.14Graham,"Notes," 167-68.'5Graham,"Notes," 169, n. 1.'6Graham,"Notes," 168-71.

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Canticles,whose theme and language have strong affinitieswith ancient neareastern fertility cults. Dod could be a divine name. And the prophets usesatirical polemics against their opponents (cf. Amos 4:4-5; Hos 4:13).However, there aregood reasons to rejectGraham'sexplanation. Anyonefamiliar with Graham's works knows his strong disposition for findingallusions to the fertility cults in the OT, even in the most unlikely places!17While Dod couldbe the name of a deity, it never has this meaningelsewhereintheOT (except,perhaps,in propernames),and its other occurrences n the OTsuggest that it means "beloved, darling, friend," in Isa 5:1. And then,Graham'sunderstanding is not the most natural explanation of Isa 5:1-7.

III. The Prophet's Song concerning His Own VineyardUnlike the MT and the other ancient versions, the LXX readstq ampelonimou ("myvineyard")at the end of Isa 5:Ib, and the firstperson singularof theverbs in v 2 (perietheka, echarakosa, ephyteusa, qkodomesa, oryxa, emeina).On the strength of this, Gray suggests that yadid in v la might be used of alifeless object (something loved), that dodi could be emended to doday (mylove), that lekarmo might be emended to lkarmi (my vineyard) following theLXX, and that the second lididi could be a dittograph on the first lididi,leaving the possibility that the originalreadingmay have been 1i.Accordingly,v 1 can be translated:

Let me sing of the thing that I love,The song of my love for my vineyard,I had a vineyardon a very fertile hill.If one retains the MT and reads "thesong of my beloved" n v Ib, then v laimplies that the beloved is the subject of the prophet's song or the person towhom it is addressed,and Ib that the beloved is the authorof the song and his

vineyardthe subject,which is awkward. Besides, the speaker'suse of the thirdperson in the MT of vv lb-2 shows that the beloved is not the author, but thesubject. If the text is emended as suggested above, partly following the LXX,the prophetis able to conceal his real messagefrom his hearersby pretendingto describethe plight that he had had with his own vineyard,until he is readyto revealthat he had actually been talking about Yahweh and Israelall along.He does this suddenly when he speaks of commanding the clouds not to rainon his vineyard(v 6d-e), and then explains the meaning of his song (v 7).18The weaknesses in this suggestion are obvious. Gray himself admits thatno one has given a satisfactoryexplanation of vv 1-2. His proposal is based onone ancient version, and requires an extraordinarily large number of

'7Seee.g., his articleentitled"SomeSuggestions toward the Interpretationof Micah 1:10-16,"AJSL 47 (1931)237-58, where he arguesthaty6sebet in Mic 1:11(twice), 12, 13, 15 is the prophet'ssarcasticway of referringto the female goddess of the fertility cults (pp. 239-40).'"Gray,The Book of Isaiah I, 84-85.

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emendations andinterpretations.His misgivings about the MT as it stands arebased on too limited a number of alternative explanations, as further viewsgiven below will make amply clear.

IV. The Prophet's Song Expressing Sympathyfor His Friend YahwehAlmost eight decades ago, Cersoy contended that "en retracant tous lessoins que la vigne a requset toute l'ingratitudequ'ellea marquee, le poete [i.e.,Isaiah] montre combien il partage les sentiments de son ami, combien ils'interesse a lui."19 t is true that in the course of his essay, Cersoy uses thewords"parabole,""chantpopulaire,""proces"and "apologue"(an allegorical

narrativeusually intendedto convey a moral) in referring o this pericope, buthis whole line of argumentation shows that his primary view is that theprophet composed this song for the specific purpose of expressing hissympathyfor and interest in his friend (Yahweh), who had worked so hard toprovide his vineyard with the best opportunities for growth and fruitfulness,but who was greatly disappointed at its yield of inferior and useless grapes.Cersoy insists that as the MT stands, w la ("Je vais chanter, au sujet demon ami") and lb ("le chant de mon ami sur sa vigne") are redundant.Moreover, the prophet's friend does not speak in v Ic, as one would expect

from the MT of lines a and b. It is not satisfactoryto reasonthat in vv lc-2 theprophet is preparinghis audience for the song that is to begin in v 3, because"And now" (we'attah) is dependent on what precedes and cannot be thebeginningof a song, and becausevv lb-2 are the only lines in vv 1-7 that are inpoetry or meter-the rest of the pericope is in prose!Isaiah never says that God is the speaker in this passage. Indeed, he putswords into God'smouth by using the first person singular in vv 3-6, but this isa literarydevice. The prophet does not use two different words (yadid anddod) simply to avoid monotony. According to the MT,yadid and dod are twodifferentpersons.However,all hypotheses built on the MT fail to establish theidentity of d6d (the speaker is the prophet and the yaidid is Yahweh).Consequently, the text must be emended. But, if possible, this should be donewithout changing the consonantal text (thus the emendation to d6dim, "love,affection," is not best). Accordingly, Cersoy reads sirat d6day which meansliterally "le chant de mon amitie" or "mon chant d'amitie," and thenresultantly"mon chant amical," since the pronomial suffix can be attachedonly to the nomen rectumin a constructexpression. Cersoyexplains that "my(Isaiah's)friendlysong"meansa song "celuiquej'ai compose pour lui (i.e., myfriend [Yahweh]) et qui lui dit mon affection."20In more recent times, de Orbiso has adopted basically the same position.He describesthe whole pericope as a mixed parablewith allegoricalelements,

19P.Cersoy, "L'Apologuede la Vigne:Au ChapitreVed'Isaie (versets 1-7)," RB 8 (1899) 43.20Cersoy,"L'Apologue,"41-44. Cf. F. Ruffenach, "Peccati malitia et punitio," VD 7 (1927)205, who translates "in honorem Dei, quem amo."

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recognizingthat w 3-4 contain the characteristicsof a lawsuit and that vv 5-6are composed of threats. And yet, his fundamental contention is that theprophet is showing his love for his beloved's (Yahweh's) vineyardin ordertoconsole him in his feeling of great disappointment.Like Cersoy, de Orbiso insists that if one adopts the MT, three differentpeople are introducedin v 1:the prophetwho announces his song, the beloved(yadid) to or for (le) whom he will sing, and the friend(d6d) whose song he isborrowing. Otherwise, the initial words would read:

I will sing for my belovedhis song for his vineyard.If yadid is Yahweh (as w 6-7 suggest), and dod is a synonym for yddid, thenthe prophetannounces that he is about to sing to God the song ofGod, whichdoes not make sense. This impossible interpretation can be avoided byemending the text very slightlyto doday or d6dim. Unlike Cersoy, de Orbisoopts for the latter in deference to Vaccari, and reads:

Quiero cantar para mi amadoun cantico de amor a su vifia.21Troubledby the fact that outside Isa 5:1yadid is never used of God, de Orbisorejoindersthat the prophet intentionally employs a termcommonly appliedtoGod'speople in speaking of God, because they had become unworthy of suchan honorific name, and theprophet wanted to express his sincerelove for Godin thissong. He also affirmsthat whileyddid is not used of God outside Isa 5:1,Canticles uses d6d more than thirty times in speaking of God and Christ(sic),22 in spite of the fact that the emendation of d6di to d6dim is a vital pointin his position!It has been intimated that Stade took virtuallythe same view as Cersoy,23without elaborating as extensively. Appealing to the meaning of le in theexpression siruzianu, "Sing to (for) us," in Ps 137:3, he contends that in thephrase 'as?irdh . . lididi in Isa 5:1, one must expect le to introduce theperson(s) for whom or to whom the song is to be sung-in this instance,Yahweh. He also emends the second lididi in v 1 to ledodi, and argues that 1emust have the same sense here as in lekarmo at the end of the following stich,

21T.de Orbiso,"Elcantico ala vifiade amado (Is 5, 1-7),"Estudios Eclesicsticos 34 (1960)718-21, 725; cf. A. Vaccari, I Profeti (La Sacra Bibbia 6/1; Firenze: Casa EditriceAdriano Salani,1952)33, who reads:"Voglio cantare per il mio dilettoun cantico d'amore alla vigna di lui."See also J. Steinmann,Le PropheteIsaie (LD 5;Paris: Les Editions du Cerf, 1950)68, who reads:"Que je chante a mon amile chant 'de son amour' pour sa vigne!"However, Steinmann identifies the friend with Yahweh, p. 69, n. 3.22DeOrbiso, "El cantico," 722; 722, n. 37.23See he comment of W. Schottroff, "Das WeinbergliedJesajas (Jes 5 1-7). Ein BeitragzurGeschichteder Parabel," ZA W 82 (1970) 78, n. 40.

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viz., "concerning."At the sametime, however, Stade believes that all along theprophetwas actually communicating to his audience a song of Dod (Yahweh)concerning his vineyard. In vv 5-6 Dod himself speaks. Prior to this (sic) theprophet transferred he song of Dod which he was singingfrom the first to thethird person.24While many observations of Cersoy and de Orbiso are valid and helpful,their arguments are tenuous. "Au sujet de" = "para" s not the only way totranslate the le in lidid; it canalso mean"concerning,on behalf of, in place of,etc."25n view of the Semitic fondness for word plays, there is no reason whythe prophet could not have carefully chosen two words with similar sounds(yidid and d6d) to speak of the same person, apart from any concern aboutusing two differenttermsto avoid monotony (which, afterall, may be more ofa modern concern than an ancient one). This would be expected particularlyin a passage like Isa 5:1-7, where there is an abundance of literaryaffinities,repetitions,and word plays.26The interchangeabilitybetween the firstpersonand the third person in prophetic oracles is so frequent that the shift from thethird person in w 1-2 to the first person in vv 3-6 and then back to the thirdpersonin v 7 seems commonplace.27Cersoy's insistencethat siratd6d cannotcontain the prophet'sannouncement that he is about to sing "thesong of myfriend(beloved)" because his friend does not speak in v Ic, is not necessarilyvalid. The prophet may be relating his friend's sentiments in his own words invv lc-2, and then continuing in his friend's words in w 3-6 to make a morevivid impression on his audience. Even when a prophet uses the first personsingular in relating Yahweh's words, it is he and not Yahweh who is actuallyspeaking.While it is not impossible that a prophet might express his sympathyfor Yahweh to an Israelite or Judean audience, it is more in keeping with aprophet'srole for him to proclaim Yahweh's message to them in his name oron his behalf. It is best to view Isa 5:1-7 in this way unless there is strongevidence in the context demanding a different understanding.28

V. A Drinking SongCheyne briefly suggested that Isa 5:1-7 might be a drinking song becauseof its spirited melody and dancing rhythm, but that the bitter irony at its end24Stade,"Zu Jes. 3, 1, etc.," 134-35.25Ironically,D. Lys ("LaVigneet le Double Je. Exercise de style sur Esa'ie V 1-7," VTSup26[1974]10)translatesthe firstle inv 1by"ala placede,"and the second by "ausujetde." V. Laridon("CarmenAllegoricum Isaiae de Vinea," Collationes Brugenses 46 [1950] 4) sharply opposesCersoy'sview.26Themost thoroughgoinganalysisof the interconnections of words and phrasesin Isa 5:1-7 isthat of Lys, "La Vigne," 1-16.27DeOrbiso, "Elcantico,"719comparesthe alternationof speakersin Ps 2 andin the Songs ofthe Servant in Isa 40-55.28Forhe samereason,it is not possible to accept the translationof H. Guthe, Das BuchJesaia.Kap. 1-35 (Die Heilige Schriften des Alten Testaments; Tiibingen: Mohr, 1922) 596: "meinemLiebling."The prophetdoes not address hisfriendin the song, and Isa5:1-7 is not a song of praiseto God. Cf. J. A. Alexander, Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah I (Grand Rapids:Zondervan, 1846;reprinted 1953) 127.

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Admittedly, in Canticles d6d is used only by the young woman in speakingof the man she loves. But Canticles is a uniquebook in the OT, and can hardlybe regardedas the standardby which to determinethe genreand terminologyof a prophetic piece like Isa 5:1-7, even if it is the only book outside Isa 5:1which uses the word d6d in the sense of "beloved, darling."Most of Isa 5:1-7cannot be understood as a bride's love song to or about her beloved,irrespectiveof one's interpretationof v la-b. The bride would not begin a songwhich has the express purpose of emphasizing her own sin and of announcingher own rejection and destruction. If the bride is the speaker in vv 1-2, it isdifficult to explain the suddentransition to the words of the groom in vv 3-6.38At best, vv 1-2 could be labeled a bride'slove song, but not vv 3-7; and vv 1-2can be explained in other ways that are more in harmony with the rest of thepericope.

VII. A Groom's Love SongIn the OT and in ancient near easternliterature, the vineyard, the garden,and the field are used to describe erotic sexual relationships between twolovers.The vineyard s used for the arenaof love-making in Cant 1:6;7:13[12],and for the young maiden who shares in the love-making in Cant 1:6;2:15;8:11-12. Advice given to a noble husband, supposedly by the Egyptian vizier

Ptah-hotep (ca. 2450 B.c.), contains these lines:"If thou art a man of standing,thou shouldst found thy household and love thy wife at home as is fitting. Fillherbelly;clothe her back. Ointment is the prescriptionfor herbody. Make herheartglad as long as thou livest. She is a profitablefieldfor herlord"39italicsadded). Similarly, the satirical letter of Hori preservedin Papyrus Anastasi I(latterhalf of the thirteenth century B.C.)states: "Thouart come into Joppa,and thou findest the meadow blossoming in its season. Thou breakestin to theinside and findest the fair maiden who is watching over thegardens. She takesthee to herself as a companion and gives thee the color of her lap"40 italicsadded). Again, an Egyptian love song found on Papyrus Harris 500 (1300-1100 B.C.) has the words:

"How good it would beIf thou wert there with meWhen I set a trap!The best is to go to thefields,To the one who is beloved!"41 italics added)In an ancient Egyptian love song, the maiden sings:

"mybeloved." The vineyard never speaks in the passage, but Isaiah speaks the words that onewould expect Yahweh'svineyard, Israel, to speak, if they acknowledged him as their true d6d.38Cf. H. Junker, "Die LiterarischeArt von Is 5,1-7," Bib 40 (1959) 261; Schottroff, "DasWeinberglied,"79; and Wildberger,Jesaja, 165.39Translatedby J. A. Wilson, "The Instruction of the Vizier Ptah-Hotep," A NET (3d ed.)413b.40Translatedby J. A. Wilson, "A Satirical Letter,"A NET (3d ed.) 478a.41Translatedby J. A. Wilson, "Love Songs," ANET, (3d ed.) 468a.

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"I am your beloved, the best.I belong to you like the ground,which I have planted with flowersand with all sorts of sweet-smelling herbs.Lovely is the canal therein,which your hand has digged,to refreshus in the north wind,a beautiful place to wander."42 italics added)Lamberthasrecentlypublisheda most interestingLate Babyloniancuneiformtext of the Ritual Tablet (BM 41005) containing these relevant lines (obv. ii:lower portion of column ii, lines 9-20):

9) "You are the mother, Istar of Babylon.""To the garden of your lover when I/he/she[. . .]10) "WhenZarpanitum became angry she went up to the ziggurat. [. . .]11) At the side of the dais of the Anunnaki, in the district of the Street of Eturkalammaupto the garden [. .. .]12) The Lady will pass through the Gate of My Lady and will. . . [.]13) Zarpanitumwill go down to the garden and will keep crying to the gardener,14) "Gardener,gardener, building inspector. .... [..]15) What is theplant you have that belongs to myfriend?"(mi-nu-fi sam-mu-kasa ru-u8-f-a) Zarpanitumto the garden. . [ ..... .] will stand,16) "Gardener,gardener, be the building inspector of my city!"17) .......... the bed of my girl-friend. [. . .]18) "Bring down and place." "Together with the pleasant breeze." At the side of thegarden. . [. ..]19) "The wifehood of happy women, the wifehood of slave-girls,"and "Iwill go when theLady20) has crossed over the river [. . .]" (italics added except in lines 14 and 16).43

Four times in the Tell el-Amarna tablets, Rib-addi, the prince of Byblos,quotes this statement: "Myfield (territory) is likened to a woman without ahusband, because it is not ploughed"44 italics added).In view of texts such as these, many scholars believethat when Israelites nthe eighth century B.C. heard someone speak of the relationship between ahusbandman and his vineyard, their minds would immediately turn to eroticlove between a young man and his sweetheart,a groom and his bride.In one ofhis earlier works, Mowinckel proposed that the speaker in Isa 5:la-b isYahweh, and that his "beloved" is his bride, Israel. However, the bride isdescribed in a veiled manner under a masculine form (dod), in keeping withancient near eastern custom.45This interpretation allows one to avoid the

42SeeSchottroff, "Das Weinberglied,"81-82.43W. G. Lambert,"The Problem of the Love Lyrics,"Unityand Diversity (eds. H. Goedickeand .1 J. M.Roberts; Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University, 1975) 104-5.44AmarnaLetters 74:17-19; 75:15-17; 81:37-38; 90:42-44; translated by W. F. Albright,"Some Canaanite-Phoenician Sources of Hebrew Wisdom," VTSup 3 (1969) 7."S. Mowinckel, ProfetenJesaja.En Bibelstudiebok(Oslo:H. Aschehoug &Co., 1925)35-37.

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offense of Isaiah using erotic terms in speaking of Yahweh.46 At the same time,it presents two awkward (if not impossible) situations in the pericope itself: thebride does the work in the vineyard in v 2, and the bride is the owner of thevineyard in w lb-2 while Yahweh is its owner in w 3-6. For these reasons,Bentzen and Budde rejected Mowinckel's view,47 and in a later workMowinckel himself takes the position that in v la-b the prophet is speaking ofhis "friend" Yahweh, who has a vineyard, Israel.48Several scholars believe that Isa 5:1-7 is a lament or complaint of adisappointed lover (Yahweh). The prophet begins by singing, in behalf of orconcerning his "friend" (yadid), a love song concerning his "vineyard," i.e.,sweetheart or bride, Israel. He describes the great effort and care that hisfriend had expended on his bride, and how she had not responded to his love,but had jilted him (vv lb-2). Then he rehearses his friend's own words ofaccusation and judgment on his unfaithful bride in the first person singular (vv3-6). Finally, Isaiah explains the reason for his judgment in his own words (v7).49

Contrary to most scholars, Bentzen insists that the prophet does notgradually reveal the hidden meaning in his poem to his audience, but disclosesit suddenly in v 7. He would not have let his hearers know that he was speakingof them until they pronounced judgment on themselves, which they must havedone by some sort of gesture of agreement in the supposed silence between vv6 and 7. It is not necessary to believe that God exposes his true identity in thestatement, "I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it," in v6d-e. 2 Sam 1:21 shows that man can pronounce a curse on the clouds.Furthermore, the meaning of this passage is that the unfaithful bride will notbe able to conceive and bear children, which is just the opposite of the wedding

46Gray,The Book of IsaiahI, 84; Steinmann, Le Prophete Isaie, 1950, 69; and R. B. Y. Scott,"TheBook of Isaiah:Chapters1-39," IB 5 (1956) 197, insist that Isaiah would not use the eroticterm d6d in speaking of Yahweh.47A.Bentzen, "ZurErlauterungvon Jesaja 5, 1-7,"AfO 4 (1927) 209, n. 1; Budde, "ZuJesaja1-5," 53.48S.Mowinckel, De Senere Profeter (Det Gamle Testamente 3; Oslo: H. Aschehoug & Co.,1944)90. Junker("DieLiterarischeArt,"261-62) and Schottroff ("DasWeinberglied,"79) followBentzenand Budde in rejectingMowinckel's earlierwork, apparently not having consulted thislaterpublication. I have been unable to secure Mowinckel'swork, Jesaja,whichwas published in1950.49Bentzen,"ZurErliuterung," 210; Jesaja I (K0benhavn: Gads, 1944)33-34; Mowinckel, DeSenere Profeter,90; A. Weiser, The Old Testament:Its Formation and Development (New York:Association Pres, 1966)27, 49; W. Eichrodt, Der Heilige in Israel. Jesaja 1-12 (Die Botschaft desAlten Testaments 17/ 1;Stuttgart:Calwer, 1960)66;J. Scharbert,Die ProphetenIsraelshis 700 v.Chr.(Koln:J. P. Bachem, 1965)222-23; P. R. Ackroyd, "The Book of Isaiah"(The Interpreter'sOne Volume Commentaryon the Bible;ed. C. M. Laymon;London: William Collins Sons & Co.Ltd., 1972) 335; 0. Kaiser, Isaiah 1-12 (The Old Testament Library;London: SCM, 1972) 60;Sanmartin-Ascaso, "ti7 d6d," 160, 164-65.

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blessing found in Gen 24:60 and Cant 7:3.50Some scholars emend the text tododim, "alove song," 1ord6day, "mylove song,"52which furthersupportstheview that the prophet has in mindan amorous orerotic relationshipbetween agroom and his bride.Nevertheless, there are several compelling arguments againstunderstandingIsa 5:1-7 as a song of a disappointed lover. (1) In other OTtexts where Israel is compared with a vineyard or a vine (as in Hos 9:10, 16;10:1; Isa 3:14; 27:2-6; Jer 12:10; Ps 80:9-17 [8-16]), there is no eroticconnotation. (2) Isaiah would not have used erotic terms in speaking of God.(3) This interpretationdoes not explain why the prophet speaksof Yahwehashis dod oryddid, and not as the d6d oryddid of the bride. (4) The meaning ofspecific elements in the erotic use of the vineyard in Canticles does notcorrespond to the meaning of those same elements in Isa 5:1-7. In Canticles,the grapesrepresentthemaiden'sbreasts(Cant 7:9[8]), but in Isa 5:2,4, 7 theystand for justice and righteousness. It is difficult to see how phrases like "hedigged it and cleared it of stones," and "hewedout a wine vat in it" (Isa 5:2)could be understood in an erotic sense.53 (5) Isaiah, like his northerncontemporaryHosea, frequentlyusesthe relationshipof a groom and brideorhusband and wife in speaking of the relationshipbetween Yahweh and Israel(cf. Isa 1:21, and the term "daughterof Zion" in 1:8; 10:32;16:1;22:4), andthus would have been quite capable of making it clear that this is what he hadin mind in Isa 5:1-7, if that were indeed the case. Instead, he declares that the"men of Judah"(not the "daughterof Zion")are his vineyard(Isa 5:3, 7).54 6)The content of Isa 5:1-7 shows that this is not a love song.55 (7) That thispericope has to do with a groom and bride is not the most naturalinterpretation.

VIII. A Song of the Friend of the BridegroomTroubled by the view that Isaiah refersto Yahweh as "mybeloved" in an

erotic sense in Isa 5:1, Junker has proposed that yadid and dd be interpreted

5"Bentzen, ZurErlauterung,"210;JesajaI, 36. Steinmann, Le PropheteIsaie, 70 concursthatthe statement in v 6d-e does not necessarily expose God as the speaker, but the reason he gives isthat in the Orient"lacolere n'yconnait point de limites h l'hyperbole."On2 Sam 1:21,in additionto the commentaries,see H. L. Ginsberg,"A Ugaritic Parallelto 2 Sam 121,"JBL57 (1938)209-13; E. A. Speiser, "An Analogue to II Sam. i, 21, Aqht I, 44-45," JBL 69 (1950) 377-78; T. L.Fenton, "Ugaritica-Biblica,"UF 1 (1969) 67-68.51Cheyne, ThePropheciesof IsaiahI, 29-30; II 138(following Lowth). Cheyne arguesthat thesmall stroke (') in ' Mnstands for the missing :.52K. Marti, Das BuchJesaja(KurzerHand-Commentarzum Alten Testament 10;Tiibingen:Mohr, 1900) 52; Budde, "Zu Jesaja 1-5," 54.53Cf.Wildberger,Jesaja, 169; Schottroff, "Das Weinberglied,"83.54Cf.Schottroff, "Das Weinberglied,"84; S. Pezzella, "La parabola della vigna (Is. 5, 1-7),"BeO 5 (1963) 5.5SSeeGray, The Book of Isaiah I, 87; Scott, "The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 1-39," 197.

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as ho philos tou nymphiou, "the friend of the bridegroom"(cf. John 3:29).56The groom chose his most beloved and faithful friend to serve as Vermittlerbetween him and his bride. The rabbisprobably hadthis personin mind whenthey spoke of the sosebin. The friendship between the groom and his"friend"was o close that the friend could not appearas witness in a court caseinvolving the bridegroom, because he would be prejudicedin his favor. Thefriend of the bridegroom had to make proper preparations for bringing thebride to the groom's home. The prophetused this figurein order to emphasizethe intimate relationshipbetween Yahweh and Israel,and his own function inthat relationship.57 f a groom had reason to bring a complaint against thebride, the friend of the bridegroom was authorized to break the weddingagreementand this is the role Isaiahis playingin Isa 5:1 7.58Junker'sview hasbeen adopted by Eichrodt, Wildberger,and Schedl,59and Schottroff concursthat if Isa 5:1-7 is to be interpreted n the context of love and marriage, this isthe preferableunderstanding.60But this explanation also has its weaknesses. It grows out of misgivingsabout a fairly widely held scholarlyunderstandingof Isa 5:1-7 ratherthan outof the text itself. If Isaiah is depicting himself as the friend of the bridegroomYahweh, this is the only passage in the OT where a prophet's relationship toYahweh is described in this way. Besides, this is not the most naturalinterpretation of Isa 5:1-7.IX. A Lawsuit or Accusation

Several criticshave suggestedthat Isa 5:1-7 (or at least vv 3-7) is a lawsuit(proces,61Gerichtsrede,62Rechtsstreit63)or legal accusation (gerichtlichenAnklagerede).64Yahweh is theplaintiff, the prophet (conceivably as the friend56Junker,"Die Literarische Art," 264-65. Cf. mere (and the cognate verb reiah) in Judg

14:20;15:2,6, with the comments of BDB 946, and George Foot Moore, A Criticaland ExegeticalCommentaryon Judges (ICC; New York: Scribner's, 1903) 339.57Junker,"Die LiterarischeArt," 264-65, 264, n. 2.

58Wildberger, esaja, 165.59Eichrodt,Der Heilige, 66; Wildberger, Jesaja, 165, 166, 170;C. Schedl, Rufer des Heils inHeilloserZeit. Der Prophet JesajahKapitelI-XII(Paderborn: FerdinandSch6ningh, 1973) 110.60Schottroff,"Das Weinberglied,"79-80.61Cersoy,"L'Apologue,"46.62Schedl,Rufer des Heils, 115.63Budde,"Zu Jesaja 1-5," 56; Schedl, Rufer des Heils 112-13.64Fohrer,Die Propheten 1, 107;cf. Das Buch Jesaja I, 75. Somewhat similarly, Scott ("TheBook of Isaiah:Chapters 1-39," 196)labels the whole pericope a "reproachand threat." Cf. alsohis study entitled "The Literary Structure of Isaiah's Oracles," Studies in Old TestamentProphecy presented to T. H. Robinson (ed. H. H. Rowley; Edinburgh: Clark, 1946) 181.Scharbert(Die Propheten,223) says it contains a "Prozessdisputation."In special studies on the"lawsuit"n the prophets,the following scholarsbrieflymention Isa 5:1-7 as a lawsuit:B. Gemser,"The Rib- or Controversy-Pattern n Hebrew Mentality," VTSup3 (1955) 129-30; Weiser, TheOld Testament,63 ("Theparable in Isaiah'ssong of the vineyard [Is. 5:Iff.] is based on the themein afable of a man's awsuitagainsthisvineyard" italics added]);C. Westermann,Basic Forms ofProphetic Speech (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1967) 200; J. Limburg, "The Root :', and theProphetic Lawsuit Speeches," JBL 88 (1969) 291, 302 (following Westermann) But see n. 71below.

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of the bridegroom65)s the defender or advocate (Verfechter)of the rights ofhis jilted or rejectedfriend and beloved,66and the vineyard (the bride) is thedefendant. Fohrer has given the most extensive treatment of this position,67and he has been followed by Eichrodt, Wildberger, Ackroyd, Kaiser, andSchedl.68This viewmaybe supportedbythreearguments. (a)V 3 contains an appealto the legal community to act as arbitersorjudges (siptu) between the groomand the bride (orbetween the husbandmanand his vineyard). The purposeofthis legalmaneuveris to establishthat the guiltypartyis not the plaintiff (whohad done everything within his power to provide for and care for thevineyard),but the defendant (thevineyard, because it had not produced goodfruit).69(b) The concern for "justice"and "righteousness"(v 7) is a legalconcern. (c) The structure of this pericope follows that of a Speech ofAccusation:

(1) A binding relationship is established between plaintiff and defendant.(2) The plaintiff produces evidence that he has been faithful to this relationship.(3) The plaintiff complains because the defendant has not fulfilled his responsibility.(4) An appeal is made to the legal community to render a decision in the case.70The view that Isa 5:1-7 contains legal elements and has a legal thrust iscompelling. However, this does not necessarily mean that it is best tocategorizethis passage on the whole as a lawsuit,71 incelegal matters can alsobelong to genres other than a lawsuit, and there are other elements in thepericope that hardly belong to the lawsuit genre. It is strange to speak of ahusbandman bringing a lawsuit against his vineyard (unless, of course, thevineyardrepresentsa bride, and the husbandman, hergroom). Furthermore,the title "song"(v 1)and the detaileddescription of the husbandman'scare for(vv lb-2) and demolition of (vv 5-6) his vineyard lie outside what is usuallyconsidered to be basic elements of a lawsuit. The presentwriterfeels that thelegal aspect should be emphasized, but placed within the framework of alargergenre, viz., the parable (see below).

65Eichrodt,Der Heilige, 66; Wildberger,Jesaja, 166.66Schedl,Rufer des Heils, 112.67Fohrer,Das Buch Jesaja I, 75-77; Die Propheten 1, 107-8.68Eichrodt,Der Heilige, 66; Wildberger,Jesaja, 166; Ackroyd, "The Book of Isaiah,"335;Kaiser, Isaiah 1-12, 59; Schedl, Rufer des Heils, 112.69Budde,"Zu Jesaja 1-5," 56; Fohrer, Das Buch Jesaja I, 77-78; Die Propheten 1, 107-8;Ackroyd, "The Book of Isaiah," 335.70Fohrer,Das BuchJesajaI, 75 and75, n. 34;Wildberger,Jesaja, 166;Kaiser,Isaiah 1-12, 59.71 n contrast to the scholarsmentioned in n. 64 above, the following do not include Isa 5:1-7 intheir treatments of the "lawsuit": F. Hesse, "Wurzelt die prophetische Gerichtsrede imisraelitischen Kult?" ZA W 65 (1953) 45-53; H. B. Huffmon, "The Covenant Lawsuit in theProphets,"JBL 78 (1959) 285-95; J. Harvey, "Le 'Rib-Pattern,' requisitoire prophetique sur laRupture de l'Alliance," Bib 43 (1962) 172-96.

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X. A FableMuch of the debate on the genre of Isa 5:1-7 has been due to a lack ofagreement over the precise definition of crucial terms, especially the termsfable, allegory, and parable. Different scholars insist that elements whichothers assign to a fable are more basic to an allegory or a parable, and viceversa. At this point, it does not seem likely that universally acceptabledefinitions of these terms are possible. And even if such definitions could beattained for modern westernliterature,it appears extremelydoubtful that thesame criteria could be superimposed convincingly and satisfactorily onancient near eastern texts. Perhaps the best each critic can do is to define theterms he uses as accurately and as comprehensively as possible.In 1899,Cersoy spoke of Isa 5:1-7 as an "apologue,"72which is sometimesequatedwith a fable.73However, Cersoymade no attemptto demonstratethatthis pericope is a fable. His main concern was to show that it contained a songof the prophet in which he was showing sympathy for his friend Yahweh. In1926, Lesetre published a rather lengthy article on the apologue, which hedefined as "l'expose d'une verite morale sous une forme allegorique"(following Littre), and as "un recitallegorique qui contient une verite moralefacile a saisir sous la transparencedu voile dont elle est couverte"(followingGerusez),and which he identifiedwith a fable. He divided biblical apologues

into four categories: (1) Apologues that attribute reason and speaking tothings that do not have them (Judg 9:8-15; 2 Kgs 14:9-10; Ezek 19:2-9); (2)Apologues that arebased on actions or affairs of ordinarylife (2 Sam 12:1-4;Eccl 9:14-16; Prov 9:1-5; Isa 5:1-6; Ezek 19:2-9 [sic]; Prov 6:6-8; 23:5; Sir11:4;13:3);(3) Apologues in action (Hos 3:1;Ezek23:2-49; Jer 13:1-7;18:3-4;19:1-10;24:1-8; 27:2-6; Ezek 15:2-5;17:3-10; 12:4-7; 24:3-12; 20:3-9; 47:1-7);and (4) Apologues in vision (Gen 27:7-9; 40:5-22; 41:1-24; Judg 7:13;Amos7:1-9; 8:1-2; Dan 2:31-35;4:2-13; 7:3-7; 8:3-26; Esth 11:2-11;Zech 1:8;2:1,6[1:18;2:2];4:2, 3; 5:1, 6-7; 6:1-8; 11:4-10). Lesetresays that it was the secondgroup (which includes Isa 5:1-6) that served our Lord so well under the nameof parables.He arguesthat while 2 Sam 12:1-4 and Eccl 9:14-16 aredevelopedapologues, the rest of the passages mentioned in the second group containonly sketches or indications of apologues, and thus he quotes with approvalHerder's view that most oriental maxims are merely abridged fables.74In1928,E. Ebeling, A. Bertholet,and H. Gunkel published a ratherbrief articleon the fable, in which Ebeling defined a fable as

eine Abart der Parabel. . . , nennen wir eine erdichtete, einen Grundgedanken starkhervorkehrendeErzahlung,die den Zweck hat, durch Aufweis dieses Grundgedankenseinebestimmte, gegebene Lage zu klaren, und deren handelnde Personen-dies dasEigentiimliche der F(abel) im Unterschied von anderen Parabeln-aus dem Reiche derTiere, Pflanzen und von andern personifizierten Wesen genommen sind,

72Seen. 19.73H.Lesetre, "Apologue," Dictionnaire de la Bible I (ed. F. Vigouroux; Paris: LibrairieLetouzey et Ane, 1926) 788.74Lesetre,"Apologue,"788-81.

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and argued that the themes of the fable originally came from the legend orfairy-tale (Marchen),but differedfrom the latterby the teachings which theycontained.75Gunkel thought that the fable was very popular in ancientIsrael,where legends with their personification of creatures in nature played aprominent role in the popular tradition. Among the fables of the bible, hementionsthose of the treesin Judg9:8ff., of the arroganceand fall of the worldtree in Ezekiel31, of the lawsuit (Rechtsstreit)of a man with his vineyardin Isa5:lff., of the quarrelof the ax with the armin Isa 10:15,of the potter and theclay in Isa29:16;45:5;Jeremiah18;Rom 9:19-21, and of the strife between themembers of the humanbody in 1Cor 12:14ff.76Weiser, Eissfeldt,and Fohrer77also use the term fable (along with other terms) in speaking of Isa 5:1-7, butwithout offeringany substantialexplanation for or defense of thepreferabilityof this termabove others. At the sametime, Williams, Blank,and McKenzie78find only two fables in the OT: Jotham's fable of the trees in Judg 9:8ff., andJehoash's fable of the thistle in 2 Kgs 14:9.The only extensive defense of the view that Isa 5:1-7 is a fable is that ofSchottroff.79He takes his cue from Gunkel'sdictum that a lawsuit between aman and his vineyardmust be "marchenhaft."80 ontrary to the assumptionof many, he insists that the fable did not originate as a means of criticizingthose in power. Sumerianfables were recited at court festivals to praise andextol the king and the court, not to reprimandor condemn them. This wouldexplain why Isaiah aroused no contempt or suspicion when he began to singabout his friend and his vineyard on a festival occasion. As the fable wascharacteristicallyconflict poetry, it is doubtful that the prophet's hearersrealized what he had in mind until he gave his explanation in v 7. The abrupttransition from the third person (vv 1-2) to the first person (vv 3-6) wouldhave aroused no suspicion, because such transitionswere common in ancientnear eastern fables.Since the subjectmatter of a fable is inanimate naturalobjects,plants, andanimals, a conflict between a man and his vineyard certainly fits this genre.

75E.Ebeling, "Fabel,"RGG 2 (2d ed.) 489.76H.Gunkel, "Fabel,"RGG 2 (2d ed.) 490-91.77Weiser,The Old Testament,63; Eissfeldt, TheOld Testament,37;G. Fohrer, "Fabel,"RGG2 (3d ed.) 853-54; Introduction to the Old Testament (Nashville: Abingdon, 1968) 314.78R.J. Williams, "The Fable in the Ancient Near East," A Stubborn Faith. Papers . ..presented to honor W.A. Irwin (ed. E. C. Hobbs; Dallas: Southern Methodist University, 1956)3-26; S. H. Blank, "Fable,"IDB 2 (1962) 221; J. L. McKenzie, S.J., "Fable,"Dictionary of theBible(New York:Bruce, 1965)266 (who thinks fables can involve persons,animals,or inanimateobjects);J. Jacobs, "Fable,"Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics V (ed. James Hastings;NewYork: Scribner's, 1920) 676 (who restricts fables mainly to animals); and I. Engnell, "Fabel,"Svenskt Bibliskt Uppslagsverk I (Stockholm: Nordiska Uppslagsbocker, 1962) 593; N. H.Gadegard,"Fabel,"Gads Danske Bibel Leksikon I (Kobenhavn: Gad, 1975)485 (who restrictsOT fables to Judg 9:8-15 and 2 Kgs 14:9).79Schottroff,"Das Weinberglied,"68-91, esp. pp. 84-88.80Schottroff, DasWeinberglied,"75.To avoid an erotictermfor Yahweh,and convinced thatIsa 5:1-7 describes a lawsuit, H. Gunkel (Das Marchen im Alten Testament[Tiibingen: Mohr,1917]26) andJ. Hempel ("Jahwegleichnisseder israelitischenPropheten,"ZA W54 [1942] 77, n.2) emend d6di to ribo: "das Lied 'von seinem Streit' mit seinem Weinberg,"in v lb.

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Schottroff urges that the closest parallel to Isa 5:1-7 in ancient near easternliterature is the fable of the conflict between the fertility- or underworld-goddess Nisaba and the wheat, which follows the general three pointstructural pattern of Sumerian and Akkadian examples of this sort of poetry:

(1) A mythological introduction, which gives the cosmological raison d'etre of theconflicting parties.(2) A dispute, in which the opposing parties boast of their own superior functions anddegrade each other.(3) An appeal to the deity, who renders a decision and reconciles the disputants.8'Isa 5:1-7 follows this pattern. Furthermore, the idea that the owner of thevineyard has the power to command the clouds to withhold the rain in v 6d-eneed not be an indication that the speaker is Yahweh or an imprecation by ahuman husbandman. "Vielmehr erscheint es als ein im Rahmen der Gattung'Fabel' durchaus denkbarer Zug, dass ebenso, wie ein Weinberg als willentlichfehlhandelndes Wesen vermenschlicht und zur Rechenschaft gezogen werdenkann, auch ein Weinbergbesitzer Wolken Befehle zu erteilen vermag."82Now while Schottroff argues his case cogently, it must be asked whetherthe features which he attributes to a fable could not, with as much reason, beassigned to an allegory or a parable. To be specific about one case in point, theNT uses the word parabole to describe the story that Jesus told about thevineyard that a husbandman entrusted to wicked tenants (Matt 21:33-41),which has many affinities with Isa 5:1-7, and may be based upon it.

XI. An AllegoryExperts generally agree that there are two basic features which distinguishan allegory: (1) it differs from a parable in that each metaphorical element ofthe allegory represents a corresponding reality, whereas the parable conveys a

single truth;83and (2) it reads into or finds in an ancient historical event, story,or literary production meanings that were not originally intended.84

81Schottroff,"Das Weinberglied,"86-87.82Schottroff,"Das Weinberglied,"88.83The llegory "ist wohl zu unterscheidenvon derParabel, in der es allein odervorwiegend aufDarstellungeines einzelnen Gedankensankommt"(italics added), H. Gunkel, "Allegorie,"RGG1 (2d ed.) 219; cf. J. L. McKenzie, S.J., "Allegory,"Dictionary, 21; B. Gerhardsson,"Allegori,allegorisk utlaggning,"Svenskt Bibliskt UppslagsverkI (Stockholm: Nordiska Uppslagsbocker,1962)46; B. Wiberg, "Lignelser,"Gads Dansk Bibel Leksikon II (Kobenhaven;Gad, 1965)40. Inmany cases, however, it must be admitted that "the border line between parableand allegory is avery narrow one." M. Black, "The Parables as Allegory," BJRL 42 (1960) 273-87; quote from p.285.84". In allegorical interpretationan entirelyforeign subjective meaning is read into thepassage. . ."(italicsadded), J. Geffcken,"Allegory,Allegorical Interpretation,"Encyclopaediaof Religion and Ethics I (ed. James Hastings;New York: Scribner's, 1908) 327. So similarly E.Mangenot, "Allegorie, Sens Allegorique de l'Ecriture," Dictionnaire de la Bible I (ed. F.Vigouroux;Paris: LibrairieLetouzey et Ane, 1926)368; L. Mowry, "Allegory,"IDB 1 (1962)82.For Crossan'sphilosophical explanation of an allegory, see nn. 96 and 97 below.

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Accordingly, the earliest allegorical interpretationof Isa 5:1-7 appearsinthe Targumicparaphraseof this passage. Here some of the crucial lines maybe presented in English translation:

v 1-line a: The prophet said, I will now sing unto Israel,which is likened to a vineyard,the seed of Abraham my friend,line b: A song of my friendconcerningthevineyardsof my people, the beloved onesof Israel,line c: I gave them an inheritanceline d: In a lofty mountain, in a fat (fruitful) land.v 2-line c: And I built my sanctuary among them,line d: And also I gave them my altar to make atonement for their sins.v 3-inserted line before line a:O prophet, say to them, Behold, the house of Israelhave rebelledagainstthelaw, and are not willing to return.v 5-line c: I will take away my presence from them, and they shall be for a spoil.line d: I will break down their sanctuaries, and they shall be for a trampling.v 6-line c: But they shall be cast out and forsaken,line d: And my prophets will I command not to utter a prophecy concerningthem.85

Lutherpresentsthe kindof allegorical interpretationof Isa 5:1 7 typicalofwritersfrom the time of the churchfathers until the moderncriticalperiod. Inv I he translates dodi as "my cousin," interprets this as one's closest anddearest friend, and applies it to Christ; and reasons that qeren means thepower and kingdom and dominion of the Jews, which through God'shelpwasstrong enough to crush all nations. In v 2 the wall could be the protection ofangels (following Jerome), but more probably is the law, which separatedtheJews from all other nations (cf. Eph 2:14); the stones are the elect Gentiles;etc.86In the moderncriticalperiod,a few scholars have alludedto Isa 5:1-7 as anallegory87or a parable with allegorical elements,88without offering anyextended defense of this position. Occasionally a modern commentatorallegorizes a single element in the pericope, but not the whole. Young andWildberger ee in the hedge and wall of v 5 an allusion to Yahweh'sprotectionof Israel against enemies in the land of Canaan.89The only attempts to defend at length the allegorical interpretation of Isa5:1-7 in modern times (known to the present writer) are those of Ruffenachand Bentzen (in his Danish commentary on Isaiah). Ruffenach repeatedlyXSMytranslationis fromn;lr'7 niip:n n (New York:Pardes, 1951)n-=, and in places differsslightly from J. F. Stenning, The Targumof Isaiah (Oxford: Clarendon, 1949) 16, because of adifferent text or because of word choice.86Luther,"Lectures,"57-61.87Mangenot,"Allegorie,"369; Laridon, "CarmenAllegoricum," 8; Vaccari, I Profeti, 33; G.von Rad, Old TestamentTheology2 (Edinburgh:Oliverand Boyd, 1965) 151, 181;Scharbert,DiePropheten, 222-23; Sanmartin-Ascaso, "f.r7 d6d," 160, 164, 165.88A.Penna, Isaia (La Sacra Bibbia;ed. G. Rinaldi;Torino: Marietti, 1958)75; de Orbiso,"Elcantico," 718, 721; Pezzella, "La parabola," 5, n. 2.89E. J. Young, The Book of Isaiah I (NICOT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965) 194;Wildberger,Jesaja, 174.

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calls this pericopean allegory, and his interpretation of individual statementsthroughout the paragraph indicates that he understands each phrase toconvey a specific meaning. For him, the planting of the vine (v 2) representsGod bringing Israel into the land of Canaan, the protection around thevineyard(v 5) standsfor angels that guard God's people, the tower (v 2) is thetemple, the wine vat (v 2) is the altar;the bad grapes (vv 2, 4, 7)areall kinds ofsin, especially idolatry, etc. Ruffenach repeatedly appeals to very ancientauthorities such as Theodoret, Thomas Aquinas, Cornelius a Lapide, andparticularlyJerome.90By taking the vineyard as a symbolic figure for a bride on the basis ofpassagesin Canticles(as 1:6,14;2:15;8:12),Bentzen is able to view Isa 5:1-7 asan "erotiskeallegori."He insiststhat the prophetdoes not graduallyreveal thetrue identity of the vineyard and its owner, but preserves the allegory intactthrough v 6, and then, suddenly and surprisinglyfor his hearers , reveals itstrue meaning in v 7. Isaiahwould not have played with fire and risked givinghimself away before the condemnation was clear. Behind the allegory of ahusbandman and his vineyard Isaiah intended to depict a defraudedhusband's lament over his unfaithful wife, who had borne him illegitimatechildren, represented by the "forvildede baer" (vv 2, 4). The statement "Mybeloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill" (v 1) means that the prophet'sfriend had a beautifuland fruitful wife, whom he loved and expected to bearhim many children. The husbandman's efforts (v 2) are all figurative,indicatingthat the groom had done everythinga wife could want accordingtolaw and morals (cf. Exod 21:10). The building of the watchtower representsthe idea that the husband watchedjealously over his wife's faithfulness. Thelegal statements (vv 3-4) are intended to establish that the defrauded husbandhad done all he could for his wife, and thus had a right to be disappointed byher infidelity.91Bentzen complains that commentators have not understoodthe statement,"I will also command the clouds that they rain no rainupon it"(v 6), which is the high point of the curse. Most have followed Ewald, whothinks that the prophet deliberately revealed the identity of his friend at thispoint. But if this is the case, Isaiahalso allowed the people to see prematurelythat they were trapped in their ownjudgment. Accordingly, Bentzenappealsto 2 Sam 1:21to show that man can utter a curse over a piece of land that rainnot fall on that land. The groom's meaning is: Would that my unfaithful wifeno longer be able to bear children!92The allegorical interpretation of Isa 5:1-7 is subject to three majorcriticisms.(1) The alleged allegorical meanings of specific elements in the textdo not come naturallyfrom the text itself, but betraya greatdeal of ingenuityon the part of the interpreter.One senses that the commentator is making anallegoryout of the biblical text rather than that the prophet himselfpresentedan allegory. Thereare severalpassagesin the OT that use the figureof a vine or

90Ruffenach,"Peccati,"206-9.91Bentzen,Jesaja I, 33-35.92Bentzen,Jesaja I, 36; so earlier in "ZurErlauterung,"210.

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a vineyardwhere it is clearthat the writerhas no intention of referring o therelationshipbetweena groom and hisbride (Isa 3:14;27:2-5; Jer2:21;Ps 80:9-17[8-16]). (2) Itis impossibleto explain each elementin Isa 5:1-7 allegoricallywithout being fanciful. At the same time, that there is more than one detail inthis pericope which obviously should be given a specific meaning arguesneither against its conveying one major thought nor against its beingconsidered a parable.93Jeremias has criticized Jiilicher because, whereas hestruggled "to free the [NT] parables from the fantastic and arbitraryallegorical interpretations of every detail," he contended that "the surestsafeguard against such arbitrarytreatment lay in regardingthe parablesas apiece of real life and in drawingfrom each of them a single idea (herelay theerror)of the widest possible generality."943) Allegory in the true sense of theword is of Greek origin and thus later than the time of Isaiah. To be sure,Gunkel argued that the scribes must have learned the allegoricalinterpretationof scripturefrom the use of allegories in the OT.95However,experts now generally agree that the Jews took over the allegorical methodfrom the Greeks,and that the allegorical method became establishedamongJewish interpreters between the Alexandrian Aristobulus (mid-secondcenturyB.C.)and Philo (mid-firstcenturyA.D.).96Therefore,to speakof Isaiahas having delivered an allegory is anachronistic.

XII. A ParableIt is generallyagreed that a parableis an extended simile ormetaphor. Butbeyond this, there is great disagreement among scholars as to its precisedefinition. This is partly due, no doubt, to the various speech and literaryforms called masal andparabole in the OT and NT respectively,andpartlytothe modern canons of definition to which each interpreter is willing tosubscribe. Studies relevant to Isa 5:1-7 seem to have produced fivedefinitional bounds within which a parable may be said to belong. (1) Incontrast to an allegory, a parableintends to convey a single thought.97 2) In

93"Since n allegory [like a parable]is also an extension of a simile and since everymetaphorpresupposesa simile, confusion between the forms of parableand allegory has frequently . . .occurred." L. Mowry, "Parable,"IDB 3 (1962) 649.94J.Jeremias, The Parablesof Jesus(London:SCM, 1954)16(who arguesthat Jesus'parableswere allegorized prior to and by the Synoptists, pp. 52-70).95Gunkel,"Allegorie,"220.96Cf.B. Wiberg, "Allegori,"Gads Danske Bibel Leksikon I (Kobenhavn:Gad, 1965)57;andthe extensive discussions of Geffcken, "Allegory, Allegorical Interpretation,"327-30; Mowry,"Allegory,"82-83; and F. Biichsel, "aXX7ryopwco,"DNT 1 (1964) 260-61. On this point, I ammore traditional, and less philosophically inclined than J. D. Crossan, "The Parable of theWicked Husbandmen,"JBL 90 (1971) 462; cf. A. H. McNeile, The Gospel according to St.Matthe, (London: MacMillan, 1952) 186.97Alexander,Commentari I, 129; E. E. Nourse, "Parable (Introductory and Biblical),"Enclyclopaediaof Religion and Ethics IX (ed. James Hastings;New York: Scribner's,1922)630;H. Lesetre,"Parabole,"Dictionnaire de la BibleIV/2 (ed. F. Vigoroux; Paris:LibrairieLetouzeyet Ane, 1928) 2107; Steinmann, Le Prophete Isaiie,70; I. Engnell, "Liknelser,"Svenskt BiblisktUIppslagsverk (Stockholm: Nordiska Uppslagsbicker, 1962) 1496;Mowry, "Parable,"649; F.

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contrast to an allegory and a fable, a parable relates a realistic story intendedto teach a lesson, and does not engage in fanciful, inappropriate, or unnaturalanalogies.98 (3) In contrast to a similitude (Gleichnis), which has to do withtypical conditions or events, a parable portrays a specific or particularsituation.99 (4) A parable contains an intentional decoy (Koder) orcamouflage (Tarnung) so as to distract the hearers from, or (better) draw theminto, the speaker's experience and resultant message (cf. Mark 4:10-12).100 (5)A parable is presented in such a way as to make the hearers participants in theevent being portrayed and empathizers with a certain character or charactersin the plot, and to force them naturally to pass judgment on themselves. Theparable intercepts the hearers where they are, but does not leave themthere-it has the power to move them off dead center, either one way or theother. The hearers are either open or not open to the speaker's message; 10 theyparticipate in it or refuse to do so. 102 If one accepts these last two stipulations,the following texts may be regarded as parables: Nathan's story of the richman and the poor man who had only one little ewe lamb (2 Sam 12:1-4; cf. vv5-7), the story that the woman of Tekoa told David about the widow with twosons (2 Sam 14:5b-7; cf. v 1-24), the prophet's story of the escaped prisoner (1Kgs 20:39-40a; cf. vv 35-42), the oracles of Amos against foreign nations(Amos 1:3-2:3), and Isaiah's story of the vineyard (Isa 5:1-7).103Some of these guidelines require further discussion. On point (1), while it isbasically valid that a parable teaches a single point, Juilicher has pressed thisHauck,"rrapa3oX4,"rDNT 5 (1967) 746; D. M. Stanley and R. E. Brown, "Aspects of NewTestament Thought," JBC (1968) 788. Nourse (p. 629), Lesetre (p. 2109), and Hauck (p. 749)considerIsa 5:1-7 to be a parable.Cf. also n. 83 above. J. D. Crossan("Parableas Religious andPoetic Experience,"JR 53 [1973] 334) criticizes this distinction on philosophical grounds.98Nourse,"Parable," 628; R. Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition (Oxford:Blackwell,1963)198;Pezzella,"Laparabola,"5, n. 2;D. M. Stanleyand R. E. Brown,"AspectsofNew Testament Thought," JBC (1968) 788. Cf. also n. 84 above.99Bultmann,History, 174;cf. Engnell, "Liknelser,"1496.'00"Kider"and "Tarnung"are terms used by Junker, "Die LiterarischeArt," 259. Cf. alsoMarti, Das Buch Jesaja, 52; J. Bright, "Isaiah-I," PCB (1962) 493; Hauck, "rrapafooXr," 49;Schottroff, "Das Weinberglied,"69, 74, 89. R. W. Funk (Language, Hermeneutic,and WordofGod [New York: Harper, 1966] 161) emphasizes the element of surprise in the parable.'0"'Freedom or the Word"-so E. Fuchs ("Whatis Interpretedin the Exegesis of the NewTestament?"Studies of the Historical Jesus [SBT 42; London: SCM, 1964]89, 90, 98, 102, 103).Cf. the existential emphases of Funk, Language, 142-43, 150-51; and Crossan, "TheParable ofthe Wicked Husbandmen," 462, n. 33.'02A.N. Wilder, The Languageof the Gospel: Early ChristianRhetoric (New York: Harper,1964) 92; Funk, Language, 133, 140, 143;Crossan, "The Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen,"462,464. In a more recentessay ("Parableas Religious and Poetic Experience,"340-44,346, 349,358), Crossan argues that an allegory cannot create participation in the experience, while aparablecan. See also C. E. Carlston,"ChangingFashions in Interpreting he Parables,"AndoverNewton Quarterly14(1974)231-33. ElisabetEngdahl("Jesu iknelser som sprakhandelser,"SEA39 [1974] 90-108) has written an important critical evaluation of the views of Funk, Wilder,Crossan, Via, and Perrin.

1030. Procksch, Jesaja I (KAT 9; Leipzig: Deichertsche, 1930) 89; Mowinckel, De SenereProfeter,90; Scott, "The Book of Isaiah:Chapters1-39," 196;J. Y. Muckle, Isaiah 1-39 (EpworthPreacher's Commentaries; London: Epworth, 1960) 19, 20; Scharbert, Die Propheten, 223;Schottroff, "Das Weinberglied,"68-69, 71, 74, 89; Ackroyd, "The Book of Isaiah," 335.

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beyond the limits of actualityby superimposingmore modern literarynotionson ancient literatureand by insisting on too rigida definition. It is difficult tomake a finedistinction between a parablethat conveys one messagebut whosemessage has two or more secondary points or characters and an allegory.Many experts readily call Nathan's story of the ewe lamb (2 Sam 12:1-7) aparable. This story has a single immediate point (viz., the rich man's unjusttreatment of the poor man is reprehensibleand calls for severe punishment)and a single ultimate point (viz., David's treatment of Uriah is reprehensibleand calls for severepunishment).At the sametime, specificdetails in the storyhave a natural parallel to the real event: the rich man representsDavid, thepoor man stands for Uriah, the ewe lamb is Bathsheba, and the deathpenaltyis the just punishment.

Jiilicherclaims that a parablehasproperlybut one idea-it must illustrate but one thought;its figures are parts of one picturewhich representsbut one truth. This really useful rule,which operatesto do away with the abuse of theparablesthroughexcessiveallegorizing, is,however, contrary both to the well-known use of the parable in Jewish circles and to theGospel report of Jesus' own interpretationof His parables(e.g., Mt 1318ff).While it is truethat the main purpose of a parable is to convey one general idea, subordinate ideas mayeasily be suggested. The fact is, the purpose of each parable must be ascertained by itself,without the application of theoretical rhetorical principles, with which Jesus had noconcern.104

Accordingly, the prophet's explanation (Deutung) of the song of the vineyardin Isa 5:7 (viz., that the owner is Yahweh, thevineyardis Israel andJudah, thegood grapes arejustice and righteousness, and the bad grapesare bloodshedand a cry) in no way detractsfrom the single thrust of the whole passage,viz.,the owner's(Yahweh's) disappointment in the failure of his vineyard (Israel,Judah) to produce good fruit. If Nathan's story of the ewe lamb is a parable,there is no reasonwhy Isaiah'ssong of the vineyard cannot be a parablealso.On points (4) and (5), it is true that frequentlya parable camouflages thespeaker'sreal message until just the right moment to reveal it, in order toretainthe attention of the hearers,and to get them to pronouncejudgment onthemselves.However, this is not alwaystrueof a parable,nor is the parabletheonly means of achieving this effect.

A Suggested SolutionThe presentwritergets the distinctimpression,from studyingform criticaland/or traditio-historical treatments of specific texts, that the genre of anygiven passage usually receives the least serious attention. We who deal with

such matters seem to assume that the determination of the genre is obviousprima facie, and merits little carefulanalysis. This is not said to detract in theleast from the importanceof attemptingto determinethe extent of a pericope,or the Sitz im Leben, or the stages of transmission, etc., but to emphasize theimportance of giving due attention to real issues pertaining to genre.'04Nourse,"Parable,"630. Cf. Lesetre,"Parable,"2114, 2116-17; Hauck, "7rapafloX," 753;Funk, Language, 136;Stanley and Brown, "Aspects,"789; and Wiberg, "Lignelser,"42-43.

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Reflection on the divergentviews of Isa 5:1-7 suggests that some scholarsdetermine the genre of a text by their interpretation of its content (theprophet's song concerning his own vineyard, a bride's love song, a groom'slove song); others,by its occasion (a drinkingsong, a song of the friend of thebridegroom, a lawsuit or accusation); others, by its purpose (a satiricalpolemic against Palestinian fertility cults, the prophet's song expressingsympathy for his friend Yahweh, a bride's love song, a groom's love song, alawsuit or accusation);and still others, by its literarytype (an uncle's song, afable, an allegory, a parable).And indeed, these four concerns areinseparablyconnected with the problem of genre. The scholar'sprimary goal should be todetermine and define the genre of a text in such a way as to comprehend allthat is in that text. To be sure,this undertaking s so complex that one may notbe successful;and yet, with various scholars working on the same or similartexts, that which escapes one may be suggested by another, and that which isnot clearly defined by one may be stated in a more polished form by another.In thisendeavor, it is of utmost importanceto define, as clearlyas possible, thecrucial terms which one uses. In doing so, he should strive to conform togenerallyaccepted definitions as much as possible, while respecting the rightof other scholars to use differenttermsfor the same phenomenon, and to usethe same terms with different shades of meaning, or more exclusively orinclusively.PerhapsIsa 5:1-7may be used as a test case to stimulate furtherdiscussion.Itseemsbest to thepresentwriter o classifythe literarytype of this pericope asa parable, and to describe its contents as a parabolic song of a disappointedhusbandman. Theseterms are not new. I have deliberatelyselected frequentlyused expressions in hope that widely accepted definitions may be utilized inthe direction of a unified view.The significant thing is to clarify what is intended by each term in thisdescription, especially the term used for the literary type, viz., parable. Thewordsong is chosen for threereasons. (1) The biblical text itself uses the verbsir and the noun s'ira (v 1) in describing the prophet's words. Method-ologically, it is the scholar's task to try to understand what would have beenconveyed by these terms to the minds of Judeans in the eighth century B.C.,and not to subjectthese words to modern standards.It would take us far afieldto discuss sir and its cognates here. But to say the least, Isa 5:1-7 should bestudied in lightof otherOTpoetic pieces that areentitledsir, as e.g., Pss 45, 46,48, 66, 67, 68, etc.; the critic should try to discover whether sir demonstratesthat the prophet sang, chanted, or poetically recitedthis oracle, or could havedone any of these three; whether it would have been sung to theaccompanimentof a musical instrument,and if so, which one; and the kind ofsetting in which such a song would have been accepted and expected by thehearers.'05 t is interestingto note the various ways scholars have envisionedthe prophet's original presentation of this song (see the pertinent analyses

'05Such ssues raise the question of the nature and use of music in OT times. Cf. E. Werner,"Music,"IDB 3 (1962) 457-69 with a rather extensive selected bibliography.

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widow with two sons (2 Sam 14:1-24), and the tale of the escaped prisoner (1Kgs 20:35-42), a strong case can be made for the view that a parable oftencontained legal elements. Further, assuming that parable can justifiably beapplied to the lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7;cf. v 2) or to the mustard seed (Matt13:31-32), it may be concluded that it could deal with inanimate objects andplants. In other words, to designate Isa 5:1-7 as a parable is to affirmthat itcontains a lawsuitor an accusation,not to deny it. In this particular,one use ofa parableis similarto one use of a fable. Furthermore,parablesand fables canboth deal withplants.Schottroff, who arguesat length that Isa 5:1-6 is a fable,affirms that when the explanation in v 7 is attached, it transformsthe wholeinto a parable!112 ow the element "song"can be combined with the element"parable" involving a "lawsuit"or an "accusation")since the prophet uses a"song"to arresthis hearers' attention and to draw them into participationinthe event, so that theymay deliverand be struck down by theirown accusationof or lawsuit against themselves.(d) Isa 5:1-7 depicts a specific situation and not a typical condition orevent. Accordingly, it is preferable to label it a parable rather than asimilitude. (e) The prophet'swords in Isa 5:1-7 reflect his experience of God,simultaneouslycamouflage and reveal his realmessage, capturethe interestofhis hearers,andforce them to participate n what he hasexperienced. Whetherhis audiencebegan to realizegraduallythat they werecondemning themselvesafter the statements made in v 3, or v 4, or v 6d-e, or learned it suddenly fromthe unexpected explanation in v 7, his message forced them to examine andpass sentence on themselves. Whileany one of these particulars might also becharacteristicof anothergenrealso, since all five appear in Isa 5:1-7, it seemsbest to classify this pericope as a parable.Finally, the affirmation that the words in Isa 5:1-7 representthe song of ahusbandman is intended to suggest four thoughts. (1) Admitting dod isordinarily used of a young man in erotic contexts, and that vineyardsometimes appears as a symbolic term for a bride or young maiden, thepresentproposal insists that our passage does not contain a bride's love song,or a groom's love song, or even a song of the friend of the bridegroom, but ahusbandman's song describing his comprehensive labor, and hisdisappointment when the vineyard did not bear good fruit. It may be thatsome details in this paragraphcould describe the relationship between a manand a woman figuratively, but many of them cannot, as e.g., digging thevineyard,clearingit of stones, buildinga watchtower in the midst of it, hewingout a wine vat in it (v 2), removing its hedge, breaking down its wall, notpruningor hoeing it, and commanding the clouds not to rain on it (vv 5-6). Inother words, the most natural view of Isa 5:1-7 is that it concerns ahusbandmanand his vineyard.113Then the MT of v Ib may be retained. Theidea that there is a "love song" here is more imaginary than factual.

12Schottroff,"Das Weinberglied,"89.13Cf.Fey, Amos und Jesaja, 142-43, n. 3.

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(2) This expression indicates that yadid and d6d refer to the same person:in v lb the vineyard is said to belong to the speaker'sdod, and in v Ic to thespeaker's yddid.(3) This phrase denotes that the song originated with the husbandman(Yahweh),who is the prophet'sfriend(not lover),just as Abraham is said to beYahweh's "friend"('oheb) (Isa 41:8; 2 Chr 20:7).14 The reason dod wasselected was to form a word play with yddid. Such a choice is just asappropriateas the choice of msph (a hapax legomenon) in v 7 to create a wordplay with mspt. Yahweh is yddid and d6d in his relationship to the prophet,not in his relationshipto the vineyard.Isaiahclaims to be recitingorrepeatinga song composed by his friend(Yahweh) concerning Yahweh'svineyard. I.e.,lididi in v la does not mean "to my beloved" or even "concerning,with regardto my beloved," but '"for, in the name of, in behalf of, in place of mybeloved." 15

(4) Thistermplaces Isa 5:1-7 in a natural and suitable Sitz im Leben,viz., avintage festival."6 While others celebrate the harvest of good grapes, theprophet, nay, Yahweh himself, bemoans the disappointing produce of hisvineyard, calls on his hearersto decide whether he is at fault or his vineyard,and announces his decision to abandon his vineyard because of its lack ofresponseto his labor. The bringingof a legal case does not necessarilyrequirethat the vineyard representa person, i.e., a bride. Thefocus is on that which isrepresentedby the vineyard,and not on the vineyardas the symbolic figure,asis indicatedby the fact that at the crucial moment of decision, Yahweh doesnot summon the vineyard, but the hearers (who are represented by thevineyard), and speaks of the vineyard in the third person (vv 3-4)."4Theqal participle'oheb, which means "friend" n several OT texts (ase.g., Jer20:4, 6;Esth5:10, 14;6:13;Pss 38:12 [11]; 88:19[18]; Prov 14:20; 18:24;27:6), means "lover" n Lam 1:2;thepiel participlemeans "lover" n a numberof passages (Hos 2:7, 9, 12, 14, 15[5, 7, 10, 12, 13];Jer22:20, 22; 30:14;Lam 1:19;Ezek 16:33,36, 37; 23:5, 9, 22). Although d6d means "lover" n OT

texts outside Isa 5:1, there is no reason why it cannot mean "friend" n this passage.15Seeespecially J. Fischer, Das Buch Isaias (Die Heilige Schrift des Alten Testamentes7/1;Bonn: Peter Hanstein, 1937) 51-52; and the definition of lI in BDB, 515."6Ithas often been suggested that Isaiah delivered this song when a large numberof peoplefrom Jerusalem and the Judean countryside assembled in Jerusalem for a vintage or harvestfestival. Cf. J. Skinner, The Book of the Prophet Isaiah ChaptersI.-XXXIX. (The CambridgeBible for Schools and Colleges;Cambridge:Cambridge University, 1896)32;Gray, The Book ofIsaiah I, 83; Procksch, Jesaja I, 87; H. W. Hertzberg, Der Erste Jesaja (Bibelhilfe fur dieGemeinde:2d ed.; Kassel: J. G. Oncken, 1952)34-35; Scott, "The Book of Isaiah:Chapters1-39,"196;Eichrodt,Der Heilige, 65-66; Fohrer,Das Buch JesajaI,75; deOrbiso, "Elcintico," 718-19;Bright,"Isaiah-I," 493; F. L. Moriarty,"Isaiah1-39,"JBC (1968) 269; Wildberger,Jesaja, 166;Kaiser, Isaiah 1-12, 59.

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john t. willis, the genre of isaiah 5,1-7

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