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Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 5:1-7

The parable of the vineyard. I. NOTICE THE ART OF THE PARABLE . It has been remarked, "A proverb finds him who a sermon flies." Pictures from nature are acceptable to all, especially of that nature which is familiar to the imagination of the listener. Through the imagination we may glide into our listener's heart and conscience. The truth comes with much more power when it is made to glance from an object intermediate between the mind and its naked reality. A great secret of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 5:1-7

Privilege and penalty. We have a striking picture of— I. THE FULNESS OF THE DIVINE PROVISION . ( Isaiah 5:1 4.) The second verse describes in detail the processes by which the vineyard is prepared for fruitfulness, and in the fourth verse the question is asked, "What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?" The idea is that of the fullness of the Divine provision for the Jewish nation . God had provided: 1. Illustrious men—Moses, Aaron,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 5:2

He fenced it. So the LXX ; the Vulgate, Aben Ezra, Jarchi, Rosenmüller, Lowth, Kay. Gesenius, Knobel, and Mr. Cheyne prefer to translate, "he dug it over;" while the Revisers of 1885 have suggested, "he made a trench about it." The word occurs only in this place, and has no cognates in Hebrew. And gathered out the stones (comp. Isaiah 62:10 ). In the stony soil of Palestine, to collect the surface stones into heaps, or build them into walls, is of primary necessity for the improvement... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 5:3

The prophet's "song" here ends, and Jehovah himself takes the word. As if the story told in the parable had been a fact, he calls on the men of Judah and Jerusalem to "judge between him and his vineyard." Compare Nathan's appeal to David by the parable of the ewe lamb ( 2 Samuel 12:1-4 ). read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 5:1

Now will I sing - This is an indication that what follows is poetic, or is adapted to be sung or chanted.To my well-beloved - The word used here - ידיד yedı̂yd - is a term of endearment. It properly denotes a friend; a favorite; one greatly beloved. It is applied to saints as being the beloved, or the favorites of God, in Psalms 127:2; Deuteronomy 33:12. In this place, it is evidently applied to Yahweh, the God of the Jewish people. As there is some reason to believe that the God of the Jews -... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 5:2

And he fenced it - Margin, ‘Made a wall about it.’ The word used here is supposed rather to mean “to dig about, to grub,” as with a pick-axe or spade. - “Gesenius.” It has this signification in Arabic, and in one place in the Jewish Talmud. - “Kimchi.” The Vulgate and the Septuagint understands it of making a hedge or fence, probably the first work in preparing a vineyard. And as ‘a hedge’ is expressly mentioned in Isaiah 5:5, it seems most probable that that is its meaning here.And gathered... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 5:3

And now ... - This is an appeal which God makes to the Jews themselves, in regard to the justice and propriety of what he was about to do. A similar appeal he makes in Micah 6:3 : ‘O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? Testify against me.’ He intended to “punish” them Isaiah 5:5-6, and he appeals to them for the justice of it. He would do to them as they would do to a vineyard that had been carefully prepared and guarded, and which yet was valueless. A... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 5:1

Isaiah 5:1. Now will I sing, &c. Bishop Lowth translates this clause, “Let me sing now a song to my beloved; a song of loves concerning his vineyard.” This is the exordium, a kind of title placed before the song; which song he records, as Moses did his, that it might be a witness for God, and against Israel. The beloved, to whom the prophet addresses the song, is the Lord of the vineyard, as appears by the latter clause of the verse, namely, God, or his Messiah, whom the prophet loved... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 5:2

Isaiah 5:2. And he fenced it In this verse the prophet, carrying on the allegory, proceeds to express, in parabolical language, the singular favours which God had bestowed on the Jewish nation, and the peculiar care which he had taken of them. He separated them from other nations, took them into covenant with himself, gave them a variety of laws and ordinances respecting his worship and service, and became, in an especial manner, their protector and governor. Thus he fenced his vineyard;... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 5:3-4

Isaiah 5:3-4. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, &c. God is here introduced as calling upon the guilty themselves to pass sentence, or judgment, in the case, and leaving it to them; because, without downright madness, they could do no other than condemn themselves; who, when they had received so many benefits from God, had been so ungrateful to him. What could have been done, &c. What work is there belonging to the office of an owner or keeper of a vineyard, which I have... read more

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