Isaiah 5:7

Isaiah now shocked his audience by identifying the characters in his parable by name. His well-beloved and the owner of the vineyard was Yahweh of Hosts, not some unnamed friend; the vineyard was Israel, not his friend’s wife (cf. Isaiah 1:8; Isaiah 3:14; Psalms 80:8-18; Jeremiah 2:21; Jeremiah 12:10; Ezekiel 15:6-8; Hosea 10:1; Matthew 21:33-44); and the Judahites were the individual plants in this unresponsive vineyard.

"Before the fall of Samaria in 722 BC the house of Israel meant either the whole divided nation or its northern component. The prophets did not countenance the division, and whether specifically called to prophesy to north or south they tended to embrace the whole in their ministry (cf. Amos 3:1). Isaiah thus addresses the whole nation and then narrows his vision to the specially privileged men of Judah . . ." [Note: Motyer, p. 69.]

The good fruit God looked for was justice (the righting of wrongs; Heb. mishpat) and righteousness (right relationships; Heb. tsedaqah), but the bad fruit the vines produced was oppression (the inflicting of wrongs; Heb. mispakh) and violence (wrong relationships; Heb. tse’aqah; cf. Isaiah 60:21; Isaiah 61:3). Isaiah used paronomasia (a pun) to make his contrasts more forceful and memorable. Instead of mishpat God got mispakh, and instead of tsedaqah He received tse’aqah.

"The assonance would seem to point to the fact that the worthless grapes bore at least an outward resemblance to the good ones. In appearance at least the nation seemed to be the people of God." [Note: Young, 1:204.]

As the vineyard disappointed the Lord, so this song disappointed its original hearers. It proved to be confrontation, not entertainment.