Wim J.C. Weren, «The Use of Isaiah 5,1-7 in the Parable of the Tenants (Mark 12,1-12; Matthew 21,33-46)», Vol. 79 (1998) 1-26

This article attempts to prove the following theses. The parable of the tenants in Mark 12,1-12 has been constructed on the basis of the vineyard song in Isa 5,1-7. There are connections with the Hebrew text as well as with the LXX version. The later exegesis of Isa 5,1-7 as it is found in the Targum and in 4Q500 has also left traces in the parable. The connections with Isaiah were already present in the original form and they are enlarged in the subsequent phases of the tradition. Matthew has taken almost all references from Mark but he additionaly made links to Isa 5,1-7 which he did not derive from Mark.

later development. This would be the case if it were only the LXX that would have left traces in the parable of the tenants ³². From the similarities Mark shares with the Hebrew text it appears that references to Isa 5 were already present in the earliest strata of the tradition and probably already formed part of the parable as it was told by Jesus himself ³³.

      Above, I discussed the similarities between Mark 12,1-12 and Isa 5,1-7. There are also great differences. The New Testament text is not a mere copy of its pendant from the Old Testament. In this context the inverted quotation in Mark 12,1 clearly is an indicator. The reader must be alive to the fact that also in the rest of the parable certain elements from Isa 5,1-7 are transformed, and new elements are introduced.

      In Isaiah, the vineyard unexpectedly plays a negative role: it produces bad fruit (Hebrew text); it brings forth thorns (LXX). The vineyard in Mark, however, meets the expectations and produces good grapes. This links up with the following transformation. In