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.

Isaiah, the vineyard will be destroyed, but in Mark its existence is not threatened. This latter change is connected to the introduction of a new group of characters: the tenants. The vineyard is spared, but the tenants are to be executed because they are not willing to hand over the fruits of the vineyard.

      The differences contribute to the new interpretation which Isa 5,1-7 acquires. In Mark, that Old Testament text is used to express fierce criticism of the attitude of the chief priests, the scribes and the elders (11,27). It is with them that Jesus here has an argument ³⁴. At the end of that debate, they discover that Jesus has told the parable against them (12,12). Through the citation from Ps 118,22-23 they have understood that the parable is actually a mirror that reflects their own opposition to Jesus ³⁵. This is certainly the case if we may regard "the builders" as a title which the leaders liked to apply to themselves. According to 12,12 the leaders draw the wrong conclusion from the parable. By looking for a pretext to detain Jesus, they follow the steps of the tenants and consciously set in motion a scenario which they know will have a fatal ending for themselves.

      2. The Targum and 4Q500

      The rendition of Isa 5,1-7 in the Targum Jonathan strongly differs from the Hebrew text ³⁶. As in the LXX, almost the entire