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.

      A second relevant text to be considered is 4Q500. Fragment 1 of this papyrus manuscript contains the remains of seven lines of writing, which are translated by F. García Martínez as follows ³⁸:

[...] may your mulberry trees blossom .... [...]

[...] your winepress, built of stone [...]

[...] at the gate of the holy height [...]

[...] your plantation and the channels of your glory [...]

[...] the branches of your delight to ... [...]

[...] .... [....]

      According to García Martínez the last line is blank. Baillet prints the following letters ³⁹: hkm. Presumably it should read hkmrk: "your vineyard" ⁴⁰.

      The fragment, which probably dates from the first century BCE, is so short that only with the greatest reserve can something be said about the words it contains. An obvious possibility to open up this text is to find out whether the many botanical references might indicate a relation with the Hebrew bible. That study was carried out by Baumgarten and by Brooke ⁴¹. These scholars come to the same conclusion: "your winepress" and "your delights" refer to Isa 5,2 and Isa 5,7 respectively. The description of the wine-press as "built of stones" picks up the verb )nb from Isa 5,2. If the last line can indeed be read as containing the words "your vineyard", the fragment contains as many as four allusions to Isa 5,1-7.

      The interpretation of these references is supported by a number of texts which have been known to us longer. The first is the version of Isa 5,2 in the Targum. There the vineyard is the promised land. The tower and the winepress probably refer to the temple and the altar in Jerusalem. This is not entirely certain, for in Isa 5,5 the Targum speaks of "the place of their sanctuaries". This plural indicates that also other cult centres besides the temple in Jerusalem are in the author's mind. The second text is t.Suk 3,15. Here, R. Jose takes Isa 5,2 to refer to the cult centre in Jerusalem: he links the