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.

prophet formulates the contrast between the Lord's positive expectations and the people's negative output ¹¹. This contrast echoes the antithesis already mentioned in vv. 2.4. The corruption of the judiciary in particular is denounced here; it is a source of social abuse.

       I will now conclude this section with a few remarks about the effect of the text on the listeners. This requires some insight into the literary genre of Isa 5,1-7 ¹². The text itself contains a signal concerning the literary genre that is used here. In v. 1, the prophet says that he is going to sing a song (cf. 23,15-16 and 26,1). He gives the impression that his song is about a fictitious situation. In this way he masks his real intentions. He chooses this line of action to trick his audience into passing judgment. It is manipulated into seconding the crushing judgment which the owner himself pronounces on his vineyard in vv. 5-6. Only from the commentary in v. 7 it appears that the audience has, in fact, passed judgment on itself.

       Thus, in Isa 5,1-7, two different literary forms are cleverly linked up: the whole poem takes the form of a song, but that song has the function of a parable. This is in fact a juridical parable ¹³.