The Parable of the Wicked Tenants in Context ... - Get a Free Blog

to expect in a Second Temple Jewish exegesis of this text. We can categorize these tendencies
into 4 categories: 1) allegory, 2) object of judgment, 3) means of judgment, and 4) recontextualization.
1) Allegory. A common element of all the texts that we have examined is that they treat
the Song of the Vineyard as an allegory. This is not surprising nor controversial given that 5:7 in
the Song itself identifies itself as an allegory and offers some interpretation of its allegorical elements.
While all texts have this allegorical element to them, Targum Isaiah has highlighted this
by likening the Song of the Vineyard to a parable by its use of the word מתל which "is the equivalent
of the Hebrew ‏,משׁל 'to compare' or to 'recite a parable.'" 92 In providing the content of the
allegorical elements the version of the Song of the Vineyard in the Targum has lost any semblance
of a 'realistic' story and has become a full-blown allegorical tale.
2) Object of Judgment. Another common element that we have seen in the various interpretations
of the Song of the Vineyard is the object of judgment. The overwhelming majority of
interpretations of the Song of the Vineyard suggest that the divine judgment is not upon all of Israel
(or at least not primarily) but against its leadership. 4QpIsa b specifically notes that God
abandoned the 'men of Judah,' as evidenced by the use of the plural pronoun in ‏.עזבם Both
4Q500 and the Isaiah Targum envisioned the judgment in the context of the Temple, so while
judgment comes upon Israel in general, the specific reference to the Temple focuses our attention
there.
3) Means of Judgment. The MT suggests that judgment will come about in the destruction
of the vineyard. However, several of our texts, while still maintaining destruction as a means
of judgment have added the concept of the removal of the divine presence. The LXX changes the
MT's 'I will make it a wasteland' בתה)‏ ‏(ואשׁיתהו to 'I will abandon my vineyard' (ἀνήσω τὸν
92 Evans, Jesus, 398.
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