A Critical Analysis of the Genre and the Message of Isaiah 5:1-7

Abstract

Isaiah 5:1-7 has given rise to many varied and largely conflicting theories concerning both its genre and message.1 In fact, many renowned scholars concur that there is something wrong in the current approaches which tend to provide so many different solutions. Instead of proposing another methodology to an already cluttered area of study, this article wonders whether researchers have complicated a rather simple matter. Could it be that we are dealing with a straight forward parable? Perhaps scholars came up with many diverse theories because they allowed themselves to be diverted by catch-phrases and words such as ‘lover’ which led them to seek cross-references about sexual imagery and so forth. Or could they have been misled by legal elements in the passage to talk about a ‘juridical parable’ and so on? In brief, with these suspicions in mind, this article seeks a more simple explanation of the pericope. It will be argued that Isaiah 5:1-7 is a parable in which Yahweh wants a targeted group of people to appreciate why his threatened action is justified in the face of their injustices.