And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
ISAIAH 5:2KJVWhat does Isaiah 5:2 mean?
Isaiah 5:2 describes how someone carefully prepared a vineyard: they fenced it, cleared out the stones, planted the best vines, built a watchtower, and made a winepress, expecting it to produce good grapes, but instead it yielded wild, worthless grapes. The verse paints a picture of disappointment after much effort and care.
In this verse, the prophet Isaiah is speaking to the people of Judah, using a story about a vineyard to illustrate how God cared for His people and gave them every advantage. The careful preparation of the vineyard represents God’s actions for Israel, while the wild grapes symbolize the disappointing results—Israel’s unfaithfulness and injustice despite God’s care.
The Hebrew behind Isaiah 5:2
- "Fenced" (יְעַזְּקֵהוּ, ya'azqehu): This word means to put a protective barrier around something, emphasizing the care and effort to keep the vineyard safe from harm.
- "Planted" (וַיִּטָּעֵהוּ, vayitta'ehu): This word means to plant or set in the ground, highlighting the deliberate choice of the best vine (שׂוֹרֵק, soreq), which refers to a high-quality, cultivated grapevine.
- "Winepress" (יֶקֶב, yekev): This is a structure for pressing grapes to extract juice, showing that the owner fully expected a fruitful harvest.
- "Grapes" (עֲנָבִים, anavim) vs. "wild grapes" (בְּאֻשִׁים, be'ushim): The contrast between these words shows the expectation of good fruit and the reality of sour or worthless fruit, underlining the sense of disappointment.
Why Isaiah 5:2 matters
- Isaiah 5:2 helps clarify that God’s disappointment with Israel was not due to neglect, but rather to Israel’s response despite God’s careful provision and protection.
- The verse sets up the rest of Isaiah 5, where the consequences of Israel’s failure to live up to God’s care are explained; understanding this verse helps make sense of the coming warnings.
- The specific details—fencing, clearing stones, choosing the best vine—emphasize the thoroughness of God’s care, making the outcome of wild grapes all the more striking and tragic.