John Chrysostom, On Isaiah

memory. For you know that even now the other Books are not even known by name to the many; but the treatise of the psalms everyone has on their lips and these very songs; so that it is shown through the things themselves how great is the profit from the melody. For this reason he himself says: I will sing to my beloved a song of my beloved for my vineyard. A song for the beloved vineyard, he says; I will sing about the beloved himself. For I sing to him, he says, and the subject of the song is about him and his affairs. But if, being about to accuse, he calls him beloved and well-beloved, do not be surprised. For this is the greatest provision for an accusation, that having been loved and having enjoyed such favor from God, they did not even so become better. For indeed another prophet, alluding to this, said: I found Israel like a grape in the wilderness, I saw their fathers as the first-fruit in the fig tree; showing their desirability and loveliness through these fruits; but desirable and lovely not on account of their own virtue, but on account of the goodness of God. And what he says is this, that I loved them as one finding a grape in the wilderness or as one finding a first-fruit in a fig tree. For if the examples are unworthy of God, they are suitable for their gluttony. But they, he says, after enjoying such love, became alienated and went in to Baal-peor. So indeed here also he calls him beloved and well-beloved, showing that God on his part showed everything, not with them beginning, but with God taking the lead. But they, not even after these things, showed themselves worthy of the benefit, but showed all the opposite things. A vineyard came to be for the beloved on a horn, in a fertile place. By the name of the vineyard he made manifest all the providence and the care concerning them.

5.2 Indeed, he does not stop at this, but also enumerates the other benefits; and first he does this from the position of the place; for "on a horn, in a fertile place," the one he said praising the nature of the land, the other the position; which David also said in a psalm, that Jerusalem, mountains are round about her, and the Lord is round about his people. For he walled it, he says, also by the position of the place; however, he was not satisfied with this, but he himself became the greatest wall for it; which this one also hints at, saying: "On a horn," declaring both the impregnable and the invincible nature of the place and, before this, the help from God, from the metaphor of the horn of an ox. For such a popular proverb has also been brought forth concerning those who flee to some safe place. For since the bull is the strongest of all, and of the animal itself the horn is the stronger part; for he uses it as a weapon; because of its invincibility, the many are accustomed to say this; and Scripture often calls those who are in safety a horn of a unicorn. "On a horn," therefore, he says here, in safety, on high, which he said at the beginning: I have begotten sons and exalted them. In a fertile place; which Moses said: A land flowing with milk and honey. And I put a hedge about it, and I trenched it. Hedge he says is either the wall or the law, or his providence. For the law surrounded them more safely than a wall. And I trenched it, that is, I made the security strong. For since a hedge is often easy to attack, I surrounded them, he says, with another alliance. And I planted a Sorek vine. He persists in the metaphor, which one must not interpret literally, but knowing the purpose, be content with this. And Sorek here means true, noble, not of the worthless plants, nor of the inferior ones, but of the approved and first ones. For there are many kinds of vines. And I built a tower and a winepress in its midst. Some say <tower> means the temple and winepress the altar, since the fruits of each one's virtue and the offerings and all the sacrifices were gathered there; I, however, will say this, which I have already said and will now say, that one must attend to the purpose of the metaphor. For through

μνήμην. Ἴστε γοῦν ὅτι καὶ νῦν τὰ μὲν ἄλλα οὐδ' ἐξ ὀνόματος τοῖς πολλοῖς ἐστι Βιβλία γνώριμα· τὴν δέ γε τῶν ψαλμῶν πραγματείαν ἐπὶ στόματος ἅπαντες φέρουσι καὶ αὐτὰς ταύτας τὰς ᾠδάς· οὕτως ὡς δι' αὐτῶν τῶν πραγμάτων δείκνυται, πόσον ἀπὸ τῆς μελῳδίας τὸ κέρδος ἐστί. ∆ιὰ δὴ τοῦτο καὶ αὐτός φησιν· Ἄσω δὲ τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ ᾆσμα τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ μου τῷ ἀμπελῶνί μου. Ἆσμα τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ, φησίν, ἀμπελῶνι· ᾄσω περὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἠγαπημένου. Καὶ αὐτῷ γὰρ ᾄδω, φησί, καὶ ἡ ὑπόθεσις τῆς ᾠδῆς περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν αὐτοῦ πραγμάτων ἐστίν. Εἰ δὲ μέλλων κατηγορεῖν ἀγαπητὸν καλεῖ καὶ ἠγαπημένον, μὴ θαυμάσῃς. Καὶ τοῦτο γὰρ μέγιστον κατηγορίας ἐφόδιον, ὅτι δὴ ἀγαπηθέντες καὶ τοσαύτης ἀπολαύσαντες παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῆς εὐνοίας, οὐδὲ οὕτω βελτίους ἐγένοντο. Τοῦτο γοῦν καὶ ἕτερος προφήτης αἰνιττόμενος ἔλεγεν· Ὡς σταφυλὴν ἐν ἐρήμῳ εὗρον τὸν Ἰσραήλ, ὡς σκοπὸν ἐν συκῇ πρώϊμον εἶδον πατέρας αὐτῶν· τὸ ποθεινὸν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπέραστον διὰ τῶν καρπῶν τούτων ἐνδεικνύμενος· ποθεινὸν δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ ἐπέραστον οὐ παρὰ τὴν οἰκείαν ἀρετήν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγαθότητα. Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν, ὅτι ἐγὼ μὲν οὕτως ἠγάπησα, ὡς ἄν τις σταφυλὴν εὑρὼν ἐν ἐρήμῳ ἢ ὡς ἄν τις σκοπὸν ἐν συκῇ. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἀνάξια τοῦ Θεοῦ τὰ παραδείγματα, ἀλλὰ κατάλληλα τῆς ἐκείνων γαστριμαργίας. Αὐτοὶ δέ, φησί, τοσαύτης ἀπολαύσαντες τῆς ἀγάπης, ἀπηλλοτριώθησαν καὶ εἰσῆλθον πρὸς τὸν Βεελφεγώρ. Οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἠγαπημένον αὐτὸν καλεῖ καὶ ἀγαπητὸν δεικνὺς ὅτι ὁ μὲν Θεὸς τὰ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ πάντα ἐπεδείξατο, οὐκ αὐτῶν ἀρξαμένων, ἀλλὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡγησαμένου. Ἐκεῖνοι δὲ οὐδὲ μετὰ ταῦτα ἀξίους ἑαυτοὺς τῆς εὐεργεσίας ἔδειξαν, ἀλλὰ τἀναντία ἐπεδείξαντο ἅπαντα. Ἀμπελὼν ἐγενήθη τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ ἐν κέρατι, ἐν τόπῳ πίονι. Τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος πᾶσαν ἐνέφηνε τὴν πρόνοιαν καὶ τὴν περὶ αὐτοὺς ἐπιμέλειαν.

5.2 Οὐ μὴν ἵσταται μέχρι τούτου, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ἕτερα ἀπαριθμεῖται εὐεργετήματα· καὶ πρότερον ἀπὸ τῆς θέσεως τοῦ τόπου τοῦτο ποιεῖ· τὸ γάρ· ἐν κέρατι, ἐν τόπῳ πίονι, τὸ μὲν τὴν φύσιν τῆς γῆς ἐπαινῶν ἔλεγε, τὸ δὲ τὴν θέσιν· ὅπερ καὶ ὁ ∆αυῒδ ψάλλων ἔφησεν, ὅτι Ἱερουσαλήμ, ὄρη κύκλῳ αὐτῆς, καὶ Κύριος κύκλῳ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ. Ἐτείχισε μὲν γὰρ αὐτήν, φησί, καὶ τῇ θέσει τοῦ τόπου· πλὴν οὐκ ἠρκέσθη τούτῳ, ἀλλὰ τὸ μέγιστον τεῖχος αὐτὸς αὐτῇ γέγονεν· ὃ δὴ καὶ οὗτος αἰνίττεται λέγων· Ἐν κέρατι, τό τε ἀχείρωτον καὶ τὸ ἀκαταγώνιστον τοῦ τόπου καὶ πρὸ τούτου τὴν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ βοήθειαν δηλῶν ἀπὸ μεταφορᾶς τοῦ κέρως τοῦ βοός. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ παροιμία τοιαύτη δημώδης ἐξενήνεκται περὶ τῶν εἰς ἀσφαλές τι χωρίον καταφευγόντων. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἰσχυρότατον πάντων ὁ ταῦρος, αὐτοῦ δὲ τοῦ ζώου τὸ ἰσχυρότερον τὸ κέρας· ὅπλῳ γὰρ αὐτῷ κέχρηται· διὰ τὸ δυσχείρωτον, τοῦτο εἰώθασι λέγειν οἱ πολλοί· καὶ ἡ Γραφὴ δὲ πολλάκις κέρας μονοκέρωτος καλεῖ τοὺς ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ ὄντας. Ἐν κέρατι οὖν ἐνταῦθά φησιν, ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ, ἐν ὕψει, ὅπερ ἀρχόμενος ἔλεγεν· Υἱοὺς ἐγέννησα καὶ ὕψωσα. Ἐν τόπῳ πίονι· ὅπερ ὁ Μωϋσῆς εἶπεν· Γῆν ῥέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι. Καὶ φραγμὸν περιέθηκα, καὶ ἐχαράκωσα. Φραγμὸν ἢ τὸ τεῖχός φησιν ἢ τὸν νόμον, ἢ τὴν αὐτοῦ πρόνοιαν. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ νόμος τείχους ἀσφαλέστερον αὐτοῖς περιέκειτο. Καὶ ἐχαράκωσα, τουτέστιν, ἰσχυρὰν τὴν ἀσφάλειαν ἐποιησάμην. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πολλάκις φραγμὸς εὐεπιχείρητον καὶ ἑτέραν, φησί, περιέβαλον αὐτοῖς συμμαχίαν. Καὶ ἐφύτευσα ἄμπελον Σωρήχ. Ἐπιμένει τῇ μεταφορᾷ, ἣν οὐ δεῖ κατὰ λέξιν ἑρμηνεύειν, ἀλλὰ τὸν σκοπὸν εἰδότας ἀρκεῖσθαι τούτῳ. Σωρὴχ δὲ ἐνταῦθα ἀληθινήν φησιν, εὐγενῆ, οὐχὶ τῶν φαύλων φυτῶν, οὐδὲ τῶν καταδεεστέρων, ἀλλὰ τῶν δοκίμων καὶ πρώτων. Πολλὰ γὰρ ἀμπέλων γένη. Καὶ ᾠκοδόμησα πύργον καὶ προλήνιον ἐν μέσῳ αὐτοῦ. Τινὲς <πύργον> τὸν ναόν φασι καὶ προλήνιον τὸ θυσιαστήριον, ἅτε τῶν καρπῶν ἐκεῖ συναγομένων τῆς ἀρετῆς τῆς ἑκάστου καὶ τῶν προσφορῶν καὶ τῶν θυσιῶν ἁπασῶν· ἐγὼ μέντοι τοῦτο, ὅπερ ἔφθην εἰπὼν καὶ νῦν ἐρῶ, ὅτι τῷ σκοπῷ δεῖ προσέχειν τῆς μεταφορᾶς. ∆ιὰ γὰρ