Jeremiah 31:5

Jer 31:5 Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat [them] as common things.

Ver. 5. Thou shalt yet plant vines.] Profunda pax erit: nemo te perterrefaciet. Thou shalt have plenty, peace, and security.

The planters shall plant them, and shall eat them as common things,] i.e., Shall have God’s good leave and liking so to do. Heb., Shall profane them, i.e., not abuse them, but use them freely, even to an honest affluence. See Lev 19:23. {See Trapp on "Lev 19:23"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jer 31:5. Thou shalt yet plant vines — Building and planting are commonly joined together; upon the mountains of Samaria — Samaria, being the metropolis of the ten tribes, seems to be put for the kingdom of Israel, as it is distinct from that of Judah. According to which interpretation the mountains of Samaria are equivalent to the mountains of Israel, and therefore the words imply, that the deliverance here spoken of should extend to Israel as well as Judah. The planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things — After they have planted them they shall eat the fruits thereof, according to the promise contained in the parallel texts, (Isa 65:21; Amo 9:14,) whereas, God had threatened as a curse, that, in case of their disobedience, when they had planted their vines, another should eat the fruit, Deu 28:30. The verb חללו, translated, eat them as common things, alludes to the law that forbade the fruit of any young trees to be eaten till the fifth year of their bearing. For the first three years they were to be considered as in a state of uncircumcision or uncleanness. In the fourth year the fruit was holy to the Lord. But after that time it became free for the owner’s use, Lev 19:23-25. See also Deu 20:6; and Deu 28:30; where the same verb is used for eating of the fruit of a plantation without restraint. Here, therefore, a promise is given directly opposite to the above-mentioned threat, namely, That the persons who planted the vineyards on the hills of Samaria should not be compelled to give up the fruit of their labours to others, but should themselves remain in the land, and enjoy the produce of their plantations unmolested.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31:5 Samaria was located in north-central Israel.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Because the Israelites, which were the ten tribes never returned to Samaria, therefore this must be spiritually understood under the kingdom of Christ, which was the restoration of the true Israel.

That is, shall eat the fruit thereof, as Lev. 19:23-25; Deut. 20:6.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Samaria--the metropolis of the ten tribes; here equivalent to Israel. The mountainous nature of their country suited the growth of the vine.

eat . . . as common--literally, "shall profane," that is, shall put to common use. For the first three years after planting, the vine was "not to be eaten of"; on the fourth year the fruit was to be "holy to praise the Lord withal"; on the fifth year the fruit was to be eaten as common, no longer restricted to holy use (Lev 19:23-25; compare Deu 20:6; Deu 28:30, Margin). Thus the idea here is, "The same persons who plant shall reap the fruits"; it shall no longer be that one shall plant and another reap the fruit.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 5. Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria] This was the regal city of the Israelites, as Jerusalem was of the Jews.

Shall eat them as common things.] By the law of Moses no man was permitted to eat of the fruit of his vineyard till the fifth year after planting. For the first three years it was considered uncircumcised, unclean, not fit to be eaten; in the fourth year it was holy to the Lord, the fruit belonged to Him; in the fifth year he might use it for himself, Le 19:23-25. But in the time here mentioned the fruit should be considered common-lawful at all times to be eaten.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The verb חלל, chelal, means to profane, but it means also to apply to common use. The expression is taken from the Law; for it was not lawful to eat of the fruit of the vine until after the fourth year; for its uncircumcision as it were remained in the vine, so that its fruit was unclean. Then its first-fruits were offered to God; afterwards every one enjoyed his vintage. (Leviticus 19:23-25) But at the same time Jeremiah had respect to the curses which we read of elsewhere,

“Thou shalt plant a vineyard, and others shall eat its fruit.” (Deuteronomy 28:30)

What did he then mean by these words? even that the country would, for a time, be so deserted, that there would be no vines on the richest and the most fertile mountains. The mountains of Samaria were rich in vines; and when vines on these were cut down, there was a dreadful desolation. When, therefore, the Prophet says, they shall yet plant a vineyard, he intimates that the land would be desolate for a time; so also when he says, I will yet build thee, he reminds the Jews, that they were to bear with resignation the judgment of God, while they could see nothing but desolation through the whole land.

This, then, is what the word yet intimates: but when he promised that there would be vines again on the mountains of Samaria, he adds, that they who planted them would enjoy the fruit. Here, then, is an additional blessing: it would have availed them nothing to plant or set vines, except this blessing of God was added; for it is a very grievous thing to be deprived of a possession which we have cultivated, and on which we have spent much labor. He then who has diligently planted vines, and he who has cultivated his land, if driven into exile, feels deeply wounded in his mind, when he sees that his vines and his land are in the possession of strangers. Hence the Prophet here intimates that God’s favor would be certain, because he would not only give leisure to the Jews, when they returned, to plant vines, but would also cause them to enjoy the fruit in peace and quietness. They shall then profane, that is, apply to their own use, in the fifth year, the fruit produced by the vines, as though he had said, “They shall dwell, without disturbance, in their own inheritance, when once they shall have returned to it.”

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(5) Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria . . .—The mention of Samaria shows that the prophet is thinking of the restoration of the northern kingdom, as well as of Judah, under the rule of the true King. In the Hebrew words “shall eat them as common things” we have a singular train of associations. The primary meaning of the verb is to “profane.” The rule of Lev_19:23-24, based partly, perhaps, on grounds of culture, partly with a symbolic meaning, required that a vineyard for three years after it was planted should be treated as “uncircumcised” (i.e., that no use should be made of the fruit), in the fourth year the fruit was to “be holy to praise the Lord with,” and in the fifth the planter might take the fruit for himself. So accordingly in Deu_20:6 we have, as one of the laws affecting war, that if a man had planted a vineyard and had not made it common—the same word as that used here—i.e., had not got beyond the fixed period of consecration, he might be exempted from military service, lest he should die and another eat of it. Compare also Deu_28:30, where the English “gather” answers, as the marginal reading shows, to the same verb. What is meant here, therefore, is, in contrast with the chances and changes of a time of war, that the planters of the vineyard should not be disturbed in their possession of it. They should not plant, and another eat thereof. (Comp. Isa_65:22; Deu_28:30.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5. shalt thou plant vineyards, etc.] As for several years these would yield no fruit of value, the words imply a return of settled prosperity.

Samaria] A post-exilic writer would not have mentioned Jerusalem’s rival in such a connexion.

shall enjoy] mg. Heb. profane, or, make common. The fruit borne by a tree for the first three years was not to be gathered, that of the fourth year was to be consecrated to God, while that of the fifth year the owner might eat. See Lev_19:23-25; Deu_20:6; Deu_28:30. The word which in Deut. (“used,” “use”) expresses the handing over of the fruit to the owner’s use is that here rendered “enjoy.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria,.... Mountains are proper places for vines, and which generally produce the best wine; but vines are not to be understood merely literally, or as only expressive of the outward peace, plenty, and prosperity of Samaria, with other places given to the Jews, as Josephus (k) observes they were by the Demetrii; which they might improve by planting vines, &c. but figuratively of the planting of Gospel churches there, comparable to vines, Sol 2:13; which was done in the first times of the Gospel; see Joh 4:29; and which was a pledge of what will be done in those parts hereafter in the latter day:

the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things; the fruit of the vines planted by them. The allusion is to the law of eating the fruit of trees planted on the fifth year of their plantation, when, and not till then, it was lawful to eat of it; but here the planters might eat of it as soon as it was produced, even as the fruit of the fifth year, which was common and lawful, Lev 19:23. The "planters" are the ministers of the Gospel; such an one the Apostle Paul was; who are instruments in founding and raising churches, and of planting members in them, as well as of watering, and making them fruitful; and who receive themselves benefit from hence; not only in things temporal, but spiritual; it giving them a real pleasure and satisfaction to see the plants grow and thrive, which they have planted, Co1 3:6, Psa 92:14.

(k) Antiqu. Jud. l. 13. c. 2. sect. 3.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Shall eat them as common things - Rather, shall eat the fruit. Literally, as in the margin. For three years the fruit of a newly-planted tree was not to be touched, that of the fourth year was consecrated to God, but on the fifth year it was profane, i. e., unconsecrated, and so might be applied to the owner’s use Lev 19:23-25.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Samaria. Its wine was famous, Judges ix. 27. (Josephus, Jewish Wars iii. 2.) --- Time, three years being elapsed, Leviticus xix. 35. (Calmet) --- Protestants, "plant, and shall eat (marginal note, profane) them as common things." They shall not be too greedy, (Haydock) but shall have leisure to enjoy the fruits of their labour. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Samaria was the metropolis of the ten tribes, called so from Shemer, who owned the hill: Omri king of Israel bought it, and built Samaria upon it. Mountains in many places are judged the most convenient places for vineyards, being free from shades, and most exposed to the sun. God promiseth them a liberty to plant, and that they should enjoy their plantations, eating them as common things, which they could not do till the fifth year, as appears from Lev 19:23-25. The three first years it was to be accounted by them as uncircumcised, that is, unclean; in the fourth year it was to be holy to the Lord; in the fifth year they might eat the fruit of it, as any common thing that was not unclean, nor yet devoted and consecrated to the Lord.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

5. Mountains of Samaria — Mentioned as the capital and sanctuary of the ten tribes. For many generations they had been exiled from this abode of their strength and pride; but now the promise is, that they shall eat their grapes there as common things; margin, shall profane them. For the first three years after planting the vines the Jews were forbidden to pluck the grapes, and the fruit of the fourth year was to be consecrated to the Lord, (see Lev_19:23-25; Deu_20:6,) so that not until the fifth year could the fruits be eaten as “common things.” This vividly suggests permanence of abode.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The mountains of Samaria. "Samaria" is used, equally with Ephraim, for the northern kingdom. Shall eat them as common things; rather, shall enjoy the fruit. The word, however, literally means shall profane them. The more common phrase, "shall eat the fruit," occurs in Isa_65:21, where the same promise is given. The law was that newly planted fruit trees should be left alone for three years; that in the fourth year their fruit should be consecrated to God; and that in the fifth year their fruit might be "profaned," i.e. devoted to ordinary uses. (comp. Deu_20:6 Deu_28:30)

Work yet to be found in the vineyard.

Here is to be an evidence of the everlasting love spoken of in ver. 3.

I THE RESTORATION OF WHAT HAD BEEN LOST. This is not the first prophecy in the book concerning vineyards. It had been declared that the nation from afar should eat up the vines and the fig trees of Israel. (Jer_5:17) "I will surely consume, saith the Lord. There shall be no grapes on the vine". (Jer_8:13) The bright prophecy here could not have been made but for the dark prophecies going before. The literal fulfillment of the prophecy is, of course, the least part of it. The deepest meaning is that, whatever we may lose through God"s chastisements, we shall get much more in a spiritual and truly abiding way.

II THE FUTURE IS DESCRIBED IN TERMS OF THE PAST. One of the occupations of the past had been to plant vineyards in Samaria. What associations there must have been with the sunny slopes! It is the way of God to speak of future comforts and glories in terms drawn from the present and from things around us. The future will give opportunities for profitable work. We shall always have some place to work in which shall be as the mountains of Samaria, and some work to do which shall be as the planting of vines. Fruitless toil and crushed hopes are but a disciplining episode in the career of those who are the heirs of eternal life.

III THE STABILITY IMPLIED IN THIS PROMISE. Five years, according to the Mosaic Law, had to pass from the planting to the time of fruitage. The prophecy was therefore a prophecy of peaceful settlement. The whole outlook gave a sense of security. Looked at in this light, one sees the reason of previous overthrowing and destruction. The aim is to get down to something solid and stable, to purify the heart from unworthy aims and love of the fleeting. The things that are shaken are removed, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

IV THE INCLUSIVENESS OF THIS PROMISE. Vineyards are to be planted, but vineyards are not the first necessity of life. To promise the planting of vineyards implied the promise of other things. The corn and the oil went along with the wine. The vineyard is doubtless here mentioned as a symbol of joy. He who is able to plant a vineyard is able to plant all good things. Note the evidence we have of the temporal fulfilment of this promise. From vineyards our Lord drew some of his most suggestive teaching. We may be sure they had often been seen by him, and their spiritual significance apprehended. Vine planting was a suitable industry, an industry to be expected in the land out of which the spies had brought the ponderous cluster of grapes. Y.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Samaria - Samaria was the metropolis of the ten tribes. Mountains are convenient for vineyards, being free from shades and exposed to the sun. Shall plant - God promises them a liberty to plant, and that they should enjoy their plantations, eating them as common things, which they could not do 'till the fifth year.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

and redeem [them] in the fourth year, they shall profane their produce by redeeming it with money.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.