Isaiah 28:8Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

However, the leaders of the vineyard, foolish and unwise, recognized Him as the Son and lord of the estate yet conspired together, saying among themselves, this is the heir: come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance (Matthew 21:38). Therefore, this counsel is indeed cursed, a fact echoed by the blessed David, who states, ‘Why do the nations rage, and the people plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One’ (Psalms 2:1, 2). Furthermore, for those who have acted similarly, the call for destruction is clear: Destroy me, and do not build me up. The wicked have turned from you, and have devised schemes that they cannot achieve (Psalms 27:5; Psalms 20:12). To the extent that their malicious plans held strength, they killed the Son, believing they would claim the Lord's inheritance. Yet in His divinity, He rose again, vanquishing the wicked—those deceitful and foolish stewards—and entrusted His possessions to others, specifically to the holy apostles, evangelists, and teachers of the sacred churches. Therefore, the council of the Jews is to be condemned, motivated by their own licentiousness. Such licentiousness is evident when servants aspire to elevate themselves above their Master and to claim for themselves the inheritance that was allotted only to them as tenants, believing that the honors of the priesthood and the privileges of their elevated status constitute adequate reward.

The Lord will become the triumphant crown for the remnant of Israel, comprising the two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, embodying the spirit of discernment for the ruler in authority, undoubtedly for Hezekiah, king of Judah, and serving as a fortress for those who, following the devastation of their land, sought refuge in the city. This is attested by the prophet when the angel struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand armed Assyrians. Yet even Judah and Benjamin indulged in the wine of idolatry, turning away from true temple worship to venerate images of demons, failing to recognize the Lord who sees all. Their tables and all their rituals brimmed with filth and corruption, defiling not only the temple but also the high places and wooded areas, leaving no sanctuary for the Lord. This is to be understood in a literal sense.

In terms of its allegorical interpretation, we will follow the previous explanation while also considering the Septuagint. After the devil has consumed the heretics who have ascended the lofty mountain of pride, the Lord will be a glorious crown for those who remain faithful within the Church, a small number indeed compared to those who have strayed. Yet, His spirit of discernment will be evident in judgment, as He cleanses the impurities of Zion's sons and daughters with this discernment. However, anyone stained with blood will not be purified by this spirit, but rather through consuming fire. He will serve as a stronghold for the people, shielding them from those intoxicated by the wine of vipers and led astray by deception.

It has been observed that wine is produced from grape berries, while sikera, which Aquila translated as intoxication, refers to any inebriating beverage that distorts one's mind, whether derived from wheat, barley, millet, fruit juice, palm fruit, or others. Similarly, the priests and prophets of the heretics, consumed by sikera and wine, include figures such as Iriska, Maximilla, and their leader Montanus, who spoke without understanding. Wine is consumed when there is misinterpretation and distortion of the Holy Scriptures, and sikera when secular wisdom and dialectical nets ensnare the truth, resembling not bonds but rather phantoms—mere shadows soon to vanish. A curse awaits those who pursue godlessness and act solely out of greed. The Apostle warns of similar deceivers: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1).

Another interpretation suggests that when the Lord brings down the scribes, Pharisees, and their accomplice Judas—the traitor who was a thief from the start, stealing from the money bag designated for the poor—He will become the hope and glorious crown for the Jews who believe in Him. This undoubtedly refers to the apostles, whom He will uphold for the proclamation of the Gospel, ensuring they do not shed blood for Him prematurely. For all the scribes and Pharisees, including priests and false prophets, were intoxicated by the wine and sackcloth previously mentioned. Their nets and plots were futile, as Judas betrayed for silver while the priests bribed him in fear of being cast out.

The Lord, having fashioned a whip from cords, expelled those selling oxen and sheep from the temple, overturning the tables of those who sold doves, declaring, “It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a den of thieves” (Matt. 21:13, John 2:16). In a mysterious sense, we interpret “For all their tables are full of vomit and uncleanness, so that there is no more room” as applicable to heretics and to the scribes and Pharisees, their teachings and decrees being full of defilement. They distort and misinterpret the Holy Scriptures, rendering them lifeless to the body of faith, spewing out rank and insipid lies, providing no place for God within them. I find it curious that Theodotion, rather than using the Hebrew term for vomit and uncleanness, chose a phrase that seems unique, which I could not find elsewhere in Greek literature. This compound term in Hebrew combines 'ci' for vomit and 'soa' for unclean, thus labeling anything that induces nausea and vomiting as a result of spiritual offense.