Isaiah 5:1

Now will I sing. Isaiah is at times a prophet of doom, and at times a prophet of hope. He speaks in kindly, endearing terms, and then in indignant words of anger and fury. In ch. 1:10 he addressed the leaders of Jerusalem as “rulers of Sodom” and the people as “people of Gomorrah.” Now he presents himself to Israel as a minstrel, singing a patriotic theme that would delight his people. Compare many of the psalms of David and the Song of Solomon (see Amos 6:5).

A song of my beloved. Like some of his fellow prophets, Isaiah was a skilled poet and presented many of his messages in the form of poetry and song (chs. 6:10-13; 9:2-21; 10:1-11, 13-19,28-34; 11:1-9, 12-16; 12; 13:2-22; 14:4-21,24-32; 15; 16:1-11; 17:1-6, 10-14; 18; 19:1-15; 21:1-15; 22:1-8; etc.).

My wellbeloved. The “wellbeloved” who had the vineyard was God; the vineyard was the nation of Israel (see Ps. 80:8-16; Matt. 21:33—41).

Fruitful hill. The “fruitful hill” was the land of Canaan, possibly with particular reference to Jerusalem.