Jeremiah 31:5

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

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(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 Leviticus 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 Deuteronomy 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 Deuteronomy 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. Isaiah 65:22; Deuteronomy 28:30.)

Benson Commentary

Jeremiah 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, (Isaiah 65:21; Amos 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, Deuteronomy 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, Leviticus 19:23-25. See also Deuteronomy 20:6; and Deuteronomy 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.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

31:1-9 God assures his people that he will again take them into covenant relation to himself. When brought very low, and difficulties appear, it is good to remember that it has been so with the church formerly. But it is hard under present frowns to take comfort from former smiles; yet it is the happiness of those who, through grace, are interested in the love of God, that it is an everlasting love, from everlasting in the counsels, to everlasting in the continuance. Those whom God loves with this love, he will draw to himself, by the influences of his Spirit upon their souls. When praising God for what he has done, we must call upon him for the favours his church needs and expects. When the Lord calls, we must not plead that we cannot come; for he that calls us, will help us, will strengthen us. The goodness of God shall lead them to repentance. And they shall weep for sin with more bitterness, and more tenderness, when delivered out of their captivity, than when groaning under it. If we take God for our Father, and join the church of the first-born, we shall want nothing that is good for us. These predictions doubtless refer also to a future gathering of the Israelites from all quarters of the globe. And they figuratively describe the conversion of sinners to Christ, and the plain and safe way in which they are led.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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 Leviticus 19:23-25.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

5. 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 (Le 19:23-25; compare De 20:6; 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.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

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 Leviticus 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.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

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 John 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, Leviticus 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, 1 Corinthians 3:6, Psalm 92:14.

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

Geneva Study Bible

Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of {g} Samaria: the planters shall plant, and {h} shall eat them as common things.

(g) Because the Israelites who 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.

(h) That is, will eat the fruit of it, as in Le 19:23-25, De 20:6.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

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 Leviticus 19:23-25; Deuteronomy 20:6; Deuteronomy 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.”

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 5. - 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 Isaiah 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. Deuteronomy 20:6; Deuteronomy 28:30). Jeremiah 31:5

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

"The mountains of Samaria," i.e., of the kingdom of Ephraim (1 Kings 13:22; 2 Kings 17:24), shall again be planted with vineyards, and the planters, too, shall enjoy the fruits in peace - not plant for strangers, so that enemies shall destroy the fruits; cf. Isaiah 62:8., Isaiah 65:21. The words "planters plant and profane" (i.e., those who plant the vineyards are also to enjoy the fruit of them) are to be explained by the law in Leviticus 19:23., according to which the fruits of newly planted fruit trees, and according to Judges 9:27, vines also, were not to be eaten during the first three years; those of the fourth year were to be presented as a thank-offering to the Lord; and only those of the fifth year were to be applied to common use. This application to one's own use is expressed in Deuteronomy 20:6 by חלּל, properly, to make common.