Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
Binding his foal unto the vine ..., х `ayir (H5895)] - a young but full-grown donkey (Genesis 32:16; Isaiah 30:6; Zechariah 9:9). Gesenius renders it, 'then shall he bind,' etc. The condition of Shiloh's kingdom is described in highly figurative terms as the reign of rural peace and plenty. The donkey is the beast of burden principally employed in the Negeb; and while under the image of the lion the warlike aspects of the tribe of Judah were aptly represented, its domestic economy, the routine of its daily life and labour was as pertinently symbolized by the donkey.
Unto the choice vine, х lasoreeqaah (H8321)] - to the vine of Sorek, a vine of a superior kind, remarkable for its blue or purple grapes, so called from a valley of that name (Judges 6:4), between Ascalon and Gaza, running far up eastward in the tribe of Judah, and along with Eschol, close to Hebron.
He washed his garments in wine, х cuwt (H5496) clothing (a hapax legomena). Judah's settlement was allocated in a country well adapted for vineyards. It was for the most part mountainous, and consequently unsuitable for agricultural produce. But it was well suited to the cultivation of vines; and it was in this article that the opulence of this tribe consisted. Vestiges of the ancient terraced vineyards are still to be traced all around Hebron, and among the mountains south of Jerusalem. In this district are still produced the finest vines in Palestine. There are excellent pasturages also comprehended in the portion of this tribe; and even still the description given of it by the patriarch is verified by the scenes that are witnessed in that mountainous region. Bovet ('Voyage en Terre Sainte') states that he saw donkeys feeding on the herbage, with their halters attached to the foot of vines and fig trees, and frequently the cattle are turned into the vineyards, after the vintage, to browse on the vines. Other travelers, who have remarked the extremely white teeth of the peasantry, were reminded of the prediction, "His eyes shall be red (animated) with wine (the grape-juice), and his teeth white with milk." With regard to the colour of the eyes, they are described as х chakliyliy (H2447)] not red, but dark-dark flashing from wine-the word being connected with kol, the black lead ore with which Eastern ladies paint their eyelids, to give sprightliness and life to their eyes. It is thought to add great beauty to the countenance; and hence, the Septuagint renders this passage as: charopoioi hoi ofthalmoi autou huper oinon, 'His eyes shall be graceful with wine.' Augustine has, 'oculi fulgentes.'