Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 7:23

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, shall be for briers and thorns." — Isaiah 7:23 (ASV)

Where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings. —The words seem to contain an allusive reference to Song of Solomon 8:11, and are therefore worth noting as bearing on the date of that book. There, however, the sum represents the annual produce of the vineyard; here, it refers to the rent of the vines at a shekel each—a high rent, apparently, indicating a choice quality of vine.

The costly vineyards of the hills of Judah should be left to run wild without a keeper (Isaiah 5:10), and thorns and briers would rapidly cover them. “Silverling” was an old English word for any silver coin, and appears in Tyndale’s version of Acts 19:19, and Coverdale’s of Judges 9:4; Judges 16:5; here it stands for “shekel.” The modern rent is said to be a piastre (2¼d.) for each vine; the shekel was worth 2s. 3d. (Kay).