“He Filled Zion with Justice and Righteousness” The Composition of Isaiah 33 Not surprisingly, in the Isaiah-research, chapter 33 is considered a key passage. If Isa 34-35 and 36-39 are disregarded — as they often are — as late insertions, Isa 33 becomes the closing section of the so-called First-Isaianic collection. In modern investigations on the formation of biblical books the outstanding literary significance of opening and closing chapters has never been debated. Isa 33 is commonly viewed as a redactional text, i.e. one composed for this specific location to function either as an editorial bridge between the first and the second part of the book (1), or — more often — as a concluding summary to Isa 1-32 (2). At the same time, Isa 33 is a complicated text with intermittently shifting addressees, alternating time scale and different genres intersecting each other. In approaching this complexity, several exegetes assume that Isa 33 is composed of two (33,1-6; 33,7-24) (3) or three (33,1-6; 33,7-16; 33,17-24) (4) more or less independent compositions, brought together by a final editor. A few other scholars view the development of Isa 33 in terms of expansion of earlier (1) W.A.M. BEUKEN, “Jesaja 33 als Spiegeltext im Jesajabuch”, ETL 67 (1991) 5-35. Cf. also U. BERGES, Das Buch Jesaja. Komposition und Endgestalt (Herders Biblische Studien 16; Freiburg 1998) 247-248. (2) E.-J. WASCHKE, “Jesaja 33 und seine redaktionelle Funktion im Protojesajabuch”, Gott und Mensch im Dialog. Festschrift für Otto Kaiser zum 80. Geburtstag (ed. M. WITTE) (BZAW 365.1; Berlin 2003) 529-532. E. BOSSHARD- NEPUSTIL, Rezeptionen von Jesaia 1–39 im Zwölfprophetenbuch. Untersuchungen zur literarischen Verbindung von Prophetenbüchern in babylonischer und persischer Zeit (OBO 154; Freiburg – Göttingen 1997) 186, and Z. KUSTÁR, “Durch seine Wunden sind wir geheilt”. Eine Untersuchung zur Metaphorik von Israels Krankheit und Heilung im Jesajabuch (BWANT 154; Stuttgart 2002) 86- 87, 90, 93-94, believe that Isa 33 also forms a bridge to Isa 36–39. (3) G. FOHRER, Das Buch Jesaja (ZBK; Zürich – Stuttgart 21967) 135; R.E. CLEMENTS, Isaiah 1–39 (Grand Rapids, MI 1980) 265. (4) J. VERMEYLEN, Du prophète Isaïe à l’apocalyptique. Isaïe, I-XXXV, miroir d’un demi-millénaire d’expérience religieuse en Israël (ÉB; Paris 1977–78) I, 429-438, and H. WILDBERGER, Jesaja. Kapitel 28-39 (BKAT X.3; Neukirchen- Vluyn 1982) 1286, 1322, distinguish two lamentations, vv. 2-6 and 7-12(13-16) respectively, and a salvation prophecy, all from the same period.