Introduction

The final section of the book of isaiah can itself be subdivided into three major sub sections, chapters 56 to 59, 60 to 62 and beginning here in chapter 63. Several commentators have argued for a chiastic structure to this concluding section - centring upon chapter 61. Within this section, the final chapters retrace dominant thematic steps back to the beginning of the section. For instance, the parallel between the account of the lord's judgment at the end of chapter 59 and that at the beginning of this chapter can be illustrated in the connections between verse five of Chapter 59 Verse 16: "My own arm brought me salvation, and my wrath upheld me"