A Brief Discussion of MT Isaiah 24,14-16 533 beginning of their salvation (vv. 14-16a), the latter envisions the start of their judgment (14). Thus, this commentator postulated two opposing views in vv. 14-16: that of the Jews (vv. 14-16a) and that of the poet (v. 16b). This position has developed into what is now called “a disputation pattern”, which sees an opposition between the unidentified “they” (v. 14a) and the “I” statement (v. 16b) (15). The latter is taken as the prophet’s counter-assertion to his opponents’ assertion in vv. 14-15. According to this view, whereas the “they” (v. 14a) see their salvation in the judgment of the earth in vv. 1-13, the prophet (v. 16a) understands that the “they” will not be spared from the judgment in vv. 1-13 (16). The interpretation of vv. 14-23 as a form of the “prophetic disputation pattern” usually involves the following aspects: first, a sharp separation between vv. 14.13; second, the identification of the hmh in v. 14 as the ≈rah bçwy “inhabitant of the earth” of v. 17; third, the interpretation of qydxl ybx as a divine title, has led some scholars to take v. 16a as part of the praise in vv. 14-15; and, fourth, the interpretation of rm'aow: in v. 16 as introducing a contrast between the prophet and the praise that preceded it. Other scholars did not accept the claim that the “I” statement in v. 16b functions as a corrective to the praise of the unidentified “they” in vv. 14-15.16a. One scholar read vv. 14-16a as an expression of salvation for Israel and vv. 16b-20 as a declaration of judgment for the law breakers (cf. Isa 24,5). Likewise, is read the phrase qydxl ybx in v. 16a as a reference to “devout Jews” who, in distinction to the law breakers of Isa 24,5, had not broken the law (17). In a similar vein, another scholar rejected reading vv. 14-18 as (14) Cf. MARTI’s (Jesaja, 185) claims: “‘Jene’ sehen die Situation anders an als der Verf” and “Anders urteilt unser Dichter. Nein! sagt er, nicht ybix], sondern yzir:, nicht Sieg, sondern Siechtum, nicht Anbruch der Glanzzeit, sonder Fortschritt der Krankheit; wehe mir!” (his italics). (15) Cf. SWEENEY, Isaiah, 328; LOETE, “Praise”, 231. (16) Thus SWEENEY (Isaiah, 329): “vv. 16ab-20 therefore indicate that YHWH’s actions, praised by the inhabitants of the earth in vv. 14-16aa, will in fact lead to their demise”. (17) Cf. KAISER, Isaiah, 188-190: “it is scarcely possible to base upon it the theory that there was a disagreement within Judaism, one group seeing the onset of salvation in a particular event which had already come about, and another whose spokesman insists here that the time of salvation will be preceded by the judgment of the world”.