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Introduction to Lamentations
Part 1: General Introduction
Outline of the Book of Lamentations
- First lament: Jerusalem is captured and has been abandoned by Yahweh and by its people (1:1–22)
- Second lament: Yahweh caused this destruction because he was angry with Jerusalem (2:1–22)
- Third lament
- The city sorrows over its destruction (3:1–20)
- There is comfort for those who turn back to Yahweh (3:21–39)
- Judah is learning to return to Yahweh (3:40–54)
- Judah cries out for vengeance upon its enemies (3:55–66)
- Fourth lament: The terrors of the siege of Jerusalem
- The punishment of Jerusalem was caused by the people's sin (4:1–20)
- This punishment had satisfied Yahweh's wrath for their sin (4:21–22a)
- Edom will be punished also (4:22b)
- Fifth lament: The broken nation cries out to Yahweh in confession, petition and praise of him (5:1–22)
What is the Book of Lamentations about?
In the Book of Lamentations, the author expressed grief over the capture of the city of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in about 586 B.C. The book is organized into five poems. In them the writer described how God allowed Jerusalem to be destroyed because the people sinned against him. However, the author also stated that God is always loving and faithful to his people. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/sin and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/faith)
Who wrote the Book of Lamentations?
The name of the author of Lamentations is not given in the text, but it became traditional to say that the author was Jeremiah. The author seems to have seen the destruction of Jerusalem personally. Certainly the serious and grieving words in the book of Jeremiah are similar to the Book of Lamentations. And, there is nothing to suggest that Jeremiah was not the author.
How should the title of this book be translated?
Translators may call the book "Poems of Sadness." If translators want to keep to the traditional view that the prophet Jeremiah wrote this book, they might decide on a title such as "The Sad Sayings of Jeremiah." (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-names)
Part 2: Important Religious and Cultural Concepts
Did God abandon Israel?
The author of Lamentation often spoke of God abandoning Israel. But this did not mean that God had completely given up on Israel. He rejected Israel for a period of time as the special place where he would be present. However, God remained faithful to what he promised Israel in his covenant.
While it was common in the Ancient Neat East to think that a god might leave his city, he usually did so because he was too weak to defend it. In Lamentations, Yahweh abandons Jerusalem because the people sinned against him, not because he was too weak to defend the city. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/falsegod)
What is a funeral song?
It is common for cultures to sing songs at a funeral or when someone has died. Depending on the culture, these songs can sound either happy or sad. Lamentations is somewhat like a sad song sung at a funeral. Some scholars have said that the rhythm of the poems in Hebrew makes the poems sound slow or sluggish, like a funeral procession.
Part 3: Important Translation Issues
What style of writing is Lamentations?
Lamentations is a collection of five poems. These laments may have been sung or chanted by the Jewish exiles living in captivity in Babylon. They may also have been sung by those Jews who remained in Jerusalem after the Babylonians conquered it. In Chapters 1, 2, and 4 each line of the poem begins with a different Hebrew letter in the order of their alphabet. The third chapter repeats three lines with the same letter. Then they are followed by the next three lines beginning with next letter in the Hebrew alphabet.
Who are the woman and the man in Lamentations?
The author uses the image of an abandoned woman and a persecuted man to represent Judah and Jerusalem. This is a type of personification used to make the pain more understandable to the reader. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-personification)