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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?
This book expresses grief over the capture of the city of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in about 586 BC. The book is organized into five poems. In them the writer speaks of the people's sin and unfaithfulness to God that led to their destruction. However, he also remembers God's faithfulness for those who turn back to him. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/sin, rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/unfaithful 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. It is fitting that a lament was made over the fall and destruction Jerusalem. The eyewitness nature of the laments seems to fit closely with the Book of Jeremiah. Certainly the serious and grieving tone of Jeremiah is carried into 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?
Jeremiah often uses the imagery of abandonment in Lamentations, but this does 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 his covenant promises.
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 of the people's sinfulness, not because of any weakness on his part. (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 reminiscent of a sad song sung at a funeral. Some have said that the rhythm of the poems in Hebrew makes the poems sound as if they are 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, and also by those Jews who remained in Jerusalem after its conquest. In Chapters 1, 2 and 4, each line of the poem begins with a different Hebrew letter in alphabetical order. The third chapter repeats three lines with the same letter followed by the next three lines beginning with next letter in alphabetical order.
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)