Introduction
Overview
The circumstance that colors the book of Lamentations is the fall of Jerusalem in 597–587 BC. The prophet Jeremiah had foretold an invasion by an enemy from the north. The invaders would cause devastation; they were God’s agents to punish Judah for its sin of breaking the covenant.
By the turn of the century (ca. 600 BC) the Babylonians (Jeremiah’s enemy from the north) were in the region, and the power balance was decidedly shifting. In 597 BC they attacked Jerusalem, and Judah became a vassal state to the Babylonians. When the vassal king Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, his Babylonian overlord, reprisal was immediate. Though the city maintained itself during an eighteen-month siege, Nebuchadnezzar’s victory brought the burning of the city, including the Solomonic temple. The catastrophe—loss of temple, city, leadership, freedom, and land—was shocking. Many had become convinced that such a thing could never happen because Jerusalem and the temple were indestructible. This book laments the tragic collapse of a 350-year nation-state and the end of an era.
The poet wrestles in anguish with the contrast between Judah’s status as God’s covenant partner and its present collapse. Why had it all happened? Had God turned in anger against his people? How was one to deal with this traumatic experience? What interpretation was to be put on events of such inexpressible horror? The book is about suffering. It can be compared to some of the psalms and parts of Is 40–55.
Literary Features
The book, totally in poetry, is distinguished by three characteristics. First, much of the poetry is in the qinah meter, a rhythmic accent in a 3–2 pattern (the Hebrew word for “lament” is qinah). Poetic lines often consist of five words with a thought break after the third word. This 3–2 pattern, while not limited to use in lament literature, is characteristic of funeral dirges, for it gives the effect of a statement that, interrupted by a sob, is concluded with a shortened phrase. Characteristically, laments begin with “how” (1:1; Jr 48:17). Often they contrast an earlier glory with present disarray.
A classic lament is David’s song of grief upon the death of Jonathan (2 Sm 1:19–27). The prophets effectively used laments or funeral dirges in order to portray coming disaster. Two kinds of laments are found in Lamentations: the individual lament (chap. 3) and the communal lament (chaps. 1–2; 4). The individual lament has an address to God, a complaint, a statement of confidence, a petition, and a word of praise. The communal lament has more flexibility and is designed for group use, usually in a worship setting (e.g., Pss 44; 60; 74). It describes the distress and includes an appeal to God for help.
A second formal characteristic of the book is the acrostic pattern in which four of the five chapters are cast. In an acrostic, poetic lines or stanzas begin with the successive letters of the alphabet. In the first two chapters, each stanza of three couplets begins with the appropriate letter of the twenty-two-letter Hebrew alphabet—hence twenty-two verses. In the third poem (chap. 3) three successive lines each begin with the same alphabetical letter, the next three with the next letter, and so on, for a total of sixty-six verses. In chapter 4 the twenty-two stanzas each consist of two couplets; each stanza is in acrostic formation. The final poem is not an acrostic, but, like the Hebrew alphabet, has twenty-two lines.
The best-known acrostic in the Bible is Psalm 119, with eight verses to each of the Hebrew letters. Thirteen other acrostics have been identified.
Why follow an acrostic form when preparing a lament? It has been noted that a formal structure acts as a restraint on statements of grief, which would otherwise lack orderliness. Certainly it is a demanding task to pour emotion-filled material into a recipe-like form. A further reason for an acrostic would be its help in memorization. Finally, the acrostic by its form says what is to be said about suffering from a to z.
A third characteristic, formally speaking, is that of balance. The center poem is the longest. On either side of it are two poems, each with twenty-two stanzas, though of differing length. Moreover, as has been noted, the book itself is in qinah (3–2) pattern: three longer poems are followed by two shorter ones. Further, chapters 1 and 5 have a similar emphasis, an extended description of the tragic situation. Chapters 2 and 4 both deal with suffering, enemies, and God’s wrath. This leaves chapter 3, an individual lament that concentrates on giving an explanation for the suffering. The effect is that the first two chapters lead up to the central chapter; more rapidly the final chapters lead away from the climax of chapter 3.
The tone of the book is one of sadness and deep sorrow. Essentially the book processes a community’s grief. The poet tries to come to terms with the disaster. The writer does not give as a reason that the Babylonians were militarily superior. The Babylonians are not even mentioned by name. Nor does the poet consider that the gods of Babylon were stronger than the God of Israel.
Theological Themes
Specifically, the book leaves no doubt that the people’s sin accounts for the tragic fall of Jerusalem. Each of the five poems makes clear that the event must be seen as God’s punishment for sin. The book’s message, therefore, is in keeping with what the earlier prophets proclaimed: sin will bring judgment. Such a message is also in keeping with the covenant terms, which listed destruction, loss of land, and dispersion as among the covenant curses (Dt 28:15–64).
The fuller explanation, therefore, beyond the people’s sin, is that God implemented the covenant curses—but not mechanically. The poem, especially in chapter 2, elaborates on God’s wrath. It was God’s anger against his people that precipitated such a horrendous event. That wrath is not capricious but is expressed in the context of God’s righteousness. The tension of a good God even permitting such affliction is perhaps not resolvable, but chapter 3 is a wide-ranging attempt to respond to this tension.
Lamentations is a tragic reminder that unrepentant sin has its consequences, as Jeremiah has warned repeatedly.
The book is instructive in grief processing. First, a difficult situation is not denied or minimized. The poet’s voice is heard pouring out grief and facing the ugliness of a crushed city and ruined dreams. Second, there is catharsis in explicitly stating the situation. The grimness of the event is not denied; rather, it is presented in detail. Sin is confessed. Third, the author wrestles over the assertion that God has brought on the disaster but that comfort and help can be only in him. The book is an illustration that in times of calamity one need not sink into despair. Fourth, for consolation the poet seizes on what is known of God: his goodness and his faithfulness (3:20–23). Fifth, in prayer the entire situation is rolled over on God himself.
Authorship and Structure
The author is not named but is popularly thought to be Jeremiah. Evidence for such a belief relies on Jewish and Christian tradition. Jeremiah is said to have composed complaints (2 Ch 35:25), though these need not be the book of Lamentations. The Greek version of the OT adds to the title of the book that it is by Jeremiah. While these are important considerations, other observations lead to a different conclusion: (1) there is nothing in the book of Jeremiah that suggests any leaning to acrostic forms; (2) the assertion that they looked for help from allies (4:17) is altogether out of character for Jeremiah, who counseled submission to Babylon and objected to Israel’s alliances with foreign powers (Jr 2:18); (3) the book has about it the mood of perplexity, whereas Jeremiah was certain about the reality of the coming disaster and its reason. The author was most likely a man but may also have been a woman. If the author was not Jeremiah, he (or she) was nevertheless an eyewitness of the events and wrote soon after 586 BC, probably before 570 BC.
The acrostic form plus the symmetrical and balanced arrangement nevertheless argue for a single author. Chapter 5, once claimed by scholars to be a later addition, is more and more thought to belong integrally to the whole. While we may not know the poet’s name, we are the richer for the writer’s frank statement of personal grief and faithful proclamation of the goodness of God.
Modern Application
Orthodox Jews read this book on the ninth of Ab to commemorate the destruction of both Solomon’s temple (587 BC) and Herod’s temple (AD 70). The Roman Catholic liturgy calls for a reading of the book during Holy Week. Persons and nations who fall into disastrous circumstances find a kinship here; together with the anonymous poet they can struggle through to commitment, even if not always to full clarity.
Outline
1. Lamenting a City in Shambles (1:1–22)
A. A Lost Splendor (1:1–6)
B. Enemies Mock and Gloat (1:7–11)
C. In Search of Comforters (1:12–17)
D. Distressed and Vengeful (1:18–22)
2. An Angry God and an Awful Tragedy (2:1–22)
A. God’s Anger Unleashed (2:1–9)
B. Widespread Ruin (2:10–17)
C. A Prayer of Anguish (2:18–22)
3. Processing Grief (3:1–66)
A. Afflicted by God (3:1–18)
B. Confidence in God (3:19–42)
C. Beset with Problems (3:43–54)
D. Calling on God (3:55–66)
4. Jerusalem’s Humiliation (4:1–22)
A. Jerusalem’s Faded Glory (4:1–10)
B. Jerusalem’s Dire Plight (4:11–20)
C. A Strange Irony (4:21–22)
5. A Summarizing Prayer (5:1–22)
A. Refugees in One’s Homeland (5:1–9)
B. “Our Heart Is Sick” (5:10–18)
C. “Bring Us Back to Yourself” (5:19–22)