Studies on the Book of Lamentations
Today I begin a series of seven studies on the Book of Lamentations. The Book of Lamentations is a collection of poems composed to express the suffering and the pain of the people who endured the harsh conditions of the long siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587 BCE.
In our English Bibles, the Book of Lamentations is included among the prophetic books because it was believed that the book was written by the prophet Jeremiah. In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Lamentations is named after the first word of the book, ’êkāh, a Hebrew word that means “How”: “How lonely sits the city that once was full of people” (Lamentations 1:1).
In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Lamentations is included among the Kethuvim, a word which means “Writings.” The book of Lamentations is part of the Megilloth. The Megilloth are the five Festal Scrolls which are read during Jewish festivals. The Book of Lamentations is read on the ninth of Ab, the day Jerusalem was destroyed in 587 BCE.
The siege and the fall of Jerusalem was a great tragedy that caused immense damage to the city and inflicted much pain and suffering to the people who endured the long siege of the city. The book describes the humiliation, the suffering, and the despair of the people who survived the onslaught of the invasion.
Lamentations describes the suffering of the people and the horrors the population had to endure after the long siege of Jerusalem. Lamentations mentions the starvation of children crying for food, the rape of women, and the problem of maternal cannibalism.
Several voices speak in the Book of Lamentations. The only voice not heard is the voice of God. God is portrayed as the one who caused the devastation of the city even when the author proclaimed that the God who brought the calamities to the city is also a God of mercy.
These mournful poems describe the aftermath of the destruction caused by Nebuchadnezzar’s army. The poems in Lamentations are written in the Qinah format, a poetic form generally used in funeral dirges. The author of Lamentations used strong words to give voice to the pain and the grief that were hidden in the depths of his heart.
The Book of Lamentations is divided into five chapters, most of them written in an acrostic format. The author personifies the city of Jerusalem as a lonely widow who laments her dreadful conditions and confesses her sins. In the third chapter, an individual Israelite describes the punishment inflicted upon the people by God, but who still acknowledges God’s mercy, and expresses his hope for deliverance and restoration.
The seven lessons will include an introduction to the book, a description of the siege of Jerusalem, and a study of the five chapters of Lamentations. The seven studies will be as follows:
1. An Introduction to the Book of Lamentations
2. The Fall of Jerusalem
3. Lamentations 1: Lamenting and Mourning for Zion
4. Lamentations 2: The Lord’s Anger With His People
5. Lamentations 3: The Complaint of the People
6. Lamentations 4: The Suffering of the People
7. Lamentations 5: The People’s Appeal to God
In additions to the studies listed above, I have also written two other studies on the Book of Lamentations:
The Lonely Widow (Lamentations 1:1)
Sons of the Quiver (Lamentations 3:13
Claude Mariottini
Emeritus Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
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If you are looking for other series of studies on the Old Testament, visit the Archive section and you will find many studies that deal with a variety of Old Testament topics.
