Lamentations Images and
NotesThe Book of
Lamentations
Lamentations 2:5 - The Lord was as an enemy: he hath
swallowed up Israel, he hath swallowed up all her palaces: he
hath destroyed his strong holds, and hath increased in the
daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation.
Lamentations 5:19-22 - Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy
throne from generation to generation. Wherefore dost thou forget
us for ever, [and] forsake us so long time? Turn thou us unto
thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.
But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against
us.
The Old Testament - A Brief Overview
Bible Survey - Lamentations
Hebrew Name - Eikah "How"
Greek Name - Threnos "Lament"
Author - Jeremiah (According to Tradition)
Date - 588 BC Approximately
Theme - 5 Poetic laments over the destruction of Jerusalem
Types and Shadows - In Lamentations Jesus is the weeping prophet
Summary of The Book of Lamentations
In the Hebrew
the word for the name of the book of Lamentations is "Eikah"
which means "How." The book of Lamentations was written by
the prophet Jeremiah according to Jewish tradition. The book
contains five poems that depict the condition of the forsaken
city of Jerusalem which had been burnt to the ground and utterly
demolished by the Babylonians on the ninth of Av in the Jewish
calendar in 586 BC, in contrast to the magnificent splendor that
it once possessed. The reason for God's chastisement on the
people of Judah and on the city of Jerusalem are spelled out in
the form of an appeal made to God to remember the great
suffering of his people and to take vengeance upon the
conquerors of His city and the people of Judah.
The first four poems are arranged in an acrostic form with
each containing 22 verses which correspond with the 22
consonants of the Hebrew alphabet. In chapter 3 each letter of
the Hebrew alphabet is allotted 3 of the 66 verses which
comprise the poem. Some conclude that the reason for this was
because Israel had sinned from beginning to end (A-Z, or in the
Hebrew aleph-tav).
Jeremiah, who wrote the lamentations was an eyewitness of the events, and
this brought him great sorrow for he knew the people, he knew the city, he knew
the children, and he knew the festivities that existed among the people of
Judah.
Interesting note: The Jewish translators of the Septuagint
(LXX) attribute Jeremiah as the author of the Lamentations, and
so do other ancient translations: The Aramaic Targum, the Latin
Vulgate, and the Syriac Peshitta, and the Babylonian Talmud.
Outline of the Book of Lamentations
The five lament poems are outlined here:
Lamentations 1 - Jerusalem's desolation is lamented
Lamentations 2 - God's wrath against the city of Jerusalem
Lamentations 3 - God's faithfulness is acknowledged
Lamentations 4 - God's faithfulness is viewed as chastisement
Lamentations 5 - God's faithfulness is worthy of trust
Lamentations Resources
The Divided Kingdom
The
Northern Kingdom of Israel
The
Southern Kingdom of Judah
The Assyrian Captivity
The Babylonian Captivity
The Return From Babylon
The Prophets
The Messiah
The Book of Lamentations
More About the Book of
Lamentations
Lamentations in the Picture
Study Bible
Timeline of the Ancient
World
Back to the Old Testament
Back to Bible
History Online
