Book Overview - Lamentations

by John Dummelow

Introduction to Lamentations of Jeremiah

1. Name, Place in Canon, and Subject. To the Hebrews this book is known by its initial word,' Ekhah, 'How'; by the ancient Jews of Alexandria it was called Threnoi, 'Dirges'; by St. Jerome, Lamentationes, whence our English title. Its position in the English and other versions is due to the influence of the Greek or LXX version, which placed it immediately after the prophecies of Jeremiah; but in the Hebrew canon it is usually found among the Hagiographa, or 'Writings,' constituting, along with Canticles, Ruth, Ecclesiastes, and Esther, a small collection known as the five Megilloth, or 'Rolls.' The great theme of the book is the siege, capture, and destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Josephus, on the basis of 2 Chronicles 35:25, erroneously supposed that it was written as an elegy over the death of king Josiah. For vividness and pathos the book is unsurpassed in all literature.

2. Analysis.

Lamentations 1. Zion's desolation and sorrow.

Lamentations 2. Zion's sorrows due to Jehovah's anger.