lamentations

Background

Author.   The book itself is anonymous, though the tradition of Jeremianic authorship is ancient, going back to prechristian times. Though some dispute it on grounds of unlikelihood Jeremiah would have led in lamentation, and supposed indications of multiple authorship (the reversal of ayin and pe in chapters 2 to 4), the arguments in favor of Jeremiah as author, while not decisive, are strong.

Aside from the ancient tradition (of no little weight itself in the question), there are the matters of the similar theologies of Lamentations and the Prophecy of Jeremiah, similar sensitivities to Judah’s suffering, and the rare qualifications of Jeremiah—literarily, theologically–spiritually, and historically—to write it.

Date of composition.   The vividness of the first four chapters especially suggest their composition very soon after the actual fall of Jerusalem (Summer 586). On the other hand the reflection especially of the fifth chapter and the poetic artistry of the whole seem to indicate some temporal distance from the events. Perhaps Jeremiah began a thoughtful diary of sorts at the time of the city’s fall, and incorporated the lively vividness in his finished composition at a later time. (Certainly he had time on his hands once he got to Egypt.)

Historical setting.   The setting is Jerusalem shortly after its desolation by Nebuchadnezzar. The broader details are provided in the Jeremiah background.

The more immediate setting traced back to the reign of Jehoiakim, who threw off Babylonian suzerainty after Babylon’s defeat in Egypt, 601. Not till 598 was Nebuchadnezzar able to reassert his control over Jerusalem; Jehoiakim was killed, his son Jehoiachin was deposed and deported to Babylon after only three months on the throne, and his uncle Zedekiah was installed as Babylon’s vassal. For nine years Zedekiah remained content to serve Babylon. But in 589 he attempted like his brother in 601 to ally with Egypt. At this Nebuchadnezzar decided to settle the Jerusalem question irrevocably. He laid siege to the city in January 588, and some seventeen months later (July–August 586) succeeded in breeching the wall, and subsequently capturing the king and reducing the city to smoldering rubble.

Argument

Written as an eternal record of the tragedy of the violent destruction of the city of God’s choice, this book is designed to warn the people of God against the kind of behavior that occasioned such a tragedy. If God so destroyed his people and city once, he is surely capable of doing it again. (Witness the events of AD 70!)

The book is comprised of five dirges, or funeral laments, each chapter being one lament. The five laments are chiastic in content: chapters one and five focus on the people (city), chapters two and four on the Lord, and chapter three on the response of the prophet. The first four chapters follow a regular pattern of alphabetic acrostic form, a limping meter (qinah), and begin (all but chapter three) with ekah, How (deserted)!, an exclamation of lament. Strikingly, chapter five ‘breaks the mold’ established by this pattern of form and “offers a response to the suffering … In chapter 5 Jeremiah presented the response that the remnant needed to make to God. It thus formed a fitting ending to the book. God’s chastisement was intended to lead to repentance.”[1] As well, in each of the first three chapters there are sixty-six lines of Hebrew poetry, three for each of the twenty-two letters of the alphabet, forty-four lines in the fourth chapter, and the fifth chapter consists of just twenty-two lines with no acrostic pattern. The third chapter is versified in sixty-six verses, three for each letter, with each letter then beginning three successive verses.

The complete desolation of the city is described in metaphorical terms of funerary mourning: Jerusalem is depicted as a widow mourning the loss of her population (1:1–4). Her grief is then expressed in direct language as loss of the people of whom she had once taken pride (1:5–7). But this great tragedy was not undeserved: the city, that is, the human population was guilty of sin (1:8–11a). With the lone exception of v. 17, the rest of the chapter is in the first person. The city pours out her grief and wailing with throbbing incessancy (1:11b–17), coupled with acknowledgement of her guilt (1:18–22).

From God’s point of view Jerusalem’s sin has aroused his anger poured out in the destruction of the city. There God has become the enemy of his city, opposing even the temple and altar originally erected for the worship of himself, and destroying its leaders (2:1–10). At this the poet cannot help but grieve over the tragedy that all the glories were gone and the people called for righteousness had become so godless, so that even the godless gentiles were appalled at the sight (2:11–19). The city also cries out its grief over the slaughter (2:20–22).

In a chiasmus the midpoint can be the focus of the whole. Chapter three, the poet’s personal response, is that focus. (Note the triplet form of acrostic in this chapter.) This very sensitive poet has so identified himself with his beloved city that he has taken its loss as his own. He feels so personally the opposition of God expressed against the city, and bewails his distance from God (3:1–18). But there is more. He knows truth about his God, especially that he keeps covenant (hesed; 3:22), and is thus finally merciful toward his chosen faithful ones. He is therefore content to bear the wrath of God, for he knows it is not final, but will eventually give way to salvation (3:20–38). In all this it is not God in the wrong: he is always righteous. The lesson then is that one should examine himself and willingly confess his sinfulness to God (3:39–45). Not only is God guiltless, but so is the prophet–poet. His message was despised, and he was personally opposed for it. Nevertheless God will defend and vindicate him (3:46–66).

Once again the scene of destruction is linked to God’s wrath against sin (4). Since this chapter largely echoes the second, the verses are briefer, two lines (Hebrew) instead of three. The description of the city’s tragedy focuses on the enslavement of Israelites (4:1–2); famine, and the denial of food to infants (4:3–4); and humiliation of the social elite (4:5–8); and the supreme degradation of cannibalizing their own children (4:9–10). The nations were only too eager to accommodate God in his plan to destroy Jerusalem for her sins (4:11–20). But one day the tables would be turned, and Edom would be the one under judgment (4:21–22).

In the final lament Jerusalem pours out her complaint to God describing in detail the pains she has suffered for her sins (5:1–18). The concluding prayer is one of reverential faith (5:19) and petition for restoration (5:20–22).

Outline

I. Desolation of Jerusalem because of sin  1

A. Depiction of her desolation  1:1–7

B. Cause of her desolation  1:8–11a

C. Unmitigated grief of her desolation  1:11b–17

D. Confession and prayer for relief  1:18–22

II. Divine punishment on Jerusalem  2

A. God’s personal opposition  2:1–10

B. The prophet’s grief  2:11–19

C. Jerusalem’s grief  2:20–22

III. Jeremiah’s personal response  3

A. Jeremiah’s complaint  3:1–18

B. God’s compassion  3:19–38

C. God’s vindication of himself  3:39–45

D. God’s vindication of Jeremiah  3:46–66

IV. The Lord’s anger  4

A. Tragedy in Jerusalem  4:1–10

1. Enslavement  4:1–2

2. Famine  4:3–4

3. Humiliation  4:5–8

4. Cannibalism  4:9–10

B. God’s judgment of sin  4:11–20

C. Vengeance on Edom  4:21–22

V. Israel’s prayer  5

A. Lament  5:1–18

B. Petition for mercy  5:19–22