Introduction to Lamentations

The book of Lamentations is anonymous. However, traditionally it has been assigned to Jeremiah (Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 15a). We do not know for sure, but the following considerations make this plausible:

In 2 Chronicles 35, after the death of King Josiah, we are told:

“All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. Jeremiah also uttered a lament for Josiah; and all the singing men and singing women have spoken of Josiah in their laments to this day. They made these a rule in Israel; behold, they are written in the Laments” (2 Chronicles 35:24-25).

The argument is not that “the Laments” is the same our book of Lamentations. Lamentations does not include a lament for Josiah and is exclusively focused on the destruction of Jerusalem which occurred later. But there does seem to be a connection between Jeremiah and Lamentations, not only because of the note in 2 Chron 35:25, but also because of the similar themes with the book of Jeremiah.

Lamentations is also appropriately considered to have been authored by Jeremiah since he was an eye-witness of the destruction of Jerusalem and lived through those traumatic events.

Outline of Lamentations

The book is comprised of five poems, according to each of the five chapters. The first four poems (chs. 1-4) are acrostic—each line begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, from aleph to tav. Since there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, there are 22 verses in chs. 1–2, and 4. Chapter 3 has 66 verses because each letter is worked on three times, i.e., three verses for aleph, the next three verses for beth, etc. (3 x 22 = 66.) The last poem (ch. 5) is also 22 verses long but is not acrostic.

Here are my descriptors for the five poems:

1. Lament for Jerusalem: “How lonely sits the city” (ch. 1)
2. Reflections on the devastation (ch. 2)
3. “Great Is Your Faithfulness” (ch. 3)
4. Reflections on the devastation continued (ch. 4)
5. Plea for Jerusalem: “Restore us to ourself, O LORD” (ch. 5)

There does seem to be a broad but imperfect chiastic structure here, with the focal point being chapter 3 and the famous passage in Lam 3:22-24:

[22] The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; [23] they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. [24] “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” (ESV)

It would be nice if these three verses (3:22-24) were nearer to the middle of the third poem! But it actually falls under the Hebrew letter chet, which is the 8th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Themes and Typology of Lamentations

The New Testament never quotes Lamentations directly, but we do have an indirect connection: in the third of his 10 fulfillment quotations, Matthew quotes Jeremiah 31:15 in Matt 2:17-18:

“A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” (ESV)

Rachel’s tomb was in Ramah, and so she is pictured as weeping and lamenting as she watches the inhabitants of Jerusalem (her children) being rounded up in order to be taken away into captivity in Babylon.