See 2 kgs 25 for a prose account of the fall of jerusalem. Early rabbinic interpretation connected the curse of child eating lev 26. The volume of the readers voice builds to the climax, which is sung aloud by the entire congregation. In the manuscripts and printed copies of the old testament the book is called. In the jewish liturgical calendar, lamentations is the festal scroll of. In the middle ages, however, jewish commentators deemphasize this connection. And it came to pass after that israel had been carried away captive, and.
The dialogic interaction between the book of lamentations and the preexilicearly exilic prophetic literature new yorklondon. It also became customary, when the jews read the book in synagogue worship, for them to repeat lamentations 5. 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. The book is a theological and prophetic response to the destruction of the first temple beit hamikdash, in jerusalem, in 586 b. Book of lamentations read, study bible verses online. Book of lamentations overview insight for living ministries. How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations. It is read on tisha bav, the anniversary of the temples destruction. For this reason, a glass is broken at jewish weddings, to remember yerushalayim even at the happiest. Also, i believe berlin is a jewish scholar, so christian readers looking for help exalting christ from lamentations will have to look elsewhere. The book of lamentations is book of sorrowful songs or poems.
Eicha, the book of lamentations, asks important questions that address the theological crisis following the jewish exile. This is a time of mourning for the jewish people, and we spend these weeks deep in solemnity and regard for the destruction of our holy temple. This text is taken from chapter 1 of the lamentations of jeremiah, verses 1014. The description shows the miseries of the jewish nation. It was written soon after the fall of jerusalem in 586 b. Jewish bible commentaries merrimack valley havurah.
Chapter 1a all verse 1b all verse 2 twentytwo verses. Lamentations 1 niv bible how deserted lies the city. The book of lamentations has been billed as a natural supplement to the book of jeremiah. In the tanakh, which is the jewish bible, the book is called eikhah, which means how and also happens to be the first word of the first chapter. While the author of lamentations remains nameless within the book, strong evidence from both inside and outside the text points to the prophet jeremiah as the author. Jeremiah was a prophet of the old testament who lived during, and. Apr, 2017 this text is taken from chapter 1 of the lamentations of jeremiah, verses 1014. The chief focus of lamentations is on gods judgment in response to judahs sin. This limited teaching experience coupled with the somewhat detailed study of the book in the classroom of dr.
In his wrath he broke down the strongholds of the daughter of yhudah, brought them down to the ground, thus. Best commentaries and books on lamentations logos bible. That deficiency has since been remedied with three courses, one an undergraduate survey, one a graduate seminar, and one a course in hebrew exegesis. Lamentations is set just after jerusalems destruction by the babylonians in 586 bc. In megillat eicha, lamentations, the prophet yirmiyahu records his impressions of the destruction of yerushalayim and the first beit hamikdash, and the exile of the jews from the land of israel. Reprinted with permission of the author from the jewish way. Indeed, it is highly improbable that lamentations was composed by any one man, for the following reasons. A thorough scholarly introduction to the book of lamentations, including introductory comments on genre, authorship, date, and theology as well as a sectionbysection commentary on the entire book. How doth the city sit solitary the short history of the desolations of the jewish nation, contained in the fiftysecond chapter of jeremiah, formerly stood as a preface to the lamentations. Intro to lamentations biblica the international bible. Lamentations is read in jewish synagogues on the ninth day of the fourth month julyaug, which is the day of the destruction of the city of jerusalem jer 52. The name implies that the topic is expressing grief over something to lament. The rabbinic targum of lamentations demonstrates how the targumist transformed the book of lamentations by absolving god of all guilt, declaring israels culpability for jerusalems destruction, and presenting the path towards reconciliation through repentance and rabbinic worship.
This date commemorates five catastrophes in jewish history, including the destruction of the first and second temples by the babylonians and romans respectively. Without pity adonai swallowed up all the dwellings of yaakov. Some of the rabbies will have these to be the lamentations which jeremiah penned upon occasion of the death of josiah, which are mentioned 2 chronicles 35. The lamentations of jeremiah, old testament book belonging to the third.
How enveloped in darkness adonai, in his anger, has made the daughter of tziyon. In the hebrew bible it appears in the ketuvim writings, beside the song of songs, book of ruth, ecclesiastes and the book of esther the megilot or five scrolls, although there is no set order. The jewish community reads sepher eka the hebrew title for lamentations, literally, the book of how during the ninth of ab. The book of lamentations is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of jerusalem in. Lamentations with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. A commentary the old testament library kindle edition by berlin, adele. Eikha book of lamentations is the third of the five megillot scrolls of ketuvim. The jewish people read lamentations every year on the date commemorating the destruction of the temple in jerusalem. She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave. God wanted his people to take care of jerusalem and the special house in it.
Read the text of lamentations online with commentaries and connections. Encyclopedia of jewish and israeli history, politics and culture, with biographies, statistics, articles and documents on topics from antisemitism to zionism. Jeremiah was a prophet of the old testament who lived during, and wrote concerning, the babylonian captivity of the. The author of the book of lamentations was attempting to show the fulfillment of the curses presented in deuteronomy 28. The reluctant prophets call and job description jeremiah and lamentations in his early twenties, jeremiah received gods call to be a prophet. His job description was to carry gods messages over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to.
Free online bible library jewish commentary on the bible. The book of lamentations, the sad prophecy of jeremiah regarding the destruction of the first temple in jerusalem and the subsequent exile of our nation, forms. Traditionally attributed to the authorship of the prophet jeremiah, lamentations was more likely written for public rituals commemorating the destruction of the city of jerusalem and its temple. Eichah lamentations judaica press translation with rashis commentary at. The book of lamentations is a collection of five poems that serve as an anguished response to the destruction of jerusalem in 587 b. Lamentations biblical studies oxford bibliographies. The septuagint the greek translation of the old testament gives this prefix. Some view the last chapter of jeremiah as an introduction to lamentations. The book of lamentations expresses the humiliation, suffering, and despair of jerusalem and her people following the destruction of the city by the babylonians in 587 bce. Berel entered the guestroom to find a simple jew, dressed like a peasant, shoeless, sitting on the floor, crying bitter tears over the jewish exile. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading lamentations 2002. Both jewish and christian tradition ascribe authorship to jeremiah, and the septuagintthe greek translation of the old testamenteven adds a note asserting jeremiah as the. If the book of lamentations fails to move god, it fulfills another. Mention must also be made of isaac arama 143094, whose aqedhah, his commentary on the pentateuch homiletical in style, was the standard book for the jewish pulpit for centuries, much esteemed by the christian world, and is still much read by the jews, especially in russia and poland.
The talmud the babylonian talmud, tractate bava batra 15a states that it was written by the prophet jeremiah, who lived at the time of. Using commentary from the targum, rashi, and ibn ezra, as well as contemporary sources. Lamentations begins with the hebrew word eicha how, and the book is known in hebrew as megillat eicha the scroll of eicha. You can find the best commentary on lamentations for you using the tools on the right side. The book of lamentations has been taken up through history both as poetry and as an expression of boundless grief.
He has thrown down from heaven to earth the splendor of israel, forgotten his footstool the sanctuary on the day of his anger. As jeremiah identified himself with the sad condition of the people under gods judgment so will also the lord jesus have compassion with israels. The book of tanach authored by jeremiah, lamenting the destruction of the holy temple, the suffering the jews experienced at that time, and the ensuing exile. Bitterly she weeps at night, tears are on her cheeks. Because of its subject matter, the book is also referred to in jewish tradition as qinot,lamentations, a title taken over by the septuagint the prechristian greek translation of the ot and by the fourthcentury latin vulgate. Abraham ibn ezra, the 12 th century exegete, already questioned the attribution in the introduction to his commentary. The book of lamentations was written by the prophet jeremiah according to jewish tradition. However, while job dealt with unexplained evil, jeremiah lamented a tragedy entirely of jerusalems making. We call this book lamentations because it is a collection of sad poems. The poems use the literary style of an acrostic where the poem is built around the alphabet 16. This summary of the book of lamentations provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of lamentations. The talmud, that vast reservoir of jewish law and tradition, states.
Summary of the book of lamentations the story of the. The book is composed of five poems that mourn the catastrophe. Because this last verse of the book is so negative, many hebrew manuscripts of lamentations end by repeating lamentations 5. In lamentations, the poet grieves, yet still has faithcrying out to god for mercy.
It would be more accurate to write the title of the book as eikhah. The three weeks bein hametzarim are bookended by a minor fast on the 17th of tammuz and a major fast on the 9th of av. Lamentations free bible commentary in easy english. Lamentations cannot be the scroll that was written by jeremiah but was burned according to jeremiah 36, as the ancient sages maintained, because it neither.
It is a very emotional book in which the prophet expresses feelings of intense. Lamentations 1 bible commentary matthew henry concise. The entire book of lamentations is poetic in its form. Enduring word bible commentary lamentations chapter 1. The targum or aramaic paraphrase of jonathan which dates to ca. Lamentations 1 how deserted lies the city, once so full of people.
During the 9th of av, it is a custom to read the book of lamentations. Eichah lamentations chapter 1 tanakh online torah bible. Although the poems are traditionally ascribed to the prophet jeremiah. The occasion of these lamentations was the destruction of judah and jerusalem by the chaldean army and the dissolution of the jewish state both civil and ecclesiastical thereby.
The hebrew title has a much different meaning though. Each chapter of the book is comprised of a poem making five poems in all. Lamentations was almost certainly written in the sixth century b. It is a very emotional book in which the prophet expresses feelings of intense loneliness, a sense of utter abandonment, desolation, desecration of that which was sacred, pain and suffering. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Like the book of job, lamentations pictures a man of god puzzling over the results of evil and suffering in the world.
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