Prophetic Literature of the Old Testament: Lamentations

Part of the "International Critical Commentary" series, this title provides a commentary on "Lamentations"

In the face of suffering, agony, and the brutal realities of life; in the midst of divine silence and human pain, the Lamentations poems speak of faith and trust in God. This sophisticated yet accessible commentary makes the message of Lamentations come alive. All who preach and teach will benefit from this rich resource. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.

The book of Lamentations is often perceived as a difficult book to read and study. The emphasis of this commentary is on providing information to help the reader determine what the real meaning of the text might be, rather than on providing easy answers.

This commentary on Lamentations offers a translation, discussing questions of historical background and literary architecture before providing a theologically sensitive exposition of the text.

The Historical Commentary on the Old Testament is an international series of commentaries which devotes explicit attention to the history of interpretation of biblical tradition in all its stages, both within and without the Hebrew canon. The commentary stands in the Christian exegetical tradition. In Lamentations the treatment of every pericope is preceded by a new translation and a section called "Essentials and Perspectives" in which the author summarizes the results of the exegesis in non-technical language. The present commentary on Lamentations distinguishes itself by the fact that it is clearly and explicitly based on the songs understood as an interactive unity, one in which it would appear that the songs provide comment and explanation on one another. The result is a commentary full of exegetical surprises which frequently departs from the traditional.

While the book of Jonah is, in some ways, unique, it stands firmly in the Old Testament tradition. There have been various suggestions as to genre, the most likely being the (short) didactic story; but the aim of the author is not easy to discern. The authenticity of Jonah's message to the Ninevites is stressed, as is their repentance, and Yahweh's mercy. The purpose of the book must lie in a combination of these themes. Lamentations is a neglected book, perhaps because it was associated with the book of Jeremiah and considered almost as an appendix. On the question of genre it has the closest affinities with the psalms of lament; but, whereas it is very difficult to link a psalm with a specific historical event or period, the five chapters of Lamentations appear to have the Fall of Jerusalem as background. While gloom abounds, the careful reader discovers the faith of the author shining through. He is a .practical monotheist. who interprets the castastrophe of the fall of Jerusalem in the light of his faith.

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, prophesied for four decades under the last five kings of Judah--from 627 to 587 B.C. His mission: a call to repentance. Among the Apostolic Fathers, Jeremiah was rarely cited, but several later authors give prominent attention to him, including Origen, Theodoret of Cyr and Jerome who wrote individual commentaries on Jeremiah and Cyril of Alexandria and Ephrem the Syrian who compiled catenae. Justin and Irenaeus made use of Jeremiah to define Christians over against Jews. Athanasius made use of him in trinitarian debates. Cyril of Jerusalem, Irenaeus, Basil the Great and Clement of Alexandria all drew on Jeremiah for ethical exhortation.Lamentations, as might be expected, quickly became associated with losses and death, notably in Gregory of Nyssa's Funeral Orations on Meletius. By extension the Fathers saw Lamentations as a description of the challenges that face Christians in a fallen world. Readers will find some ancient authors translated into English here for the first time. Throughout they will gain insight and encouragement in the life of faith as seen through ancient pastoral eyes.

Contents: Preface -- pt. 1. Commentary: Who will comfort you? Poetry of loss: a defense -- There is no one to comfort you: Lamentations 1 -- Your suffering is vast as the sea: Lamentations 2 -- Mercies new every day: Lamentations 3 -- Beaten down: Lamentations 4 -- Plea from an occupied land: Lamentations 5 -- pt. 2. Reflections: A theology of witness. The power of the missing voice -- Who will comfort you? A theology of witness -- The abusing God -- Prayer for the wounded world -- Epilogue: The comforting God.

Part of the UBS helps for translators.; UBS handbook series.

Part of the Anchor Bible Commentary:
Contents: "Is there any pain like my pain?" (1:1-22) -- "The Lord became like an enemy" (2:1-22) -- Everyman (3:1-66) -- A survivor's account (4:1-22) -- A prayer (5:1-22).

In Lamentations, we read of the unbearable grief experienced by a group of believers. Leslie Allen suggests the book can be read as the script of a liturgy performed to help the people of God come to terms with the fall of Jerusalem and the national catastrophe it entailed. It reveals God's sometimes hidden support for those who grieve and for their caregivers. In this unique commentary on Lamentations, respected Old Testament scholar and volunteer hospital chaplain Leslie Allen appropriates this oft-neglected book of the Bible to deal with a universal issue. Incorporating stories of pastoral encounters with hospital patients, Allen integrates Scripture and pastoral care to present a biblical model for helping those coping with grief. The book includes a foreword by Nicholas Wolterstorff, author of Lament for a Son.

This book entails a thorough discussion on the contents, development and understanding of the Book of Lamentations. It dwells extensively on matters of introduction and includes an overview of the theological debate on Lamentations.

Anthropologists have long known that different cultures give expression to their symbol systems through external mediums such as food and clothing, but they have not recognized as readily that cultures also mold emotional life to fit particular patterns of meaning. This prejudice against the role of behaviors in shaping the emotional and cognitive life is especially strong in the study of religion. Gary Anderson's study reveals that, in the Israelite culture (and later, the Jewish culture), mourning and joy as emotional experiences have visible behavioral components for both the individual and the community at large. The best evidence of this can be found in rabbinical texts that prescribe behaviors appropriate to joy and determine when this ritual state supersedes that of mourning. For example, on religious feast days, mourning is forbidden and joy is prescribed. Mourning cannot resume until after the festival. The terms "mourning" and "joy" so employed do not refer to simple emotional states, but rather constitute a discrete set of ritual behaviors. In fact, the types of discrete behaviors that constitute joy (eating, drinking, festal song, anointing with oil, festive attire, sexual relations) all have exact anti-types in the ritual of mourning (fasting, dirges, putting ashes on the head, rending one's garments or putting on sackcloth, sexual continence). Anderson shows that it is not only the rabbinical texts that use the terms "mourning" and "joy" in this way; rabbinic tradition is simply heir to a much older tradition, as witnessed in biblical and other ancient Near Eastern narratives such as the Gilgamesh Epic.

Harasta and Brock show how lament seems to introduce notes of mistrust into an otherwise confident relationship with faith, God and His will. In prayer all experiences may be brought to God in openness and trust. Yet lament seems to introduce notes of mistrust into a relationship properly characterized by confident faith in God and His will. Sustained attention to lament presents a challenge to theological reflection in reminding it of the acuteness of the experience of suffering and evil. This volume suggests that a robust concept and practice of lament is an appropriate response to questions of evil and suffering in its refusal to close off questions that cannot and should not be closed. Lament takes place in the eye of the storm of theodicy, and when the distinct content of Christian lament is discovered here the question of theodicy is transformed.