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Lamentations

Lamentations is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament that consists of five poems lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. In Jewish and Christian traditions it is attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, but modern scholarship treats authorship as uncertain and possibly composite. In Hebrew, the book is known as Eicha, or "How," a name derived from its opening words.

Structure and form: The five chapters form consecutive laments. Chapters 1, 2, and 4 are acrostic poems

Content and themes: The poems portray Jerusalem's desolation, famine, exile, and the burning of the Temple. They

Language and place in canon: Written in Biblical Hebrew, Lamentations is placed among the Writings (Ketuvim)

Reception and interpretation: Lamentations is studied for its distinctive acrostic structure, its psychological portrayal of grief,

arranged
according
to
the
Hebrew
alphabet;
Chapter
3
is
a
longer,
double-
or
triple-acrostic
lament
of
66
verses;
Chapter
5
is
a
brief,
concluding
prayer.
The
poems
blend
elegy
with
social
critique
and
theological
reflection
on
catastrophe.
express
personal
and
communal
grief,
question
divine
justice,
and
explore
themes
of
punishment,
mercy,
and
the
possibility
of
restoration.
The
text
alternates
between
despair
and
acts
of
faith,
calling
for
repentance
and
trust
in
God's
steadfast
love.
in
the
Hebrew
Bible;
in
most
Christian
canons
it
appears
among
the
Old
Testament
books
of
poetry
or
the
Minor
Prophets
depending
on
edition.
The
book
has
been
read
liturgically
in
Jewish
liturgy
on
Tisha
B'Av
services
since
antiquity,
and
has
influenced
Christian
liturgy
and
art.
and
its
theological
treatment
of
suffering
and
hope.
It
has
influenced
poetry,
music,
and
art
across
cultures
and
remains
central
to
discussions
of
exile,
collective
memory,
and
the
problem
of
divine
justice.