Literary Devices in Lamentations
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
The Book of Lamentations is pretty easy to nail down to a time and place. It's obviously about the destruction of a city—Jerusalem—and we know from the historical records that existed at the ti...
Genre
Lamentations is one of the many poems in the Bible (like Psalms or Proverbs). Traditionally, a lament is an emotional statement addressed to God in the hopes that he'll relieve the suffering of the...
What's Up With the Title?
In most English versions of the Bible, this book is just called Lamentations. This is the most accurate content description ever. When you lament it means that you're grieving, mourning, or express...
What's Up With the Ending?
Lamentations is a despairing book and it ends on a note of uncertainty. But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations. Why have you forgotten us completely? Why have you fo...
Trivia
Though the Bible is filled with references to Solomon's Temple (and Lamentations is pretty sure the Babylonians destroyed it), there's actually no solid archeological evidence that it ever stood in...
Sex Drugs And Violence Rating
You won't have to worry much about sex and drugs in Lamentations. But the violence? Well, even though the attack on Jerusalem is over, things are not pretty for Judah. This book of the Bible featur...
Allusions
On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church by Martin LutherIn this scathing critique of the Catholic Church, Luther offers his own spin on the sacraments and accuses the Church of keeping the blood...