Poetry And Theology In The Book Of Lamentations

The book of Lamentations is a challenge to its readers. Its ambiguous theology, strident protestations against its deity, and haunting imagery confound interpreters. This monograph engages the enigma of Lamentations by assessing its theology. It does so, however, neither by tracing a single theological perspective through the book nor by reconstructing the history of the composition of the book. Rather, Heath Thomas assesses the poetry of Lamentations by offering a close analysis of each poem in the book. He reconsiders the acrostic as the foundational structure for the poetry, reads the book as an intentionally composed whole, and assesses the pervasive use of repetition, metaphor, and allusion. For the first time in the field, the analysis here is grounded on the insights of the Italian semiotician Umberto Eco. Drawing upon Eco's distinction between 'open' and 'closed' textualities, Thomas argues that Lamentations represents a distinctively 'open' text, one that presents its reader with a myriad of surprising avenues to interpret the poetry. This distinctive approach avoids a polarization in the portrait of God in Lamentations, arguing that its poetry neither justifies God outright nor does it exonerate God's people in the exilic age. Rather, it enables these theological visions to interrelate with each another, inviting the reader to make sense of the interaction. The ambiguous theological vision of Lamentations, then, is not a problem that the reader is intended to overcome but an integral feature in the construction of meaning. This original monograph offers a new perspective on how the poetry informs our appreciation of theological thought in the exilic age.

Personal tragedy and communal catastrophe up to the present day are universal human experiences that call forth lament. Lament singers--from the most ancient civilizations to traditional oral poets to the biblical psalmists and poets of Lamentations to popular singers across the globe--have always raised the cry of human suffering, giving voice to the voiceless, illuminating injustice, or pleading for divine help. This volume gathers an international collection of essays on biblical lament and Lamentations, illuminating their genres, artistry, purposes, and significant place in the history and theologies of ancient Israel. It also explores lament across cultures, both those influenced by biblical traditions and those not, as the practices of composition, performance, and interpretation of life's suffering continue to shed light on our knowledge of biblical lament. --From publisher's description.

This volume is born out of two years of academic presentations on laments in the Biblical Hebrew Poetry Section at the Society of Biblical Literature (2006-2007). The topics of these papers are gathered around the theme of "voice." The two parts to this volume: 1) provide fresh readings of familiar texts as they are read through the lens of lamentation, and 2) deepen our understanding of Israel and God as lamenter and lamentee. In the second section the focus on topics such as Israel's "unbelieving faith" (i.e., strong accusations against the God on whom they have complete reliance and trust), the unrighteous lamenter, and God's acceptance and rejection of the people's lament(s), deepens our understanding of Israel's culture and practice of lamentation. The final essay notes how the expression of despair is in tension with the poetic devices that contain it.

Tremper Longman III and Peter E. Enns edit this collection of 148 articles by over 90 contributors on Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ruth and Esther.

Bier proposes here a strong new understanding of the Book of Lamentations, drawing on Bakhtinian ideas of multiple voices to analyse the poetic speaking voices within the text; examining their theological perspectives, and nuancing the interaction between them. Bier scrutinises interpretations of Lamentations, distinguishing between exegesis that reads Lamentations as a theodicy, in defense of God, and those that read it as an anti-theodicy, in defense of Zion. Rather than reductively adopting either of these approaches, this book advocates a dialogic approach to Lamentations, reading to hear the full polyphony of pain, penitence, and protest.

For many people, skeptics and believers alike, the Old Testament is rife with controversial passages and events that make both belief and sharing our beliefs with others difficult. Often our solutions have tended toward the extremes--ignore problem passages and pretend they don't matter or obsess over them and treat them as though they are the only thing that matters. Now with clarity of purpose and fidelity to the message and spirit of Scripture as a whole, Tremper Longman confronts pressing questions of concern to modern audiences, particularly young people in the church: - the creation/evolution debate - God-ordained violence - the historicity of people, places, and events - human sexuality Pastors, leaders in the church, and thoughtful and troubled Christians in the pews will find here a well-reasoned and faithful approach to dealing with the Old Testament passages so many find challenging or disconcerting.

The destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587 BC is the likely setting for the book of Lamentations. This was the most traumatic event in Old Testament history, as Israel faced extreme human suffering, the destruction of the ancient city, national humiliation, and the undermining of all that was thought to be divinely guaranteed, such as the Davidic monarchy, the city of Zion, and the very temple of their God. It is out of such unspeakable pain that Lamentations speaks, through poetry of astonishing beauty and intricacy, although soaked in tears. If we neglect this book of the Bible, says Chris Wright, we miss the challenge and reward of wrestling with the massive theological issues that permeate it. How can suffering be endured alongside faith in an all-loving, good God? If death and destruction stalk the land, can Israel's faith in the covenant God of faithfulness and mercy be sustained? Through this commentary, Wright shows that we must not isolate Lamentations from the rest of the Bible, nor should we read the rest of the Bible without Lamentations. It is a crucial part of the narrative that still has many messages for us to learn from today. Part of the beloved Bible Speaks Today series, The Message of Lamentations offers an insightful, readable exposition of the biblical text and thought-provoking discussion of how its meaning relates to contemporary life. Used by students and teachers around the world, the Bible Speaks Today commentaries are ideal for those studying or preaching the Bible and anyone who wants to delve deeper into the text. This revised edition of a classic volume features lightly updated language and a new interior design.

A Jesus Creed 2017 Old Testament Book of the Year Wisdom plays an important role in the Old Testament, particularly in Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes. Now in paperback, this major work from renowned scholar Tremper Longman III examines wisdom in the Old Testament and explores its theological influence on the intertestamental books, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and especially the New Testament. Longman notes that wisdom is a practical category (the skill of living), an ethical category (a wise person is a virtuous person), and most foundationally a theological category (the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom). The author discusses Israelite wisdom in the context of the broader ancient Near East, examines the connection between wisdom in the New Testament and in the Old Testament, and deals with a number of contested issues, such as the relationship of wisdom to prophecy, history, and law.