AUTHOR

The place of the book of Lamentations in the Bible has never been in dispute. The Talmud (an ancient commentary on the Old Testament), the Septuagint (the early Greek translation of the Old Testament), the writings of the first-century Jewish historian Josephus, and the Latin Vulgate (an early translation of the Bible from Greek into Latin), all recognize Lamentations as part of the canon. Lamentations is found in the Writings section of the Jewish Scriptures, as part of the Megilloth—the five books of Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, and Esther, which are read during certain Jewish festivals. Lamentations is read during the ninth of Ab, a fast that commemorates the destruction of the first and second temples.

The book itself is anonymous, but the tradition for Jeremiah as its author is ancient. The Talmud and Josephus’s writings both attribute the book to him, as do the writings of the church fathers. The Septuagint and Vulgate both have subtitles attributing the book to Jeremiah's. Further, the book appears to have been written by an eyewitness to the destruction of Jerusalem (2:6-12), and Jeremiah was such an eyewitness (Jr 39:1-14).

There are also three arguments for Jeremiah’s authorship based on similarities to the book of Jeremiah. (1) There are similarities between the two books in tone, theology, themes, language, and imagery (see Lm 1:15 with Jr 8:21; Lm 1:2 with Jr 30:14). (2) Both books assert that, while Judah should have submitted because the exile was deserved (Lm 1:5; 3:27-28; Jr 29:4-10), there was hope for restoration (Lm 3:21-33; 4:22; 5:19-22; Jr 29:11-14). (3) Both books suggest the prophets and priests shared the blame with the people (Lm 2:14; 4:13; Jr 5:31; 14:14; 23:16).

So, on the one hand, there is no good reason to doubt that Jeremiah wrote the book. But on the other hand, the arguments in his favor are not absolutely conclusive. In any case, we can surmise that the author was an eyewitness to the destruction of Jerusalem, a skillful poet, and a person who deeply felt the distress of his people. The inspiration and canonicity of the book do not depend on the certain identification of its human author or authors.

Because of the highly emotional character of the book, it likely was written soon after the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC. Some critical scholars, however, date it much later—up to the second century BC. But it is unlikely that a person so far removed from the event could have captured its mood as the author of this book did. The grief expressed in Lamentations also argues for a date before the release of Judah’s King Jehoiachin in 562 BC (2Kg 25:27-30) and certainly before the return of the exiles in 539 BC. The evidence for Jeremiah as author also argues against a date beyond his time.

THE RELIABILITY OF LAMENTATIONS

One of the main arguments against an early date for Lamentations is its poetic style. Chapters 1–4 of Lamentations are alphabetic acrostics. That is, the first word of each verse starts with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet (chap. 3 has three verses for each letter). Those who argue for a much later date question whether the people of Jeremiah’s time were capable of such sophisticated formal poetry. They also question whether a person actually experiencing such emotions could force his words into such a restricted form (many scholars also perceive a poetic rhythm in Lamentations). For these reasons, they conclude that it was composed long after the events depicted. Further, since the last chapter is not an acrostic, skeptics question its inclusion.

Some scholars argue that there was not enough time between the invention of alphabetic writing early in the second millennium BC and the writing of this book for such sophisticated literary forms to develop. That is not necessarily the case. Sophisticated forms of literature and poetry would likely develop when stories and traditions were passed along orally. These forms would have been incorporated in writing.

Certainly the alphabetic acrostic is not a form that would have developed in an oral society, yet it would have been one of the first forms to arise as writing spread. Just as our books that teach the alphabet have an apple, a boy, and a cat, so the ancient writing lessons would have had an ox, a house, and a camel. Later lessons might feature sentences starting with each successive letter. From these lessons could arise alphabetic acrostic poetry, which appears frequently in the Bible (Pss 9–10; 25; 34; 37; 111–112; 119; 145; Pr 31:10-31).

But would a person overcome with grief express his feelings in such formal verse? One might expect a heart cry to come out in sentence fragments or free verse. However, deep emotions and formal poetry are compatible. Indeed, people turn to poetry precisely for its ability to express emotion. Consider Shakespeare’s sonnets. Also, the form itself sometimes contributes to meaning: the acrostic may have been employed to express the completeness of the destruction and despair—from A to Z, as it were. This also suggests an explanation for why chapter 5 is not an acrostic (nor does it have the rhythm perceived in the other chapters): the lack of form expresses the chaos and despair of the time.