QUESTIONS IN LAMENTATIONS

  

                               Lamentations (1999)

The five chapters of this poetic book contain a number of questions, which is understandable considering the overall subject of the fall of Jerusalem with which the author is preoccupied. But the first question is: How many questions are there? This might sound like a silly question, but in the Hebrew language it is not always clear whether the author is making a statement or asking a question. For example, in comparing six modern English translations of the book, I found:

    eleven questions in the Jerusalem Bible; twelve in the Anchor Bible; fourteen each in NIV, RSV, and NRSV; and sixteen in NEB. Eliminating the outliers, one arrives at 15 questions, given below along with some explanatory comments:

Lamentations 1

verse 12a – Is it of no concern to you who pass by?

verse 12b – Is there any agony like mine?

“In Lamentations 1:12 the poetry goes to first person, and Jerusalem laments her suffering herself. Jerusalem blames God for making her desolate, for handing her over to those whom she cannot stand and sapping her strength.” (Branch) As Boda says, “The detachment of the first half [of Lam. 1] is soon lost in the second half as Lamentations 1:12-14 shifts to the first-person voice...”

“The appeal to uninvolved onlookers for a sympathetic appraisal occurs again at Job 21:9; Lam. 2:15; cf. Mt. 27:39.” (Osborne)

“Now not only the casual passer-by (v. 12), but all nations (v. 19) and, lastly, the Lord Himself (v. 20), are asked to ponder, with sympathetic understanding, the grievous affliction which has been thus placed upon her. The words in this verse have long been associated with our Lord in His passion. Although Christ depreciated sympathy for Himself (cf. 23:28), He identified Himself so closely with human sin and its consequences (cf. 2 Cor 5:21) that, as the prophetic words suggest, He would have us consider the significance of that identification.” (Stephens-Hodge)

The first question strikes a particular chord with me and reminds me of an event some decades ago. A friend and I were just driving back home to California during college break when we heard over the radio of a freak flood which had just taken place only a mile from the town we lived. There was a small dam on the top of a hill which had broken, unleashing all its water in a matter of minutes on all the houses directly below it.

At our first opportunity, we parked near the top of the site and walked down the hill to view most houses literally torn in two; one in-ground swimming pool still intact but standing completely above ground like a large cement wall; and even a VW hanging from what was left of a second story.

As we and other sight-seers walked down what was left of the road, one of the homeowners yelled at us to please have a heart and leave all of them alone in their grief. I would only hope that the passers-by in Lamentations 1:12 felt as guilty and ashamed as we did at that moment.

Finally, there is the rather fanciful feminist interpretation of verses 12-13 given by O'Connor, who pictures it as the image of a battered wife who has been beaten by Yahweh but blames herself. In this way, the text is said to justify spousal abuse.

Lamentations 2

verse 12 – Where are the corn and wine?

This question differs from all the others in the book in that it comes from small children pleading with their mother to feed them. See the comment on verse 20b below for comparison.

verse 13a – What can I say or compare you to?

verse 13b – To what can I liken you to comfort you?

verse 13c – Who can heal you?

Provan discusses at some length the options for translation and interpretation of this verse before stating that it “is usually interpreted as meaning that the poet is searching for an historical analogy to Zion's downfall. If such could be found, then she might find comfort in knowing that her plight was not unique, and perhaps in being aware that destruction was often not the end of the story.” See 1:12b in this regard.

He proposes a chiastic way to picture the structure of 13a-b:

        1. What can I say (of comfort)

                2. or compare you to?

                2'. To what can I liken you

        1'. to comfort you?
verse 20a – Lord, to whom have you done this?

Koptak: “Although there are other laments in the book spoken by a single male exile (Lam 3), it is Daughter Zion who turns lament into accusation, asking God, 'Whom have you ever treated like this?'”

The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery notes that a “virgin daughter is considered vulnerable, and any violation of her is a calamity.”

“In the first poem Daughter Zion asked on-lookers this searching question [1:12b]...In this second poem Daughter Zion addresses this to God directly: 'Whom have you ever treated like this?' (Lam 2:20).” (Boda)

verse 20b – Must women eat their children?

This possibility is unfortunately not entirely hypothetical. The sad example of II Kings 6:28-29 demonstrates that this was the extreme measure resorted to by some during times of siege and famine. Other OT passages dealing with the subject of cannibalism include Leviticus 26:29; Lamentations 4:10; and Ezekiel 5:10. So the question of the children in Lamentations 2:12 is really ironic in a horrible way since the very children desperate for food may actually themselves serve as food for their parents.

verse 20c – Shall priests be slain in the sanctuary?

“Also revolting to ordinary human religious feeling is the idea that men of God should be killed right in the sanctuary where they ministered.” (Hillers)

Lamentations 3

verse 36 – Does the Lord not see it?

Oswalt detects a shift in tone at 3:24: “Alongside the continuing lament there is a new emphasis on the positive characteristics of the Lord: his moral rectitude, which will mean that the enemies cannot continue in their ruthlessness forever (Lam 3:36,64)...”

“The translation does the Lord not see it? is conjectural. The words echo the claim expressed elsewhere: 'The LORD does not see' (Ezek 8:12; 9:9; Ps 94:7).” (Dobbs-Allsopp) There appear to be two different ways in which this verse is translated: “Does the Lord not see it?” (JB, TEV, AB, NIV, NRSV) and “The Lord does not approve it” (NEB, RSV).

verse 37 – Who can have done it if the Lord had not ordained it?

verse 38 – Is it not from Him that good and bad come?

We should keep in mind that “bad” or “evil” in this context does not mean moral evil at all, but tribulation instead.

Hillers explains, “While this is true, as it must be since God is the creator..., yet suffering, pain, and evil are not his final intention. He does not act like a tyrant, mistreating prisoners and denying men justice.”

“The narrator has been right...to insist that the suffering which he and his fellows have been enduring comes from God. He has been right, too, to express hope; for what God gives, he can take away.” (Provan)

verse 39 – Why should anyone complain about his sins being punished?

Boda says, “In light of [God's] grace, the poet encourages the people to wait...and be silent...Such actions describe the posture of passively accepting the discipline of God but also awaiting God's deliverance. This all leads to a presentation of the justice of God in Lamentations 3:33-38...in light of this, there is no room for complaint when being punished for one's sins (Lam 3:39).”

Lamentations 4

none – In this chapter there are no questions or addresses to God at all, just a straightforward description of the plight of Jerusalem and the recognition that she has deserved the destruction with which God had visited her. It is only in the last few verses that attention turns instead to Edom with a warning to her that she will soon suffer a similar fate at God's hands.

Lamentations 5

verse 20a – Why have you forgotten us?

verse 20b – Why have you forsaken us?

Boda states that “the questions of Lamentation 5:20...imply that the endurance of the predicament is God's responsibility.” And Dobbs-Allsopp points the reader to Psalm 22:1; 44:24: 74:19.

Belcher says, “The book ends with a 'why' question addressed to God, a plea for God to restore the people, and a reminder of the cause of suffering (Lam 5:20-22). The questions in the lament psalms and Lamentations are not arrogant, challenging questions but rather are questions that arise out of a covenant relationship with God. Not only do they call on God to be faithful to his covenant promises, but also they are a way to express the deep anguish of soul in the midst of suffering.”

Osborne notes that “vv. 20-22 constitute a microcosm of the entire book; hope sandwiched between despair gleams all the brighter.”