The Book of Lamentations

by John Goldingay

Overview

The book of Lamentations is one of the most vivid representations of grief and trauma in the Hebrew Bible. Written in the wake of the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonian Empire, it is comprised of five poems of twenty-two stanzas each, in a manner of tight formal unity unparalleled by any other work in the Scriptures. 

In this volume, widely respected Old Testament scholar John Goldingay analyzes these and other aspects of Lamentations while keeping a constant eye on the book’s meaning and use as Christian Scripture. After a thorough introduction that explores matters of background, composition, and theology, Goldingay provides an original translation of the book from the Masoretic text along with verse-by-verse commentary.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802825421
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	03/01/2022
Series:	New International Commentary on the Old Testament Series
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

John Goldingay is David Allan Hubbard Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Fuller Seminary.  

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction
          1. Background
          2. Unity of Composition
          3. Authorship and Date
          4. Occasion, Place of Origin, and Destination
          5. Canonicity
          6. The Hebrew Text
          7. Theology
          8. Main Themes and Their Implications
          9. Analysis of Contents
Text and Commentary
          Lamentations 1: Is There Pain Like My Pain?
          Lamentations 2: He Poured Out His Wrath Like Fire
          Lamentations 3: Perhaps There Is Hope
          Lamentations 4: He Lit a Fire in Zion
          Lamentations 5: Be Mindful, Yahweh

Editorial Reviews

Religious Studies Review
“As one has come to expect from Goldingay, this new volume is a rich distillation of a wealth of knowledge into an informed yet accessible commentary on an enigmatic book of the Hebrew Bible.

From the Publisher