Lamentations

Definition and Meaning

Lamentations is the twenty-fifth book of the Old Testament and consists of five chapters. The Korean title Aega (哀歌) means "song of sorrow." In the Hebrew Bible the book is called Eikhah, after its first word ("How!" or "Alas!", an exclamation of lament). The New Korean Revised Version uses the title Yeremiya Aega ("Lamentations of Jeremiah"), while the Korean Common Translation and Catholic Bibles use simply Aega ("Lamentations").

The entire book is written in verse. Chapters 1–4 are acrostic poems, in which the first letter of each stanza or verse follows the order of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In chapter 3, three verses are assigned to each letter, giving the chapter sixty-six verses. Chapter 5 has twenty-two verses but does not follow alphabetical order; it brings the book to a close as a communal prayer.

Biblical and Historical Background

The book is set against the capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army and the burning of the Temple in Jerusalem in the early sixth century BC. It portrays the ruined city as a widow and confesses the disaster to be God's judgment on the people's sin. At the same time, it pleads for God's mercy. Lamentations 3:22–23, "It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness," is widely known as a confession of hope in the midst of despair.

The text does not name its author. The preface to the book in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, along with Jewish and Christian tradition, has identified the author as the prophet Jeremiah. In support of this tradition, interpreters also cite 2 Chronicles 35:25, which records that Jeremiah composed laments for King Josiah. Some scholars, however, on the basis of style and content, regard the book as the work of several poets or consider its authorship unknown. The Hebrew Bible places the book among the Writings (Ketuvim), as one of the Five Scrolls read at Jewish festivals. Protestant Bibles follow the order of the Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, placing it immediately after Jeremiah.

Use in the Korean Church

Because of its brevity, Lamentations is not often used as a preaching text in Korean churches. Lamentations 3:22–23, however, is frequently quoted at early morning prayer meetings, at New Year services, and in sermons for church members facing hardship. The hymn "Great Is Thy Faithfulness," based on this passage, is included in the Korean hymnal and is widely sung.

Denominations and congregations that follow the liturgical calendar sometimes read the book during Holy Week or Lent, focusing on themes of repentance and mourning. It is also used at gatherings that reflect on national disasters or on the church's failings, as a text expressing communal lament and repentance.

Views on authorship divide more along theological lines than denominational ones. Denominations and seminaries of Reformed and evangelical orientation often accept the tradition of Jeremiah's authorship. Others, noting that the text does not identify its author, leave the question open.