Lamentations Bible Study Resources — Wednesday in the Word

Study questions, maps, charts, key words, history, background, outlines, and links to help you study the Old Testament book of Lamentations.

Jump to: Background; Maps; Key Words; Encyclopedias; Commentaries; Articles; GotQuestions Next

Basics

Author: Jeremiah, probably soon after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC (although the author is not identified in the book).
The title, “Lamentations,” was derived from a translation of the title as found in the Latin Vulgate translation of the Septuagint, and conveys the idea of “loud cries.”
The entire book is poetic.
Themes: Mourning over Jerusalem’s destruction; confession of sin and acknowledgment of God’s justice; hope in God’s future restoration
Jeremiah sometimes speaks for himself, sometimes speaks for the captives and sometimes speaks for the personified city of Jerusalem.

For more detail, see: Chronology of Jeremiah

Outline

Chapter 1 – The Destruction of Jerusalem
Chapter 2 – The Anger of YHWH
Chapter 3 – The Prayer for Mercy
Chapter 4 – The Siege of Jerusalem
Chapter 5 – The Prayer for Restoration

Structure

The first, second, fourth and fifth laments all contain 22 verses, reflecting the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.
Each verse in the first and second laments contains three poetic lines.
Each verse in the fourth contains two lines.
Each verse in the fifth contains but one line.
The first four laments are alphabetic acrostics.
In the first, second and fourth, each numbered verse begins with the letter of the Hebrew alphabet dictated by the traditional order of that alphabet.
The third (middle) lament the three lines of each unit all begin with the sequenced order of the letters of the alphabet (thus three aleph lines followed by three beth lines, etc.)
The fifth lament continues to reflect the alphabetic pattern in its 22-line structure, but the initial letters of these lines do not follow the alphabetic sequence.

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Section 1: Background

Background & Outlines

Jeremiah Chronology
Jeremiah in the New Testament
Chart: Bible History at a glance
Blue Letter Bible: Old Testament Timeline
Biblehub: The Divided Kingdom
Chart: Kings of Israel & Judah
Bible Atlas: Assyria
Bible Atlas: Babylon
Bible Atlas: Jerusalem
Ray C Stedman: Overview of the Book
John MacArthur: Author, Date, Background
NIV: Introduction to Lamentations
ESV: Introduction to Lamentations
ESV: The Global Message of Lamentations
James van Dine: Analysis of Lamentations
JVernon McGee: Notes and Outlines – Jeremiah and Lamentations
David Malick: An Introduction to the Book of Lamentations
David Malick: An Argument of the Book of Lamentations
James Orr: Key to Lamentations
Charles Swindoll: Book of Lamentations Overview

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Section 2: Maps

Maps from Bible-History.com

Maps from Holman Bible Atlas

The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah

Judah Alone amid International Powers

The Persian Period

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Section 3: Key Words

Key Words

LORD (46x/43v) – Strong’s H3068 in Lam 1:5; Lam 1:9; Lam 1:11; Lam 1:12; Lam 1:17; Lam 1:18; Lam 1:20; Lam 2:6; Lam 2:7; Lam 2:8; Lam 2:9; Lam 2:17; Lam 2:20; Lam 2:22; Lam 3:18; Lam 3:22; Lam 3:24; Lam 3:25; Lam 3:26; Lam 3:40; Lam 3:50; Lam 3:55; Lam 3:59; Lam 3:61; Lam 3:64; Lam 3:66; Lam 4:11; Lam 4:16; Lam 4:20; Lam 5:1; Lam 5:19; Lam 5:21; Strong’s H136 in Lam 1:14; Lam 1:15; Lam 2:1; Lam 2:2; Lam 2:5; Lam 2:7; Lam 2:18; Lam 2:19; Lam 2:20; Lam 3:31; Lam 3:36; Lam 3:37; Lam 3:58;
how (6x/5v) -Strong’s H351a in Lam 1:1; Lam 2:1; Lam 4:1; Lam 4:2.; Strong’s H4100 in Lam 2:13.
Jerusalem (7x) – Strong’s H3389 in Lam 1:7; Lam 1:8; Lam 1:17; Lam 2:10; Lam 2:13; Lam 2:15; Lam 4:12.
city (6x) – Strong’s H5892b in Lam 1:1; Lam 1:19; Lam 2:12; Lam 2:15; Lam 3:51; Strong’s H7151 in Lam 2:11.
Zion (15x) – Strong’s H6726 in Lam 1:4; Lam 1:6; Lam 1:17; Lam 2:1; Lam 2:4; Lam 2:6; Lam 2:8; Lam 2:10; Lam 2:13; Lam 2:18; Lam 4:2; Lam 4:11; Lam 4:22; Lam 5:11; Lam 5:18.
daughter (21x/19v) – Strong’s H1323 in Lam 1:6; Lam 1:15; Lam 2:1; Lam 2:2; Lam 2:4; Lam 2:5; Lam 2:8; Lam 2:10; Lam 2:11; Lam 2:13; Lam 2:15; Lam 2:18; Lam 3:48; Lam 4:3; Lam 4:6; Lam 4:10; Lam 4:21; Lam 4:22.
enemy (9x)- Strong’s H340 in Lam 1:9; Lam 1:16; Lam 2:3; Lam 2:4; Lam 2:5; Lam 2:7; Lam 2:17; Lam 2:22; Lam 4:12; enemies (6x) – same word in Lam 1:2; Lam 1:5; Lam 1:21; Lam 2:16; Lam 3:46; Lam 3:52.
adversary (5x) – Strong’s H686c in Lam 1:5; Lam 1:7; Lam 1:10; Lam 2:4; Lam 4:12; adversaries (4x) – same word; Lam 1:5; Lam 1:7; Lam 1:17; Lam 2:17.
nations (5x) – Strong’s H1471 (among the) in Lam 1:1; Lam 1:3; Lam 1:10; Lam 2:9; Lam 4:15; Lam 4:20.
sin (1x) – Strong’s H2403b in Lam 4:6; sinned (3x) – Strong’s H2398 in Lam 1:8; Lam 5:7; Lam 5:16.
transgression (4x) – Strong’s H6588 in Lam 1:5; Lam 1:14; Lam 1:22.
anger (9x) – Strong’s H639 in Lam 1:12; Lam 2:1; Lam 2:3; Lam 2:6; Lam 2:21; Lam 2:22; Lam 3:43; Lam 3:66; Lam 4:11.
wrath (4x) – Strong’s H5678 Lam 2:2; Lam 3:1; Lam 4:11. ; Strong’s H2534 in Lam 2:4.
reject/rejected (5x) – Strong’s H2186a in Lam 3:31; Lam 2:7 Lam 3:17; Strong’s H5541a in Lam 1:15; Strong’s H3988a in Lam 5:22.
restore (4v) – Strong’s H7725 in Lam 1:11; Lam 1:19; Lam 2:14; Lam 5:21.
hope (4x) – Strong’s H8431 in Lam 2:18; Strong’s H3176 in Lam 3:21; Lam 3:24; Strong’s H8651b in Lam 3:29.