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You are here: Home / 101Study Help / Resources by Book / Lamentations Bible Study Resources

Lamentations Bible Study Resources

September 24, 2020 By Krisan Marotta

Lamentations Bible Study Resources | WednesdayintheWord.com

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

  • Assyrian Conquests
  • Judah under Babylon
  • Judah under Hezekiah
  • Babylonian Empire
  • Surrounding Empires

Maps from Studylight.org

The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah

  • The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah
  • The Rise of Assyria
  • Israel & Judah in the days of Jeroboam II and Uzziah
  • The Assyrian Empire under Tiglath-Pileser III
  • Fall of Samaria and Deportation of Israelites
  • The Fall of the Kingdom of Israel
  • Assyrian Districts after the Fall of Samaria
  • Prophets of the 8th Century BCE

Judah Alone amid International Powers

  • Assyria in the 7th century BCE
  • The Rise of the Neo-Babylonian Empire
  • The Reign of Josiah
  • The Districts of Judah under King Josiah
  • The Golden Age of King Josiah
  • Nebuchadnezzar’s Campaigns against Judah
  • Judah during the Exile
  • The Kingdom of Judah

The Persian Period

  • World Powers of the 6th century BCE
  • The Conquests of Cyrus the Great
  • The Persian Empire
  • The Return of the Jewish Exiles to Judah
  • Judah in the 5th century BCE
  • Palestine afterthe Exile
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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.
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Section 4: Encyclopedias

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

  • Lamentations Of Jeremiah – Smith’s Bible Dictionary
  • Lamentations Of Jeremiah – Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
  • Lamentations, Book of – Easton’s & Intl Std Bible Encyclopedia
  • Lamentation – Hastings’ Dictionary of the New Testament
  • Lamentations of Jeremiah – American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
  • Lamentations – Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
  • Lamentations – Chabad Knowledge Base
  • Lamentations – Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
  • Lamentations – 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
  • Lamentations – Kitto’s Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
  • Lamentations – The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia
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Section 5: Commentaries

Commentaries & Study Bibles

  • Top 5 Commentaries on the Book of Lamentations by Keith Mathison
  • Best Commentaries on Lamentations – Challies Dot Com
  • Best commentaries lamentations
  • Calvin’s Commentary on the Bible: Lamentations
  • Matthew Henry: Lamentations
  • Albert Barnes Notes: Lamentations
  • Reformation Study Bible Notes: Lamentations
  • Geneva Study Bible: Lamentations
  • Precept Austin Commentaries & Sermons: Lamentations
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Section 6: Articles

Articles

  • Donald Curtis: Lamentations: The Fall of Jerusalem
  • Kay Daigle: Lamentations 3:22-23 (And other Scriptures) Anchored during Times of Grief
  • Bob Deffinbaugh: The New Covenant in Jeremiah
  • Homer Heater: Notes on Book of Lamentations
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Section 7: Got Questions

GotQuestions.org

  • Book of Lamentations – Bible Survey
  • What are the Major Prophets and Minor Prophets?
  • What should we learn from the life of Jeremiah?
  • What is the Wailing Wall / Western Wall?
  • What is the meaning of sackcloth and ashes?
  • How can I learn to trust in the faithfulness of God?
  •  What is the Christian’s hope?
  • His mercies are new every morning
  • What does the Bible say about compassion?
  • What is Tisha B’Av?
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Bible Study Helps

  • Bible Study 101
  • Interpreting Prophecy
  • Interpreting Hebrew Poetry
  • Study Software & websites
  • More Maps & Charts
  • Hebrew word studies by Precepts Austin
  • Books on how to study the Bible
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Section 8: Next

Next: Ezekiel

Previous: Jeremiah

Resources: by Book of the Bible

Photo by Pierre Bamin on Unsplash

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Related posts:

  1. Jeremiah Bible Study Resources
  2. Jonah Bible Study Resources
  3. Zephaniah Bible Study Resources
  4. Study Resources by Book of the Bible
  5. Hosea Bible Study Resources

Filed Under: Resources by Book Tagged With: Lamentations, resources

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© 2011 by Krisan Marotta. Site by Author Media.