Lamentations 2 Explained

Lamentations 2 is the second chapter of the Book of Lamentations in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, part of the Ketuvim ("Writings").[1] [2]

Text

The original text was written in Hebrew language. The chapter is acrostic, divided into 22 stanzas or verses. The stanzas consist of triplets of lines (except Lamentations 2:19 which contains four lines) each beginning with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, but with reversal of the 16th and 17th letters.

Textual versions

Some early witnesses for the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes Codex Leningradensis (1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, i.e., 4Q111 (4QLam; 30‑1 BCE) with the extant verse 5.[3]

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B;

ak{G}

B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK:

ak{G}

S; 4th century; extant verses 1–20), Codex Alexandrinus (A;

ak{G}

A; 5th century) and Codex Marchalianus (Q;

ak{G}

Q; 6th century).

Verse 1

How the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion

With a cloud in His anger!

He cast down from heaven to the earth

The beauty of Israel,

And did not remember His footstool

In the day of His anger.[4]

Verse 10

The elders of the daughter of Zion

Sit on the ground and keep silence;

They throw dust on their heads

And gird themselves with sackcloth.

The virgins of Jerusalem

Bow their heads to the ground.[9] This verse illustrates Judean mourning rites.[10]

Verses 16–17

In 2:16-17 HE, two initial letters, "Ayin" and "Pe", are transposed.[5] This is found is three instances in the whole book (Lamentations 2:16-17; 3:46–51; 4:16–17).[5] Grotius thinks the reason for the inversion of two of the Hebrew letters, is that the Chaldeans, like the Arabians, used a different order from the Hebrews; in the first Elegy (chapter 1), Jeremiah speaks as a Hebrew, in the following ones, as one subject to the Chaldeans, but Fausset thinks it is doubtful.[11]

Verse 19

"Arise, cry out in the night,

At the beginning of the watches;

Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.

Lift your hands toward Him

For the life of your young children,

Who faint from hunger at the head of every street."[12] This verse "introduces the language of prayer, even repentance; and in this anticipates themes of chapter 3".

See also

Sources

. A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature. Joseph Fitzmyer . William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 2008 . 9780802862419 . Grand Rapids, MI . February 15, 2019.

. Ernst Würthwein . The Text of the Old Testament . Wm. B. Eerdmans . Grand Rapids, MI . 1995 . Erroll F.. Rhodes . 0-8028-0788-7 . January 26, 2019.

External links

Jewish

Christian

Notes and References

  1. [Bruce M. Metzger|Metzger, Bruce M.]
  2. Keck, Leander E. 2001. The New Interpreter's Bible: Volume: VI. Nashville: Abingdon.
  3. Web site: General Info. 5 January 2018 .
  4. 2 Lamentations NKJV
  5. Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, Andrew Robert; Brown, David. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary on the Whole Bible. "Lamentations 2". 1871.
  6. [Albert Barnes (theologian)|Barnes, Albert]
  7. Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors). On "Lamentations 2". In: The Pulpit Commentary. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890.
  8. [John Gill (theologian)|Gill, John]
  9. 2 Lamentations

    NKJV

  10. Joyce, P. M., Lamentations in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary, p. 530
  11. Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, Andrew Robert; Brown, David. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary on the Whole Bible. "Lamentations 1: Introduction". 1871.
  12. 2 Lamentations

    NKJV