Topical Bible: Lamentation

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Topical Encyclopedia

Definition and Overview:

Lamentation refers to the act of expressing deep sorrow, mourning, or regret. In the biblical context, it is often associated with the expression of grief over sin, suffering, or the destruction of Jerusalem. The term is most prominently associated with the Book of Lamentations in the Old Testament, traditionally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah. This book is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. by the Babylonians.

Biblical Context:

1. The Book of Lamentations:
· The Book of Lamentations is composed of five chapters, each functioning as a separate poem. These poems are structured as acrostics, with the first four chapters following the Hebrew alphabet. The book vividly describes the desolation of Jerusalem and the suffering of its people, serving as a poignant reminder of the consequences of sin and disobedience to God.
· Key themes include the justice of God, the reality of suffering, the call to repentance, and the hope for restoration. Despite the overwhelming grief, the book also contains expressions of faith in God's mercy and compassion. Lamentations 3:22-23 states, "Because of the LORD’s loving devotion we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!"

2. Purpose and Themes:
· The primary purpose of Lamentations is to provide a theological reflection on the destruction of Jerusalem and to offer a means for the community to process their grief and seek reconciliation with God. It serves as a reminder of the seriousness of sin and the need for repentance.
· The book emphasizes God's sovereignty and righteousness, acknowledging that the suffering experienced by the Israelites was a result of their covenant unfaithfulness. Yet, it also highlights God's enduring love and the possibility of redemption and renewal.

3. Expressions of Lament in the Psalms:
· Lamentation is not confined to the Book of Lamentations; it is a common theme throughout the Psalms. Many psalms are categorized as laments, where the psalmist cries out to God in times of distress, seeking His intervention and deliverance. For example, Psalm 13:1-2 begins with, "How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?"
· These psalms often follow a pattern of complaint, petition, and expression of trust in God, demonstrating a deep reliance on Him even in the midst of suffering.

4. Prophetic Lamentations:
· The prophets frequently used lamentation as a rhetorical device to convey the seriousness of Israel's sin and the impending judgment. Jeremiah, known as the "weeping prophet," often expressed lament over the spiritual state of the nation and the coming destruction (Jeremiah 9:1: "Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!").
· These prophetic laments served as both a warning and a call to repentance, urging the people to return to God and seek His forgiveness.

Theological Significance:

Lamentation in the Bible underscores the reality of human suffering and the brokenness of the world due to sin. It provides a framework for believers to express their grief and sorrow while maintaining faith in God's ultimate justice and mercy. Through lamentation, the faithful are invited to bring their deepest pains before God, trusting in His compassion and the hope of restoration. The practice of lamentation is a vital aspect of the believer's spiritual journey, fostering a deeper reliance on God and a greater understanding of His redemptive purposes.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(Hebrews qinah), an elegy or dirge. The first example of this form of poetry is the lament of David over Saul and Jonathan (2 Samuel 1:17-27). It was a frequent accompaniment of mourning (Amos 8:10). In 2 Samuel 3:33, 34 is recorded David's lament over Abner. Prophecy sometimes took the form of a lament when it predicted calamity (Ezek. 27:2, 32; 28:12; 32:2, 16).

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) The act of bewailing; audible expression of sorrow; wailing; moaning.

2. (n.) A book of the Old Testament attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and taking its name from the nature of its contents.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

LAMENTATION

lam-en-ta'-shun.

See BURIAL, III, 2; IV, 4, 5, 6.

Greek

3602. odurmos -- lamentation
... lamentation. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: odurmos Phonetic Spelling:
(od-oor-mos') Short Definition: lamentation, wailing Definition ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3602.htm - 6k

2355. threnos -- a lamentation.
... 2354, 2355. threnos. 2356 . a lamentation. ... See 2354 (). Word Origin from threomai
(cry aloud, shriek) Definition a lamentation. lamentation. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2355.htm - 6k

2870. kopetos -- a beating of the head and breast
... the head and breast. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: kopetos Phonetic
Spelling: (kop-et-os') Short Definition: lamentation Definition: beating ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2870.htm - 6k

2805. klauthmos -- weeping
... weeping. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: klauthmos Phonetic Spelling:
(klowth-mos') Short Definition: weeping, lamentation Definition: weeping ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2805.htm - 6k

3629. oiktirmon -- merciful
... Cognate: 3629 (an adjective, derived from 3627 , "express visceral-compassions") --
compassionate, experiencing deep pity (lamentation) as for people who look ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3629.htm - 7k

2875. kopto -- to cut (off), strike, by ext. to mourn
... kop'-to) Short Definition: I cut off, mourn Definition: (a) I cut, cut off, strike,
smite, (b) mid: I beat my breast or head in lamentation, lament, mourn ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2875.htm - 7k

Strong's Hebrew

5092. nehi -- a wailing, lamentation, mourning song
... nehi. 5093 . a wailing, lamentation, mourning song. Transliteration: nehi Phonetic
Spelling: (neh-hee') Short Definition: wailing. ... lamentation, wailing. ...
/hebrew/5092.htm - 6k

5093. nihyah -- a wailing, lamentation
... nihyah. 5094 . a wailing, lamentation. Transliteration: nihyah Phonetic Spelling:
(nih-yaw') Short Definition: bitter. ... Feminine of nhiy; lamentation -- doleful ...
/hebrew/5093.htm - 6k

1958. hi -- lamentation, wailing
... 1957, 1958. hi. 1959 . lamentation, wailing. Transliteration: hi Phonetic Spelling:
(he) Short Definition: woe. ... woe. For nhiy; lamentation -- woe. (For hiyr ...
/hebrew/1958.htm - 6k

7015. qinah -- an elegy, dirge
... 7014b, 7015. qinah. 7016 . an elegy, dirge. Transliteration: qinah Phonetic
Spelling: (kee-naw') Short Definition: lamentation. ... lamentation. ...
/hebrew/7015.htm - 6k

4553. misped -- a wailing
... Word Origin from saphad Definition a wailing NASB Word Usage lament (1), lamentation
(4), mourning (5), wailing (4). lamentation, mourning, wailing. ...
/hebrew/4553.htm - 6k

592. aniyyah -- mourning
... 1). lamentation, sorrow. From 'anah; groaning -- lamentation, sorrow. see HEBREW
'anah. 591, 592. aniyyah. 593 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/592.htm - 6k

1058. bakah -- to weep, bewail
... bewail, complain, make lamentation, more, mourn, sore, with tears,. A primitive
root; to weep; generally to bemoan -- X at all, bewail ...
/hebrew/1058.htm - 6k

4798. marzeach -- a cry
... mourning. Formed like mirzach; a cry, ie (of grief) a lamentation -- mourning. see
HEBREW mirzach. 4797, 4798. marzeach. 4799 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/4798.htm - 6k

5204. niy -- wailing
... wailing A doubtful word; apparently from nahah; lamentation -- wailing. see
HEBREW nahah. 5203, 5204. niy. 5204a . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/5204.htm - 5k

5089. noah -- eminency, distinction
... eminent (1). wailing. From an unused root meaning to lament; lamentation --
wailing. 5088, 5089. noah. 5090 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/5089.htm - 5k

Library

And the Churches, Too, Will Wail with a Mighty Lamentation...
... Piece XXXIV. And the churches, too, will wail with a mighty lamentation?
And the churches, too, will wail with a mighty lamentation ...
/.../the extant works and fragments of hippolytus/piece xxxiv and the churches.htm

He Then Wonderfully Displays the Eternal Life, which is Christ, to ...
... 2. He then wonderfully displays the Eternal Life, which is Christ, to those who
confess Him not, and applies to them the mournful lamentation of Jeremiah over ...
/.../gregory of nyssa dogmatic treatises etc/section 2 he then wonderfully.htm

The Redeemer's Return is Necessitated by the Lamentation of all ...
... Chapter One The Need of the Redeemer's Return VIII. THE REDEEMER'S RETURN
IS NECESSITATED BY THE LAMENTATION OF ALL CREATION. The ...
/.../pink/the redeemers return/viii the redeemers return is.htm

Certain Fulfilment of Prophecy.
... And then in Jerusalem there shall be great lamentation, not the lamentation of mouths
or of lips, but the lamentation of the heart; and they shall rend not ...
/.../the first apology of justin/chapter lii certain fulfilment of prophecy.htm

The Wailing of Risca
... Jeremiah 4:20. THE sorrow of the weeping prophet was exceeding heavy when
he uttered these words of bitter lamentation. A great ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 7 1861/the wailing of risca.htm

How Joppa was Taken, and Tiberias Delivered Up.
... And much lamentation there was when the ships were dashed against one another, and
a terrible noise when they were broken to pieces; and some of the multitude ...
/.../chapter 9 how joppa was.htm

Spoken in Antioch in the Old Church, as it was Called...
... of? The present season is one for tears, and not for words; for lamentation,
not for discourse; for prayer, not for preaching. Such ...
/.../chrysostom/on the priesthood/homily ii spoken in antioch.htm

An Exhortation to Theodore after his Fall. Letter I.
... not any one who knew in the days of its glory that well-ordered mind of thine which
the devil has now set on fire, groan, imitating the lamentation of the ...
/.../chrysostom/on the priesthood/an exhortation to theodore after.htm

Letter xxxix. To Paula.
... [833] And when we read that, for Moses and Aaron, lamentation was made after ancient
custom, this ought not to surprise us, for even in the Acts of the Apostles ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter xxxix to paula.htm

The Last Farewell in the Presence of the one Hundred and Fifty ...
... gratefully secure its own safety; like that flock which was harassed by lions,
dispersed by tempest, or scattered in darkness, the lamentation of prophets who ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/oration xlii the last farewell.htm

Thesaurus

Lamentation (45 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. LAMENTATION. lam-en-ta'-shun. See BURIAL, III,
2; IV, 4, 5, 6. Multi-Version Concordance Lamentation (45 Occurrences). ...
/l/lamentation.htm - 21k

Lament (44 Occurrences)
... 2. (vt) To mourn for; to bemoan; to bewail. 3. (v.) Grief or sorrow expressed in
complaints or cries; lamentation; a wailing; a moaning; a weeping. ...
/l/lament.htm - 20k

Lamented (19 Occurrences)
... (WEB). Genesis 50:10 They came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the
Jordan, and there they lamented with a very great and sore lamentation. ...
/l/lamented.htm - 12k

Wailing (44 Occurrences)
... Matthew 2:18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and bitter lamentation: It was
Rachel bewailing her children, and she refused to be comforted because there ...
/w/wailing.htm - 19k

Lamenting (8 Occurrences)
... n.) of Lament. 2. (n.) Lamentation. ... Isaiah 29:2 And I have sent distress to Ariel,
And it hath been lamentation and mourning, And it hath been to me as Ariel. ...
/l/lamenting.htm - 8k

Weeping (237 Occurrences)
... & vb. n.) of Weep. 2. (n.) The act of one who weeps; lamentation with tears; shedding
of tears. ... 6. (a.) Pertaining to lamentation, or those who weep. Int. ...
/w/weeping.htm - 37k

Tyrus (18 Occurrences)
... the midst of thee? (KJV). Ezekiel 27:2 Now, thou son of man, take up a
lamentation for Tyrus; (KJV). Ezekiel 27:8 The inhabitants ...
/t/tyrus.htm - 12k

Mourning (85 Occurrences)
... 2. (n.) The act of sorrowing or expressing grief; lamentation; sorrow. ... Isaiah
29:2 then I will distress Ariel, and there will be mourning and lamentation. ...
/m/mourning.htm - 34k

Wail (50 Occurrences)
... 4. (n.) Loud weeping; violent lamentation; wailing. ... Alas!' and they will call the
farmer to mourning, and those who are skillful in lamentation to wailing. ...
/w/wail.htm - 21k

Loud (222 Occurrences)
... Matthew 2:18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children; she wouldn't be comforted, because they are ...
/l/loud.htm - 37k

Resources

What is a lament in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

What are the Stations of the Cross and what can we learn from them? | GotQuestions.org

What is the outer darkness in Matthew 22:13? | GotQuestions.org

Lamentation: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Lamentation (45 Occurrences)

Matthew 2:18
"A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; she wouldn't be comforted, because they are no more."
(WEB KJV WEY DBY WBS YLT RSV)

Acts 8:2
And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
(KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Acts 20:37
and with loud lamentation they all threw their arms round his neck, and kissed him lovingly,
(WEY)

2 Corinthians 7:7
and not only in his presence, but also in the comfort with which he was comforted over you, declaring to us your longing desire, your lamentation, your zeal for me, so that the more I did rejoice,
(YLT)

Hebrews 13:17
Obey your leaders and be submissive to them. For they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give account; that they may do this with joy and not with lamentation. For that would be of no advantage to you.
(WEY)

Genesis 50:10
They came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and there they lamented with a very great and sore lamentation. He mourned for his father seven days.
(WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

2 Samuel 1:17
David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT RSV)

2 Samuel 11:26
When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she made lamentation for her husband.
(WEB JPS ASV RSV)

1 Kings 13:30
And he laid his body in his own grave; and they mourned over him,'saying, Alas, my brother!
(See JPS)

1 Kings 14:13
And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him; for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward Jehovah, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.
(See JPS)

1 Kings 14:18
And all Israel buried him, and mourned for him, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the prophet.
(See JPS)

Esther 9:31
to confirm these days of Purim in their appointed times, as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had decreed, and as they had imposed upon themselves and their descendants, in the matter of the fastings and their cry.
(See NAS NIV)

Job 27:15
Those who remain of him shall be buried in death. His widows shall make no lamentation.
(WEB JPS ASV RSV)

Psalms 78:64
Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.
(KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS RSV)

Isaiah 15:8
For the cry has gone round the limits of Moab; as far as to Eglaim and Beer-elim.
(See NIV)

Isaiah 22:12
And in that day did the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
(See JPS YLT)

Isaiah 29:2
then I will distress Ariel, and there will be mourning and lamentation. She shall be to me as an altar hearth.
(WEB ASV YLT RSV)

Isaiah 32:12
They shall smite on the breasts in lamentation for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vineyards.
(DBY)

Jeremiah 6:26
Daughter of my people, gird yourself with sackcloth, and wallow in ashes! Mourn, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the destroyer shall suddenly come on us.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Jeremiah 7:29
Cut off your hair, Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the bare heights; for Yahweh has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Jeremiah 9:10
For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none passes through; neither can men hear the voice of the livestock; both the birds of the sky and the animals are fled, they are gone.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT RSV)

Jeremiah 9:20
Yet hear the word of Yahweh, you women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; and teach your daughters wailing, and everyone her neighbor lamentation.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

Jeremiah 31:15
Thus says Yahweh: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS NAS RSV)

Jeremiah 48:38
On all the housetops of Moab and in its streets there is lamentation every where; for I have broken Moab like a vessel in which none delights, says Yahweh.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Lamentations 2:5
The Lord is become as an enemy, he has swallowed up Israel; He has swallowed up all her palaces, he has destroyed his strongholds; He has multiplied in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation.
(WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 2:10
He spread it before me: and it was written within and without; and there were written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 19:1
Moreover, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 19:14
Fire is gone out of the rods of its branches, it has devoured its fruit, so that there is in it no strong rod to be a scepter to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 24:16
Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet thou shalt neither mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.
(See JPS)

Ezekiel 24:23
And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away in your iniquities, and moan one toward another.
(See JPS)

Ezekiel 26:17
They shall take up a lamentation over you, and tell you, How you are destroyed, who were inhabited by seafaring men, the renowned city, who was strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, who caused their terror to be on all who lived there!
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 27:2
You, son of man, take up a lamentation over Tyre;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 27:31
and they shall make themselves bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee in bitterness of soul with bitter mourning.
(See JPS)

Ezekiel 27:32
In their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for you, and lament over you, saying, Who is there like Tyre, like her who is brought to silence in the midst of the sea?
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 28:12
Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and tell him, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: You seal up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 32:2
Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and tell him, You were likened to a young lion of the nations: yet you are as a monster in the seas; and you did break forth with your rivers, and troubled the waters with your feet, and fouled their rivers.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Ezekiel 32:16
This is the lamentation with which they shall lament; the daughters of the nations shall lament therewith; over Egypt, and over all her multitude, shall they lament therewith, says the Lord Yahweh.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Joel 2:12
Yet even now, saith Jehovah, turn ye unto me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
(See JPS YLT)

Amos 5:1
Listen to this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT RSV)

Amos 5:16
Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Armies, the Lord: "Wailing will be in all the broad ways; and they will say in all the streets,'Alas! Alas!' and they will call the farmer to mourning, and those who are skillful in lamentation to wailing.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Amos 5:17
And in all vineyards shall be wailing; for I will pass through the midst of thee, saith Jehovah.
(See JPS YLT)

Amos 8:10
I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will make you wear sackcloth on all your bodies, and baldness on every head. I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and its end like a bitter day.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Micah 1:8
For this will I lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing like the jackals, and a lamentation like the ostriches.
(ASV YLT RSV)

Micah 1:11
Pass away, inhabitress of Shaphir, in nakedness and shame. The inhabitress of Zaanan is not come forth for the lamentation of Beth-ezel: he will take from you its shelter.
(DBY YLT NAS)

Micah 2:4
In that day they will take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, saying,'We are utterly ruined! My people's possession is divided up. Indeed he takes it from me and assigns our fields to traitors!'"
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV)

Subtopics

Lamentation

Related Terms

Acrostic (2 Occurrences)

Fail (130 Occurrences)

Pitied (19 Occurrences)

Attacker (14 Occurrences)

Maidens (40 Occurrences)

Virgins (33 Occurrences)

Foe (23 Occurrences)

Coral (3 Occurrences)

Sigh (18 Occurrences)