Lamentations (Old Testament Library | OTL)

by Adele Berlin

Publisher:

Westminster John Knox

, 2004

Overview

The Old Testament Library provides an authoritative treatment of every major and important aspect of the Old Testament. This commentary on Lamentations offers a fresh translation, discussing questions of historical background and literary architecture before providing a theologically sensitive exposition of the text.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Perhaps the author of Lamentations has used the persona of Jeremiah in a manner analogous to the way the author of the book of Jonah has used the persona of the prophet named Jonah. The dominant ‘poet’ of our book is not the author in a historical sense, but is, rather, the implied author in the literary sense.” (Page 32)

“The plea throughout the book is that God should hear, see, remember, pay attention, and, at its climax, that he should ‘take us back’ (5:21); but the plea is never answered, God remains distant, and so the state of mourning cannot end.” (Page 16)

“As in the book of Job, the assumption in this section is that knowledge of the true nature of God will bring comfort and hope to the sufferer.” (Page 92)

“In this context we can say that Lam 1, and perhaps the entire book, is a call to God to be Zion’s comforter.” (Page 48)

“It assumes the ‘theology of destruction’ in which destruction and exile are the punishment for sin” (Page 18)

Product Details

• Title: Lamentations: A Commentary
• Author: Adele Berlin
• Edition: First paperback edition
• Series: The Old Testament Library
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox
• Print Publication Date: 2004
• Logos Release Date: 2017
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Bible. O.T. Lamentations › Commentaries
• ISBNs: 0664229743, 9780664229740
• Resource ID: LLS:OTL25LA
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-09-24T16:36:23Z

About Adele Berlin

Adele Berlin is a professor of Hebrew Bible and ancient Near Eastern literature at the University of Maryland at College Park. She is highly regarded for her literary analysis of biblical and cognate literature. Among her publications is her volume on Esther in the JPS Bible Commentary.