Section outline

  • The Book of Lamentations expresses the deep traumatic pain of the survivors of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile, describing both individual suffering and the collective loss of a people. It belongs to the Old Testament tradition of lament literature, including lament psalms and the Book of Job, helping to articulate grief and find a path toward recovery. Just as the Israelites sought a new normal after the fall of Jerusalem, modern people face personal and societal traumas, requiring guidance in the process of mourning and restoration.