Lamentations 2 is the second chapter of the Book of Lamentations in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible,[1][2] part of the Ketuvim ("Writings").[3][4]
Lamentations 2 | |
---|---|
Book | Book of Lamentations |
Hebrew Bible part | Ketuvim |
Order in the Hebrew part | 6 |
Category | The five scrolls |
Christian Bible part | Old Testament |
Order in the Christian part | 25 |
Text
editThe 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.[5]
Textual versions
editSome early witnesses for the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes Codex Leningradensis (1008).[6][a] 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.[8][9][10]
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; B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: S; 4th century; extant verses 1–20[11]), Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century) and Codex Marchalianus (Q; Q; 6th century).[12]
Verse 1
edit- 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.[13]
- "How" (Hebrew: Eichah): repeating the title of the book/collection, and also in Lamentations 4:1.[5]
- "How the Lord has covered": Or, "How" doth "אדני 'ădonāy cover."[14]
- "The daughter of Zion": i.e. Jerusalem.[15]
- "Cast down from heaven": Here (and in Matthew 11:23) is a parallel to Isaiah 14:12, where the King of Babylon is compared to a "bright star". "Cast down" into the "pit" or dungeon of Hades (Isaiah 14:15).[15]
- "The beauty of Israel": i.e. Jerusalem, just as Babylon is called "the proud beauty [or, 'ornament'] of Chaldea" (Isaiah 13:19).[15]
- "His footstool": meaning either the "house of the sanctuary", i.e. the temple itself, containing the Ark of covenant (1 Chronicles 28:2; Psalm 99:5),[15] according to the Targum and Jarchi; or rather the Ark of covenant (Psalm 132:7) with the mercy seat, on which the Shechinah or divine Majesty set his feet, when sitting between the cherubim as in 1 Chronicles 28:2.[16]
Verse 10
edit- 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.[17]
This verse illustrates Judean mourning rites.[18]
Verses 16–17
editIn verses 16–17, 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.[19]
Verse 19
edit- "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."[20]
This verse "introduces the language of prayer, even repentance; and in this anticipates themes of chapter 3".[18]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Since 1947 the whole book is missing from Aleppo Codex.[7]
References
edit- ^ Collins 2014, pp. 365–367.
- ^ Hayes 2015, Chapter 20.
- ^ Metzger, Bruce M., et al. The Oxford Companion to the Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
- ^ Keck, Leander E. 2001. The New Interpreter's Bible: Volume: VI. Nashville: Abingdon.
- ^ a b c d Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, Andrew Robert; Brown, David. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary on the Whole Bible. "Lamentations 2". 1871.
- ^ Würthwein 1995, pp. 35–37.
- ^ P. W. Skehan (2003), "BIBLE (TEXTS)", New Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 2 (2nd ed.), Gale, pp. 355–362
- ^ Ulrich 2010, pp. 749–752.
- ^ "General Info". 5 January 2018.
- ^ Fitzmyer 2008, p. 43.
- ^ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Codex Sinaiticus". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ Würthwein 1995, pp. 73–74.
- ^ Lamentations 2:1 NKJV
- ^ Barnes, Albert. Notes on the Bible - "Lamentations 2" London, Blackie & Son, 1884. Reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998.
- ^ a b c d Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors). On "Lamentations 2". In: The Pulpit Commentary. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890.
- ^ Gill, John. Exposition of the Entire Bible. "Lamentations 2". Published in 1746-1763.
- ^ Lamentations 2:10: NKJV
- ^ a b Joyce, P. M., Lamentations in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary Archived 2019-05-02 at the Wayback Machine, p. 530
- ^ Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, Andrew Robert; Brown, David. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary on the Whole Bible. "Lamentations 1: Introduction". 1871.
- ^ Lamentations 2:19: NKJV
Sources
edit- Collins, John J. (2014). Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. Fortress Press. ISBN 9781451469233.
- Fitzmyer, Joseph A. (2008). A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 9780802862419. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
- Hayes, Christine (2015). Introduction to the Bible. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300188271.
- Ulrich, Eugene, ed. (2010). The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants. Brill. ISBN 9789004181830. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- Würthwein, Ernst (1995). The Text of the Old Testament. Translated by Rhodes, Erroll F. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-0788-7. Retrieved January 26, 2019.