Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

LAMENT

One of the oldest and best-attested literary genres in the ancient Near East. The OT contains at least four different kinds or subgenres of the lament: funeral dirge, city lament, individual lament, and communal lament.

The funeral dirge, common in many traditional societies like those of the ancient Near East, was sung by surviving family members or close friends as part of the ceremony for the deceased. These dirges are typically characterized by short ejaculatory phrases of the kind, “Oh, my son!” narrative passages which contrast the gloriously depicted past of the deceased with the mournful present, and, when relevant, imprecations directed at those responsible for the death of the deceased. The OT contains only two genuine funeral dirges, 2 Sam. 3:33-34; Jer. 38:22. However, there are several literary transformations of the funeral dirge (e.g., 2 Sam. 1:19-27), and several of the dirge’s more common motifs have been taken up in the city lament.

The city lament owes its original inspiration to the funeral dirge, as it mourns the destruction of a city as if the city were a deceased person. Knowledge of city laments dates back to the end of the 3rd millennium b.c.e. in ancient Mesopotamia. These laments describe the destruction of particular cities and their important shrines. The cause of the destruction is attributed to the capricious decision of the divine assembly headed by its chief god Enlil. The laments typically narrate the abandonment of the cities and shrines by their chief gods and goddesses and the onslaught of Enlil’s storm — a metaphor for the military attack of the enemy. The weeping goddess, portrayed lamenting the destruction of her city, figures prominently in these poems as well. The book of Lamentations shares a large number of genre features with these Mesopotamian laments, suggesting that the poet knew of this genre and drew heavily upon it for the composition of his own Israelite city lament. The city lament as a modulating form likely occurs elsewhere in the OT as well (e.g., Ps. 137; Isa. 15:1–16:14; 47:1-15; Jer. 48:1-47; Amos 5:1-3, 16-20; Mic. 1:2-16).

The individual lament so well known from the Hebrew Psalter has precursors in similar compositions from Mesopotamia, such as the Sumerian letter prayers and the šu-illa prayers. The following elements are frequently found in the individual laments in the Psalms (e.g., Pss. 3, 6, 13, 22, 28, 31, 51, 88, 102): address to Yahweh, complaint describing the situation (often employing the language of sickness metaphorically), request for help, affirmation of confidence, assertion of innocence or confession of sin, and hymnic elements.

Topically, the communal laments may be divided into two groups: those which lament the destruction of the city and temple (e.g., Pss. 44, 60, 74, 79, 80, 137) and those whose focus is on other kinds of community crises (e.g., 42-43, 58, 83, 106, 125). These laments appear to have been used on fast days or in times of grave danger. The main features of the communal lament closely resemble those of the individual lament: address to Yahweh, hymnic praise, description of devastation, complaint, and plea for help.

F. W. Dobbs-Allsopp

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

LAMENT

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)