De-Centering Lamentations: A Crisis of Hope, of Memory, and of Continued Presence

Abstract

Scholars have frequently looked to chapter three at the centre of the book of Lamentations to provide a note of hope, faith, and comfort, so that the book as a whole is considered a chiasm with its resolution at the centre. But this does not give adequate attention to the developing story line running through the book as a whole or the role that chapter three plays in heightening the crisis initiated by the exile and provoking a turning point in the story. The arc of the story told by a variety of characters reaches its climax in chapter three and the forward movement of the story can be seen in the move from dirge to lament and from isolation to community as Israel considers the ways in which their relationship with Yahweh has fundamentally changed.

Keywords

• Lamentations
• narrative
• hope
• memory
• presence