What is the explanation for the book of Lamentations in the Catholic Bible?
Comprising the book of Lamentations are five poems of sorrow written about the exile that the Jewish people experienced after the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BCE (before common era). They speak both of the grief of punishment and the hope for mercy.HistoryJerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II in 587 BCE in response to a Jewish revolt. The first temple, the center of ancient Jewish religion, was destroyed, the king deposed, and the Jews were driven to Babylon in exile.AuthorshipThe author of Lamentations is not mentioned in the book. Traditionally it is believed to be Jeremiah, though this cannot be confirmed. According to the introduction in the New American Bible the author was an “eyewitness to the national humiliation” and wrote the poems in response to it.StructureAccording to the New American Bible, “The first four poems are acrostics in which the separate stanzas begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet from the first to the last.” Acrostic is the name for
