Lamentation

Lamentation (Hebrew qinah) denotes an elegy or dirge, a distinctive Hebrew poetic form marked by a characteristic 3:2 falling rhythm that mimics the cadence of grief. The first great scriptural example is David's lament over Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam. 1:17–27). Lamentations were composed for the deaths of kings, national catastrophes, and prophetic warnings of coming judgment (Amos 5:1–2). Jeremiah was especially associated with the lament genre and is said to have composed laments over Josiah (2 Chr. 35:25). The Book of Lamentations gathers five communal poems of mourning over the destruction of Jerusalem, establishing the pattern for liturgical confession in the face of national calamity.