Why Was the Book of Lamentations Attributed to Jeremiah?

The earliest source we know for the claim that the prophet Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations is the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Bible, completed between the 3^rd and 1^st centuries BCE. The LXX includes the following prologue to Lamentations:

“And it happened after Israel was exiled and Jerusalem was desolated that Jeremiah sat weeping and he voiced this lament over Jerusalem, and he said…”^[1]

It is possible that the translators of the LXX added this prologue, but it may have originated in Hebrew manuscript versions upon which the LXX was based.^[2]

Many manuscripts of the Peshitta, an early (2^nd–5^th century CE) translation of the Bible into Syriac, similarly identify Jeremiah as the author of Lamentations, and in a famous discussion of the authorship and order of Biblical books, the Babylonian Talmud also reports this:

^{בבלי בבא בתרא טו} יִרְמְיָה כָּתַב סִפְרוֹ וְסֵפֶר מְלָכִים וְקִינוֹת

^{b. Bava Batra 15a} “Jeremiah wrote his book, Kings, and Lamentations.”

Chronologically, the attribution makes sense: The book of Jeremiah describes the Babylonian invasion of the land of Judah and displacement of much of its population, leading up to the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE. Lamentations mourns these events, plausibly serving as a sequel to the descriptions of the destruction at the very end of the book (and indeed, in most Christian Bibles, Lamentations does follow Jeremiah).

Jeremiah Composed Other Texts

This attribution to Jeremiah may have also been influenced by Chronicles, which describes Jeremiah as the composer of other lamentations, or qinot—in this case, after the death of King Josiah in battle:

^{דברי הימים ב לה:כה} וַיְקוֹנֵן יִרְמְיָהוּ עַל יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ וַיֹּאמְרוּ כָל הַשָּׁרִים וְהַשָּׁרוֹת בְּקִינוֹתֵיהֶם עַל יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ עַד הַיּוֹם וַיִּתְּנוּם לְחֹק עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהִנָּם כְּתוּבִים עַל הַקִּינוֹת.

^{2 Chron 35:25} Jeremiah also uttered a lament for Josiah, and all the singing men and singing women have spoken of Josiah in their laments to this day. They made these a custom in Israel; they are recorded in the Laments.

For the rabbis, the idea that Jeremiah wrote additional texts is suggested in the book of Jeremiah itself. After King Jehoiakim burns the scroll containing all of Jeremiah’s prophecies, Jeremiah dictates “additional texts” to his scribe Baruch:

^{ירמיה לו:לב} וְיִרְמְיָהוּ לָקַח מְגִלָּה אַחֶרֶת וַֽיִּתְּנָהּ אֶל בָּר֣וּךְ בֶּן נֵרִיָּהוּ הַסֹּפֵר וַיִּכְתֹּב עָלֶיהָ מִפִּי יִרְמְיָהוּ אֵת כָּל דִּבְרֵי הַסֵּפֶר אֲשֶׁר שָׂרַף יְהוֹיָקִים מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה בָּאֵשׁ וְעוֹד נוֹסַף עֲלֵיהֶם דְּבָרִים רַבִּים כָּהֵמָּה.

^{Jer 36:32} Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the secretary Baruch son of Neriah, who wrote on it at Jeremiah’s dictation all the words of the scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah had burned in the fire; and many similar words were added to them.^[3]

The medieval commentator Rashi (11^th century CE), drawing on earlier rabbinic traditions, suggests that the first, second, and fourth chapters of Lamentations were on the scroll that was burnt, and the third chapter (which contains a triple acrostic, rather than a single acrostic, and thus differs from the others,) was the new addition:

^{רש"י איכה א:א} יִרְמְיָה כָתַב סֵפֶר קִינוֹת, הִיא הַמְּגִלָּה אֲשֶׁר שָׂרַף יְהוֹיָקִים עַל הָאֵשׁ אֲשֶׁר עַל הָאָח, וְהָיוּ בָהּ שָׁלשׁ אָלֶ"ף בֵּיתוֹ"ת: "אֵיכָה יָשְׁבָה", "אֵיכָה יָעִיב", "אֵיכָה יוּעַם". שׁוּב הוֹסִיף עָלָיו "אֲנִי הַגֶּבֶר" שֶׁהוּא שָׁלשׁ אָלֶ"ף בֵּיתוֹ"ת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, "וְעוֹד נוֹסַף עֲלֵיהֶם דְבָרִים רַבִּים כָּהֵמָּה", שָׁלשׁ כְּנֶגֶד שָׁלשׁ.

^{Rashi Lam 1:1} Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations; it is the book that Yehoiakim burned in the fire that was on the hearth, and it contained three alphabets: “How she sits” [Lam 1], “How clouded” [Lam 2], “How darkened” [Lam 4]. He then added to it “I am the man” [Lam 3], because it has three alphabets, as it says “And many similar words were added to them” (Jer 36:32): three for three [i.e. a triple acrostic for three single acrostics].^[4]

This is a midrashic reading, since the burning of the scroll would have happened several years before the destruction of Jerusalem (which is the subject matter of the poems in Lamentations). However, all told, if one author of poetic laments whose name was known has to be identified from among the Judean exiles in the early 6^th century BCE, Jeremiah is a good candidate.

Similar Interpretations of Destruction

The shared ideas and terms between Jeremiah and Lamentations also likely influenced the attribution of the latter to the prophet.^[5] On the most general level, they both, in part, identify sin as the root cause of the destruction of Judah. In Jeremiah, God tells the prophet:

^{ירמיה טז:י} וְהָיָה כִּי תַגִּיד לָעָם הַזֶּה אֵת כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וְאָמְרוּ אֵלֶיךָ עַל מֶה דִבֶּר יְ־הוָה עָלֵינוּ אֵת כָּל הָרָעָה הַגְּדוֹלָה הַזֹּאת וּמֶה עֲוֹנֵנוּ וּמֶה חַטָּאתֵנוּ אֲשֶׁר חָטָאנוּ לַי־הוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ. ^טז:יא וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵיהֶם עַל אֲשֶׁר עָזְבוּ אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם אוֹתִי נְאֻם יְ־הוָה וַיֵּלְכוּ אַֽחֲרֵי אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים וַיַּעַבְדוּם וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ לָהֶם וְאֹתִי עָזָבוּ וְאֶת תּוֹרָתִי לֹא שָׁמָרוּ.

^{Jer 16:10} And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you, “Why has YHWH pronounced all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against YHWH our God?” ^16:11 then you shall say to them: It is because your ancestors have forsaken me, says YHWH, and have gone after other gods and have served and worshiped them, and have forsaken me and have not kept my law.

In Lamentations, her “transgressions” have indeed brought about the peoples’ suffering:

^{איכה א:ה} הָיוּ צָרֶיהָ לְרֹאשׁ אֹיְבֶיהָ שָׁלוּ כִּי יְ־הוָה הוֹגָהּ עַל רֹב פְּשָׁעֶיהָ עוֹלָלֶיהָ הָלְכוּ שְׁבִי לִפְנֵי צָר.

^{Lam 1:5} Her foes have become the masters, her enemies prosper, because YHWH has made her suffer for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe.

More specifically, they both refer to the complicity of prophets and priests:

^{ירמיה ה:לא} הַנְּבִיאִים נִבְּאוּ בַשֶּׁקֶר וְהַכֹּהֲנִים יִרְדּוּ עַל יְדֵיהֶם וְעַמִּי אָהֲבוּ כֵן וּמַה תַּעֲשׂוּ לְאַחֲרִיתָהּ.

^{Jer 5:31} The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule as the prophets direct; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?

^{איכה ד:יג} מֵחַטֹּאת נְבִיאֶיהָ עֲוֹנוֹת כֹּהֲנֶיהָ הַשֹּׁפְכִים בְּקִרְבָּהּ דַּם צַדִּיקִים.

^{Lam 4:13} It was for the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed the blood of the righteous in the midst of her.

They both allude to the people’s hope that help would come from other nations:

^{ירמיה ב:לו} מַה תֵּזְלִי מְאֹד לְשַׁנּוֹת אֶת דַּרְכֵּךְ גַּם מִמִּצְרַיִם תֵּבוֹשִׁי כַּאֲשֶׁר בֹּשְׁתְּ מֵאַשּֽׁוּר.

^{Jer 2:36} How lightly you gad about, changing your ways! You shall be put to shame by Egypt as you were put to shame by Assyria.

^{איכה ד:יז} עוֹדֵינֻה תִּכְלֶינָה עֵינֵינוּ אֶל עֶזְרָתֵנוּ הָבֶל בְּצִפִּיָּתֵנוּ צִפִּינוּ אֶל גּוֹי לֹא יוֹשִׁעַ.

^{Lam 4:17} Our eyes failed, ever watching vainly for help; we were watching eagerly for a nation that could not save.

Several dirge-like poetic passages in the book of Jeremiah itself show that Jeremiah composed in this style.^[6] Furthermore, Lamentations extensively personifies Jerusalem as “Daughter Zion,” a term which is also used in Jeremiah, among a few other prophetic books.^[7]

All of these similarities would have further reinforced the traditional attribution of Lamentations to Jeremiah.

No Single Author

The traditional attribution and stylistic links notwithstanding, it is likelier that Lamentations is a collection of the works of multiple authors.^[8]

One reason is simple: The acrostics use two different alphabetic sequences, suggesting that different authors had learned the alphabet in different orders. In Chapter 1, each verse begins with a letter in the alphabetic order more familiar to modern Hebrew speakers, which places the letter ayin before pe. Chapters 2, 3, and 4, on the other hand, place the letter pe before the letter ayin; the common pattern in pre-exilic Judah.^[9]

More significantly, Lamentations does not present a single, monolithic argument about the destruction of the city and temple. The book includes multiple interpretations and perspectives on the destruction, suggesting that it reflects a period of theological turmoil before a dominant, widely accepted interpretation of the events had been settled.

Who Is in the Wrong?

The people: Chapter 1 frequently refers to the sins of the people, and reiterates that their own actions led to the destruction:

^{איכה א:יח} צַדִּיק הוּא יְ־הוָה כִּי פִיהוּ מָרִיתִי שִׁמְעוּ נָא כָל עַמִּים וּרְאוּ מַכְאֹבִי בְּתוּלֹתַי וּבַחוּרַי הָלְכוּ בַשֶּֽׁבִי.

^{Lam 1:18} YHWH is in the right, for I have rebelled against his word; but hear, all you peoples, and behold my suffering; my young women and young men have gone into captivity.

This aligns with the theologies espoused in prophetic books like Jeremiah and in the book of Deuteronomy.^[10]

God: Chapter 2, on the other hand, contains only one ambiguous reference to the sin of the people.^[11] This scarcity undermines the idea that the book as a whole understands the destruction within a sin/punishment framework; this chapter focuses instead on the overwhelming power and cruelty of the divine punishment.

It will all make sense in the long run: In parts, chapter 3 evinces a more circumspect attitude suggesting that patience and the endurance of suffering can lead to greater reward—not a theme consisted with the perspectives of Jeremiah or the other chapters of Lamentations.

Other Disagreements

Lamentations exhibits other significant disagreements with Jeremiah, adding to the evidence that Jeremiah did not compose the book:

Babylonians: Jeremiah repeatedly tells the people that the Babylonians are enacting the will of God, yet Lamentations seeks retribution against the enemy and implies that they deserve punishment:

^{איכה ג:סד} תָּשִׁיב לָהֶם גְּמוּל יְ־הוָה כְּמַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵיהֶם.

^{Lam 3:64} Pay them back for their deeds, YHWH, according to the work of their hands!

Outside Help: In Lamentations, the speaker includes themself among those expecting help from other nations:

^{איכה ד:יז} עוֹדֵינֻה תִּכְלֶינָה עֵינֵינוּ אֶל עֶזְרָתֵנוּ הָבֶל בְּצִפִּיָּתֵנוּ צִפִּינוּ אֶל גּוֹי לֹא יוֹשִׁעַ.

^{Lam 4:17} Our eyes failed, ever watching vainly for help; we were watching eagerly for a nation that could not save.

This makes it unlikely that the speaker is the Jeremiah who warns that such hopes would inevitably be disappointed (Jer 2:36).^[12]

Zedekiah: King Zedekiah is a complex character in the book of Jeremiah. At one point, Jeremiah pronounces an oracle condemning him to terrible punishment:

^{ירמיה כד:ח} וְכַתְּאֵנִים הָרָעוֹת אֲשֶׁר לֹא תֵאָכַלְנָה מֵרֹעַ כִּי כֹה אָמַר יְ־הוָ֗ה כֵּן אֶתֵּן אֶת צִדְקִיָּהוּ מֶֽלֶךְ יְהוּדָה וְאֶת שָׂרָיו וְאֵת שְׁאֵרִית יְרוּשָׁלִַם הַנִּשְׁאָרִים בָּאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת וְהַיֹּשְׁבִים בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם. ^כד:ט וּנְתַתִּים לִזַוֲעָה לְרָעָה לְכֹ֖ל מַמְלְכוֹת הָאָרֶץ לְחֶרְפָּה וּלְמָשָׁל לִשְׁנִינָה וְלִקְלָלָה בְּכָל הַמְּקֹמוֹת אֲשֶׁר אַדִּיחֵם שָׁם.

^{Jer 24:8} But thus says YHWH: Like the bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who live in the land of Egypt. ^24:9 I will make them a horror, an evil thing, to all the kingdoms of the earth—a disgrace, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I shall drive them.

Lamentations, on the other hand, describes the capture of King Zedekiah sympathetically:

^{איכה ד:כ} רוּחַ אַפֵּינוּ מְשִׁיחַ יְ־הוָה נִלְכַּד בִּשְׁחִיתוֹתָם אֲשֶׁר אָמַרְנוּ בְּצִלּוֹ נִחְיֶה בַגּוֹיִם.

^{Lam 4:20} YHWH’s anointed, the breath of our life, was taken in their pits—the one of whom we said, “Under his shadow we shall live among the nations.”

Daughter Zion: The references to bat Zion, “Daughter Zion,” which initially may seem to suggest that the same author penned both books, actually attest to the divergences between them: In Jeremiah, the personified city has acted disloyally, and is the subject of pronouncements of judgement. The opposite is true in Lamentations, where the image of the city evokes sympathy because of the extent of her suffering.

Why Identify an Author at All?

Given the theological differences between Lamentations and Jeremiah (and internally, between the different poems within Lamentations), why was it deemed important to attribute the authorship of Lamentations to Jeremiah?

The first reason may be one of cultural expectations: in earlier periods, most texts were unproblematically anonymous, but towards the end of the Second Temple Period (538 BCE–70 CE) a trend emerged towards identifying ancient, anonymous texts with familiar figures.^[13] This might have served several functions: For one thing, the identification of an author can enrich the reading of the text. Pronouns that are anonymous in Lamentations are now attributed to Jeremiah, which is especially significant in Lamentations 3, which opens “I am the man who has seen affliction by the hand of his wrath.”^[14]

Defending a Controversial Book

Jason Kalman (Hebrew Union College) suggests that the attribution of the poem to Jeremiah was a means of dealing with its problematic theology.^[15] Chapter 2 contains over thirty verbs describing God as bringing Jerusalem down to the ground. The language is accusatory, and God is described as angry, pitiless, and like an enemy. The piling up of verbs of destruction and anger is relentless.

Lamentations, especially in the book’s concluding verses, also raises the possibility that God may have abandoned the people permanently,:

^{איכה ה:כ} איכה לָמָּה לָנֶצַח תִּשְׁכָּחֵנוּ תַּעַזְבֵנוּ לְאֹרֶךְ יָמִים.

^{Lam 5:20} Why have you forgotten us completely? Why have you forsaken us these many days?

^ה:כא הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ יְ־הוָה אֵלֶיךָ וְנָשׁוּבָ חַדֵּשׁ יָמֵינוּ כְּקֶֽדֶם.

^5:21 Restore us to yourself, YHWH, that we may be restored; renew our days as of old—

^ה:כב כִּי אִם מָאֹס מְאַסְתָּנוּ קָצַפְתָּ עָלֵינוּ עַד מְאֹד.

^5:22 unless you have utterly rejected us, and are angry with us beyond measure.

Perhaps Jeremiah’s credibility and piety as a prophet vouched for the “theological acceptability” of Lamentations. Passages which seem to undermine concepts of divine justice are read in the broader reward/punishment framework of Jeremiah’s prophecies: ultimately, it must be concluded, God has acted justly.

Building Ancient Biographies

In her book The Literary Imagination in Jewish Antiquity, Eva Mroczek (Dalhousie University) argues that attribution “can be about developing and celebrating a character by staging him in another text… and the appeal to an ancient figure is based on the particular elements of a character’s reputation and biography.”^[16] The early attribution of Lamentations to Jeremiah enhanced the reputation of Jeremiah.^[17]

Recent scholarship explores a prophetic presence in Lamentations. This is not the same as saying that Jeremiah is the author of the book, but rather that a prophetic presence can be found. Nancy Lee (Elmhurst University) goes so far as to suggest that Jeremiah is one of the poetic speakers (though not author) in the book.^[18]

If It’s Not Jeremiah, Who Is It?

Lamentations is poetry, and poetry is rarely forthcoming about dates and times. We can say with a reasonable level of certainty that Lamentations comes from the period following the destruction of the first temple in 586 BCE. Given that it does not mention of the fall of Babylon or the emergence of the Persian empire, the poems were likely written between 586 and 539 BCE.

The one exception might be chapter 3, which many commentators argue is later than the other poems. The wisdom-like sections in it (such as 3:19–39),^[19] suggest that there is an educative element to the suffering experienced, and the way into the future is to wait patiently on God:

^{איכה ג:כה} טוֹב יְ־הוָה לְקוָוֹ לְנֶפֶשׁ תִּדְרְשֶׁנּוּ. ^ג:כו טוֹב וְיָחִיל וְדוּמָם לִתְשׁוּעַת יְ־הוָה.

^{Lam 3:25} YHWH is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.^3:26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of YHWH.

This perspective might reflect a longer view, in which the immediacy of the suffering is balanced by the knowledge of subsequent events.

Even though we can’t affirm that Jeremiah wrote Lamentations, the ancient ascription to the prophet provides an important interpretive lens for reading the book. Ultimately, however, the laments are more polyvalent than any single theological voice or perspective can encompass.[20]