How lonely sits the city. 1:1-7 In the Greek version of the Old
Testament the opening verse of Lamentations states, "And it came
to pass, after Israel had been carried away captive, and
Jerusalem had become desolate, that Jeremiah sat weeping, and
lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem and said...."
Although there is debate as to the author of the book, we have
in Lamentations a lament over the destruction of Jerusalem by
the Babylonians in 587/6BC. It is likely that our author is an
eyewitness of these events. Chapter 1 consists of an acrostic,
twenty two verse corresponding to the number and order of the
letters in the Hebrew alphabet. The point being made is that
Israel's sin is from A to Z. The rhythm of the poem in Hebrew is
known as a "dirge", a 3:2 beat. The author begins with a lament
over the destruction of Jerusalem, a poem which Gunkel calls a
"political funeral song". v1. Jerusalem is described as a widow,
broken by the loss of her husband and family. Her glory is gone,
all her "splendor ha