AUTHOR: Although the book does not name the author, Christian and Jewish traditions have attributed the authorship of Lamentations to Jeremiah. The Septuagint Version attributes the authorship of the book to this prophet, from the second century BC, and the Vulgate does so from the fourth century of our era. If we take the literary paternity of Jeremiah for granted, the book of Lamentations becomes a "supplement to the book of Jeremiah", which so often prophesied a catastrophe such as the one described in the book of Lamentations.

THEME: In a poetic and dramatic way, the book portrays the lament of the prophet Jeremiah due to the Babylonian captivity. The theme of Lamentations is the destruction of the holy city. The pains and lamentations expressed in Jeremiah's prophecies find their culmination here. The city chosen by God had been razed to the ground, the temple designed and inhabited by the Lord had become a heap of ashes, the chosen people had been taken captive to Babylon. Jerusalem, who had been queen, was now a slave. The main purpose of the captivity was to teach the Israelites to recognize God's chastising hand in their calamities so that they would turn to the East in sincere repentance. Jeremiah's mournful song was adopted by the Jewish nation. The Jews sing this book every Friday at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and read it in the synagogues, fasting, on the ninth day, destined for the lamentation of the five great lamentations that overcame the nation.

COMPILATION: Approximately 585 and 584 BC, it comprises 5 chapters and 154 verses.