Texts in Conversation
Deuteronomy warns that covenant disobedience will exile and scatter the people among the nations, leaving them restless and filled with fear. Lamentations draws on this imagery when describing Judah in exile and unable to find rest.
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Deuteronomy 28:65
Hebrew Bible
63 This is what will happen: Just as the Lord delighted to do good for you and make you numerous, so he will also take delight in destroying and decimating you. You will be uprooted from the land you are about to possess. 64 The Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of wood and stone. 65 Among those nations you will have no rest, nor will there be a place of peaceful rest for the soles of your feet, for there the Lord will give you an anxious heart, failing eyesight, and a spirit of despair. 66 Your life will hang in doubt before you; you will be terrified by night and day and will have no certainty of surviving from one day to the next. 67 In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ And in the evening you will say, ‘I wish it were morning!’ because of the things you will fear and the things you will see.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Lamentations 1:3
Hebrew Bible
1 א (Alef) Alas! The city once full of people now sits all alone! The prominent lady among the nations has become a widow! The princess who once ruled the provinces has become a forced laborer! 2 ב (Bet) She weeps bitterly at night; tears stream down her cheeks. She has no one to comfort her among all her lovers. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies. 3 ג (Gimel) Judah has departed into exile under affliction and harsh oppression. She lives among the nations; she has found no resting place. All who pursued her overtook her in narrow straits. 4 ד (Dalet) The roads to Zion mourn because no one travels to the festivals. All her city gates are deserted; her priests groan. Her virgins grieve; she is in bitter anguish! 5 ה (He) Her foes subjugated her; her enemies are at ease. For the Lord afflicted her because of her many acts of rebellion. Her children went away captive before the enemy.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... In exile Judah dwells among the nations where she cannot find rest (compare Psalm 137). This was one of the curses brought about by disobedience to God’s commandments, the rules of the covenant (see Deuteronomy 28:65). Although the exile is mentioned in Lamentations 1:3, the focus of the book is on those left behind in Judah and Jerusalem. So Judah has gone into exile is hyperbolic, and may be interpreted thus: ‘It feels as if everyone has left, because the city is in ruins and all former glory has gone.’ ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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