Big Ideas · 9 · Daughter Zion
In Lamentations, God barely speaks
The divine voice appears only once, in passing. The rest of the book belongs to a suffering community demanding to be heard.
They didn't wait for God to speak; they expected God to listen.
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Mesopotamian laments, like the one for Ur, focus on temples and put words in the mouths of gods. Biblical laments give voice to the people. Recovery from trauma, as scholar Kathleen O'Connor notes, requires finding one's voice and naming one's suffering.
Bible reference: Lamentations 3:57
Source: Why the Bible Began, pp. 141–142
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