אֵיכָה Lamentations Chapter 1

The righteous remember the future and are established in hope, while the wicked forget and become captive to hopelessness.

Introduction:
 
The Hebrew title אֵיכָה eiykhah meaning “How” and “Alas”, begins the first, second and fourth laments (chapters). This scroll is also known as קִינות Kiynot “Lamentations”. The traditional Hebrew title can be understood as both an emphatic “This is how!” and a sober communal reflection “How did we arrive at this?”
 
Author & Date:
 
The scroll is anonymous, however both Jewish and Christian tradition attributes it to Jeremiah the prophet, although the Jewish Sages explain that it was Barukh ben Neriya Jeremiah’s friend, the scribe who wrote the book, as dictated to him by Jeremiah (ref. Jer. 36).
 
“Jeremiah the Prophet and High Priest said, “How was it decreed that Jerusalem and her people should be punished with banishment and that they should be mourned with 'ekah (Aramaic form of Alas, how!?).”
 
-2nd Century C.E Aramaic Targum to Lamentations 1:1
 
One of the many reasons why Jeremiah is thought to be the writer of Lamentations is the 2 Chronicles 35:25 account of Jeremiah lamenting the death of Josiah following his battle against Pharaoh Necho.
 
Jeremiah is known as “The weeping prophet” based on his many lamentations. Scriptures such as Jer. 7:29, 8:21, 9:1 give credence to Jeremiah’s authorship and the vocabulary and literary correlations uniting the scrolls of Jeremiah and Lamentations are convincing evidence.
 
When we add to the existing literary evidence the fact that Jeremiah was an eyewitness to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, we have a reliable supposition regarding his authorship of Lamentations.
 
The scroll was likely penned in the aftermath of Jerusalem’s destruction at the hands of the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar 2. This makes an early dating of the scroll the most likely of the conjectured scholarship estimates. It was probably written between 586 and 575 BCE almost 600 years before the incarnation of the King Messiah Yeshua.
 
ירמיהו Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) “Raised up by YaH” (רום - יה)
 

• Birth: Around 645 BCE, in Anatot, Judah
• Called to prophecy: 626 BCE, in the 13th year of King Josiah's reign
• Ministry: 627 BC–582 BCE, based primarily in Jerusalem
• Death: Around 570 BCE, in Egypt

 
Literary Features:
 
Lamentations is one of the five Megillot (scrolls), it is read during Tisha B’Av (9th of Av) in remembrance of the destruction of the first and second temples and related tragedies which fell on the same date throughout Jewish history. It’s entirely poetic in composition and is found among the Ketuvim, poetry books of the TaNaKh (OT). With the exception of the third lament, which consists of 66 verses (3 x Hebrew Aleph Beit [22]), each lament/chapter is an acrostic containing 22 verses according to the 22 characters of the Hebrew alphabet. In chapters 2 and 4 the פ Pe precedes theע  Ayin. The careful adherence to the acrostic form is evidence that these passionate laments were nonetheless carefully considered prior to being penned.
 
Lamentations reflects a familiar rhythm of lament style poetry that is seen throughout the TaNaKh in the Tehillim (Psalms), the prophetic books and so on. In fact, Haggai is the only prophetic book that doesn’t include a lament. The use of repetition as a poetic form in Hebrew is obvious from the first stanza of the scroll. This places emphasis on key concepts and establishes a strength of established history, figurative principal, emotion and spiritual weight that rhyming can never achieve.
 
Contemporaries:
 
Daniel, Jeremiah and Ezekiel were contemporaries. Their ministries intersecting between 607 -570 BCE. Jeremiah prophesied in Jerusalem and Egypt, while Daniel and Ezekiel ministered as exiles in Babylon.
 
Lamentations אֵיכָה Chapter 1
 
אֵיכָ֣ה׀ יָשְׁבָ֣ה בָדָ֗ד הָעִיר֙ רַבָּ֣תִי עָ֔ם הָיְתָ֖ה כְּאַלְמָנָ֑ה רַבָּ֣תִי בַגּוֹיִ֗ם שָׂרָ֙תִי֙ בַּמְּדִינ֔וֹת הָיְתָ֖ה לָמַֽס׃
 
1:1 Alas, how? The city sits solitary, once great with people, now like a widow, though she was great among nations, having princes among provinces, she has become tribute, melting away.
 
The opening word אֵיכָה eiykhah, which also begins the second and fourth chapters, is an exclamation that is both a statement of anguished wonder at the events of Jerusalem’s destruction and a rhetorical question concerning how she came to this place of desolation.
 
Jerusalem sits solitary in the position of mourning/repentance whereas Jeremiah had sat alone refusing to engage in Judah’s sinful reveling. The prophet had sat alone because God had filled him with indignation at the rebellion of Judah (Jeremiah 15:17). Those who show disrespect for the prophetic voices of true believers today by hiding under the pseudo-Christian pretense of not wanting to offend, would do well to pay heed.
 
Rashi notes that Jerusalem is described as being “like a widow” but, due to the fact that the Eternal God is her husband, she is not a widow but rather “like a woman whose husband went abroad and he intends to return to her.”
 
During the reigns of David and Solomon many nations, including but not limited to the Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, and Edomites, had paid tribute to Israel. Now, following her rebellion, Israel, and Judah had become tribute, the ultimate earthly kingdom example of subjugation.
 
בָּכ֨וֹ תִבְכֶּ֜ה בַּלַּ֗יְלָה וְדִמְעָתָהּ֙ עַ֣ל לֶֽחֱיָ֔הּ אֵֽין־לָ֥הּ מְנַחֵ֖ם מִכָּל־אֹהֲבֶ֑יהָ כָּל־רֵעֶ֙יהָ֙ בָּ֣גְדוּ בָ֔הּ הָ֥יוּ לָ֖הּ לְאֹיְבִֽים׃
 
1:2 Weeping, she weeps in the night, with tears upon her cheek how will she receive comfort from all her loved ones (lovers), all her friends have become her enemies.
 
The repetition of the Hebrew root בכה bakhah in addition to the establishing an expression of the unbroken tearfulness of deep sorrow, also prophetically denotes the twofold destruction of בית המקדש Beit HaMikdash (the temple).
 
“For the Beis Hamikdosh was burned at night, as the master said, ‘at the time of evening they set it on fire.’ *Maseches Ta’anis 29a.” - Rashi
 
There is a correlation here with the current circumstances in Israel where at times families have lost multiple members through murderous terrorist acts and kidnapping. Left without their loved ones to comfort them they are also abandoned by western allies who twist the narrative to impugn them. It is impossible for one who has never experienced this kind of abandonment to begin to comprehend the anguish of the souls of those who must endure it.
 
Alternatively, the text can be read “all her lovers” which would correlate to Ezekiel 23 and HaShem’s anger at Israel’s adulterous/idolatrous actions in cohabitation with the Assyrians and Egyptians.
 
Jeremiah the prophet had already wept at the potential for Judah to refuse the warning of the coming correction that would be meted out by HaShem (Jer. 13:15-17)
 
גָּֽלְתָ֨ה יְהוּדָ֤ה מֵעֹ֙נִי֙ וּמֵרֹ֣ב עֲבֹדָ֔ה הִ֚יא יָשְׁבָ֣ה בַגּוֹיִ֔ם לֹ֥א מָצְאָ֖ה מָנ֑וֹחַ כָּל־רֹדְפֶ֥יהָ הִשִּׂיג֖וּהָ בֵּ֥ין הַמְּצָרִֽים׃
 
1:3 Into captivity Judah has gone, from great affliction, poverty and servitude she dwells among the nations (pagans), she finds no rest, all her persecutors overtake her in her distress.
 
Judah follows the northern tribes into captivity. The fullness of her rebellion has come to fruition. HaShem cannot enable the sin of His chosen nation, thus He allows the consequences of her own sin to come upon her in full measure. The same is true of God’s disciplining of all His children. He disciplines the ones He loves.
 
“The House of Judah went into exile because they were oppressing the orphans and the widows and because of the great servitude to which they were subjecting their brothers, the sons of Israel, who had been sold to them. And they did not declare freedom to their servants and handmaids who were of the seed of Israel.”
 
- 2nd Century C.E Aramaic Targum to Lamentations 1:3
 
Alternatively the affliction and servitude can refer to that which was imposed upon Israel by the Babylonians.
 
The Hebrew גּוֹיִם goyim is synonymous with heathen, unbeliever, pagan. Israel, here specifically Judah, has acted like a pagan and is now cast among the pagans whom she has emulated.
 
Judah finds neither natural nor spiritual rest. Because God has allowed her persecutors to overtake her.
 
“And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there YHVH will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul.”
 
-D’varim (Deuteronomy) 28:65
 
 דַּרְכֵ֨י צִיּ֜וֹן אֲבֵל֗וֹת מִבְּלִי֙ בָּאֵ֣י מוֹעֵ֔ד כָּל־שְׁעָרֶ֙יהָ֙ שֽׁוֹמֵמִ֔ין כֹּהֲנֶ֖יהָ נֶאֱנָחִ֑ים בְּתוּלֹתֶ֥יהָ נּוּג֖וֹת וְהִ֥יא מַר־לָֽהּ׃ 
 
1:4 The ways of Zion are in mourning, devoid of festival (appointed times) pilgrims, all her gates are desolate, her priests groan, her virgins suffer and she is filled with bitterness.
 
The Hebrew דַּרְכֵי darkheiy is familiar, the way דרך derekh that Israel was to walk in is the way of YHVH. Judah has walked in numerous contrary ways and the fruit of those rebellious ways is mourning.
 
Jerusalem (Judah) has now become devoid of pilgrims going up to her appointed times to meet with YHVH because she has spent years syncretising those observances with the worship of foreign deities.
 
Her priests groan as a result of their sin and hypocrisy and the virgin daughters who sought foreign lovers groan for the same reason. However, there are also virgin daughters who groan as a result of the sin of others. The consequences of which they now suffer under.
 
The loss of the temple and the opportunity for Aliyah going up, is reminiscent of the words of the Psalmist:
 
“My soul thirsts for Elohim, for the living Elohim: when shall I come and appear before Elohim? My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, Where is your Elohim? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of Elohim, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept the holy day.
 
-Tehillim (Psalms) 42:2-4
 
הָי֨וּ צָרֶ֤יהָ לְרֹאשׁ֙ אֹיְבֶ֣יהָ שָׁל֔וּ כִּֽי־יְהוָ֥ה הוֹגָ֖הּ עַ֣ל רֹב־פְּשָׁעֶ֑יהָ עוֹלָלֶ֛יהָ הָלְכ֥וּ שְׁבִ֖י לִפְנֵי־צָֽר׃
 
1:5 Her enemies have become the head (master) of her, her foes prosper, for YHVH has placed affliction on the multitude of her rebellions, her children have gone into captivity before the face of her enemy.
 
Adonay’s ultimate control over all that happens within His creation is made clear. The Babylonians were His vessels, a tool in His hand. The just Creator afflicts those who rebel against Him. Discipline is an act of love.
 
The enemies of Israel and Judah have become the head as a result of Israel’s refusal to observe God’s commandments (Deut. 28:15-58).
 
“The stranger who is among you shall get up above you very high; and you will come down very low. He will lend to you, and you will not lend to him: he shall be the head, and you will be the tail.”
-D’varim (Deuteronomy) 28:43-44
 
The present text specifically concerns the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the remainder of the tribe of Judah.
 
וַיֵּצֵ֥א ׳מִן־בַּת־מִבַּת־צִיּ֖וֹן׳ כָּל־הֲדָרָ֑הּ הָי֣וּ שָׂרֶ֗יהָ כְּאַיָּלִים֙ לֹא־מָצְא֣וּ מִרְעֶ֔ה וַיֵּלְכ֥וּ בְלֹא־כֹ֖חַ לִפְנֵ֥י רוֹדֵֽף׃
 
1:6 Departed from daughter Zion are all who were her beauty, her princes were like stags that found nowhere to graze, and have fled without strength before the face of the pursuer.
 
Zion, the holy hill, the center of worship, has lost her true beauty, the temple where God placed His Name and where her priests conducted godly ritual and her kings sought council from God.
 
Her princes/rulers have lost all authority. The richest among her residents have been starving and flee hungry searching for morsels while being utterly overcome by their pursuers.
 
Rashi notes that “Every רֹדֵף (pursuer) in Scripture is incomplete (lacking the וֹ vav), but this one רוֹדֵף is full, for they were totally pursued.”
 
זָֽכְרָ֣ה יְרוּשָׁלִַ֗ם יְמֵ֤י עָנְיָהּ֙ וּמְרוּדֶ֔יהָ כֹּ֚ל מַחֲמֻדֶ֔יהָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר הָי֖וּ מִ֣ימֵי קֶ֑דֶם בִּנְפֹ֧ל עַמָּ֣הּ בְּיַד־צָ֗ר וְאֵ֤ין עוֹזֵר֙ לָ֔הּ רָא֣וּהָ צָרִ֔ים שָׂחֲק֖וּ עַ֥ל מִשְׁבַּתֶּֽהָ׃
 
1:7 Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and restlessness, all the precious things which were from the days of old, when her people fell into the hands of the enemy with none to help her; her enemies saw and mocked her over the cessation of her sabbaths.
 
Affliction resulting from sin has caused the once inhabitants of Jerusalem to remember how precious the provision and worship of God are. The divine presence, the temple, the altar for atonement, the ark of the covenant and the Scriptures.
 
None helped her. The Egyptians with whom she had allied herself were powerless to stop Nebuchadnezzar, nor did they attempt to do so.
 
Having fallen captive to her pagan enemies she now watches them mock her over the loss of her holy shabbatot festivals (resting times with God) and the rest that Shabbat offers as a reflection of creation and right relationship in God.
 
Judah’s enemies were not just mocking her, they were mocking YHVH. This will result in their ultimate demise. The nations would do well to observe the history of God’s chosen people Israel and be respectful of her in these dark days. His anger lasts but a moment and His mercy toward Israel will see her stand in right relationship in Him at the last day. Meanwhile those who have mocked Israel’s religious observances established by YHVH will come under judgement, and if they remain devoid of repentance will suffer everlasting torment.
 
חֵ֤טְא חָֽטְאָה֙ יְר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם עַל־כֵּ֖ן לְנִידָ֣ה הָיָ֑תָה כָּֽל־מְכַבְּדֶ֤יהָ הִזִּיל֙וּהָ֙ כִּי־רָא֣וּ עֶרְוָתָ֔הּ גַּם־הִ֥יא נֶאֶנְחָ֖ה וַתָּ֥שָׁב אָחֽוֹר׃
 
1:8 Jerusalem has missed the mark established by God’s holiness and has sinned greatly, therefore menstrual impurity has befallen her, all who once honored her despise her because they have seen her naked shame, also she groans in pain and turns backward (shows her naked backside).
 
This verse opens חֵטְא חָֽטְאָה cheit chatah “rebelled rebelling,” or “sinned sinning.” Jerusalem (a city is the sum of its inhabitants) had doubled down on the specific act of missing the mark of God’s holiness that is rebellion and idolatry, the root of all sin. The multiplication of her willful rebellion shows a firmly established position of unrepentance that only severe discipline could shift.
 
As followers of the Messiah, we too will invoke such discipline if we refuse to allow the Holy Spirit to refine us and sanctify those sin areas in our lives that we have doubled down on.
 
The Hebrew נִידָה niydah, menstrual impurity, is employed to express the depths of uncleanness and therefore a time of fruitlessness. The fruit that might have been is bleeding out of her. It is that loss of life potential that makes niydah a period of impurity (pun intended).
 
The Egyptians who had courted her friendship, figuratively desiring her loins, now see her defiled and despise her. This is how evil men treat women. A man who loves truly doesn’t desire a beautiful woman in her prime and then reject and despise her in her uncleanness. While those that once courted Jerusalem now despised her, HaShem continues to watch over her, even in the midst of the consequences of her rebellion.
 
The poetry is graphic and evokes a sickness in the pit of the stomach of the reader. Jerusalem is naked, bleeding from her sexual organs and turns away from those looking on her with disgust, showing her naked backside to them in order to garner some modicum of dignity.
 
טֻמְאָתָ֣הּ בְּשׁוּלֶ֗יהָ לֹ֤א זָֽכְרָה֙ אַחֲרִיתָ֔הּ וַתֵּ֣רֶד פְּלָאִ֔ים אֵ֥ין מְנַחֵ֖ם לָ֑הּ רְאֵ֤ה יְהוָה֙ אֶת־עָנְיִ֔י כִּ֥י הִגְדִּ֖יל אוֹיֵֽב׃
 
1:9 Filthiness clings to her skirts, she does not remember her future, she has sunk in wonder with no comforter; look YHVH at my affliction, for made great is the enemy.
 
When Jerusalem does find some form of clothing (skirts) the menstrual blood still seeps through her skirts because there are no additional rags to use to stem the flow.
 
Such are the depths of her despairing that she is unable to recall what God has promised to establish in Israel’s future. The righteous remember the future and are established in hope, while the wicked forget and become captive to hopelessness.
 
The statement “she is sunk in wonder with no comforter” could also be read, “She is overcome by shock and awe and cannot see the Messiah”. מְנַחֵם Menachim, Comforter, is a Name for the Messiah.
 
The writer identifies with his people and speaks as Jerusalem saying, “Look Merciful YHVH at my great suffering, forgive, have mercy, for the enemy is made great”.
 
The enemy has been allowed to become great for a time but will be made subject to HaShem in time.
 
 יָדוֹ֙ פָּ֣רַשׂ צָ֔ר עַ֖ל כָּל־מַחֲמַדֶּ֑יהָ כִּֽי־רָאֲתָ֤ה גוֹיִם֙ בָּ֣אוּ מִקְדָּשָׁ֔הּ אֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוִּ֔יתָה לֹא־יָבֹ֥אוּ בַקָּהָ֖ל לָֽךְ׃
 
1:10 The hand of the adversary stretches out upon all that is dear to her, for she has seen the nations (pagans) enter the Sanctuary (Temple), those commanded not to enter Your congregation.
 
“The wicked Nebuchadnezzar stretched out his hand and drew forth his sword and cut off all her lovely things. Indeed, the Congregation of Israel began to howl for she saw foreign nations go into her Temple; those about whom you commanded by Moses the prophet concerning Ammon and Moab, that they were not worthy to enter your assembly.”
 
-2nd Century C.E Aramaic Targum to Lamentations 1:10
 
“6 “Now say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says Adonay YHVH: “O house of Israel, let Us have no more of all your abominations. 7 When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it—My house—and when you offered My food, the fat and the blood, then they broke My covenant because of all your abominations. 8 And you have not kept charge of My holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.” 9 Thus says the Adonay YHVH: “No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel.”
 
-Ezekiel 44:6-9
 
The Hebrew text uses גוֹיִם goyim, nations, in juxtaposition to the holy city Jerusalem throughout the scroll of Lamentations. This is intentional and, in this context, makes the word goyim synonymous with the word pagan or the word heathen, because the nations in question are all worshippers of false gods.
 
Those things dear to her were the sacred texts, Torah scrolls, utensils used in service of the sacrificial rites and temple worship ceremonies etc.
 
כָּל־עַמָּ֤הּ נֶאֱנָחִים֙ מְבַקְּשִׁ֣ים לֶ֔חֶם נָתְנ֧וּ ׳מַחֲמוֹדֵּיהֶם׳ ״מַחֲמַדֵּיהֶ֛ם״ בְּאֹ֖כֶל לְהָשִׁ֣יב נָ֑פֶשׁ רְאֵ֤ה יְהוָה֙ וְֽהַבִּ֔יטָה כִּ֥י הָיִ֖יתִי זוֹלֵלָֽה׃
 
1:11 All her people are groaning, as they search for bread, they have given away desirable things for food to relieve the soul; look YHVH see how worthless, how vile I’ve become!
 
What little of value those being exiled have left they seek to trade for any morsel of food. This shows the abject desperation of the Judeans. To relieve the soul means in order to save their lives or revive the faint.
 
The writer (Jeremiah) once again identifies with his city and his people saying, “Look at us Adonay, though we have turned our face away from You don’t turn Your face from us. See how vile Your chosen possession has become!”
 
Like so many of Israel’s prophets, Jeremiah is not guilty of the sin of the people and yet he takes upon himself the error and repents on their behalf. He acts as a figure for the Messiah.
 
 ל֣וֹא אֲלֵיכֶם֮ כָּל־עֹ֣בְרֵי דֶרֶךְ֒ הַבִּ֣יטוּ וּרְא֗וּ אִם־יֵ֤שׁ מַכְאוֹב֙ כְּמַכְאֹבִ֔י אֲשֶׁ֥ר עוֹלַ֖ל לִ֑י אֲשֶׁר֙ הוֹגָ֣ה יְהוָ֔ה בְּי֖וֹם חֲר֥וֹן אַפּֽוֹ׃
 
1:12 It’s nothing to you (pl) all who pass by on the way, consider and see, if there exists sorrow for sorrow which is severely done to me, which YHVH afflicted, in the day of His furious nostril flaring anger.
 
Those who pass by are unphased by Jerusalem’s suffering. Judah screams “look at me, have mercy, see how God has afflicted me,” but her enemies and the surrounding nations are immune to her pleas.
 
מִמָּר֛וֹם שָֽׁלַח־אֵ֥שׁ בְּעַצְמֹתַ֖י וַיִּרְדֶּ֑נָּה פָּרַ֨שׂ רֶ֤שֶׁת לְרַגְלַי֙ הֱשִׁיבַ֣נִי אָח֔וֹר נְתָנַ֙נִי֙ שֹֽׁמֵמָ֔ה כָּל־הַיּ֖וֹם דָּוָֽה׃
 
1:13 From the height He sent fire into my bones, and it dominated and spread a net for my feet turning me back, He has given me desolation, all the day I faint.
 
The fire sent by God consumes the bones of the city of Jerusalem and the land of Judea while also spreading through the bones of the individual in whatever form it may take as a physiological illness.
 
The allusion to the fire spreading to the feet is intended to convey the idea that those who sought to flee found their feet entangled and as a result fell prey to the invader.
 
The correlation made here between the fire of God’s word in the bones of the prophet Jeremiah and the outworking of that fire in bringing judgement and desolation to Jerusalem is significant.
 
“Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him,
Nor speak anymore in His name.”
But His word was in my core being like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
I was weary of holding it back,
And I could not.”
 
-Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 20:9
 
נִשְׂקַד֩ עֹ֨ל פְּשָׁעַ֜י בְּיָד֗וֹ יִשְׂתָּ֥רְג֛וּ עָל֥וּ עַל־צַוָּארִ֖י הִכְשִׁ֣יל כֹּחִ֑י נְתָנַ֣נִי אֲדֹנָ֔י בִּידֵ֖י לֹא־אוּכַ֥ל קֽוּם׃
 
1:14 The yoke of my rebellion is bound by His hand, intertwined it goes up upon my neck, it makes my strength feeble, Adonay has given me into the hands of those I cannot rise against.
 
HaShem attaches the teaching and foundational sin of Judah’s rebellion to her neck so that it clings to her, making her weak from the fruit of her sin. He has allowed Israel’s enemies to overcome her in her weakness.
 
Alternatively, and I think prophetically, we can read more literally “The yoke of my rebellion is bound up בְּיָדוֹ in His hand,” meaning God Himself takes on the punishment for Judah’s rebellion. “See I have engraved you in the palms of My hands, your walls are ever before Me!” (Isa. 49:16).
 
“It makes my strength feeble” can be understood to say, “It shows my strength to be weakness”, and “I realize I’m unable to save myself”.
 
סִלָּ֨ה כָל־אַבִּירַ֤י׀ אֲדֹנָי֙ בְּקִרְבִּ֔י קָרָ֥א עָלַ֛י מוֹעֵ֖ד לִשְׁבֹּ֣ר בַּחוּרָ֑י גַּ֚ת דָּרַ֣ךְ אֲדֹנָ֔י לִבְתוּלַ֖ת בַּת־יְהוּדָֽה׃ 
 
1:15 Adonay in my midst has tossed aside all my mighty ones, He called upon me at an appointed time to break into pieces my young men, as in a press Adonay has stomped on the virgin daughter of Judah.
 
The Hebrew מוֹעֵד mo’eid appointed time/festival is used intentionally here in correlation to the cessation of moadim, festival observances. The appointed times of God are times of remembrance and celebration; however, He also appoints the times of discipline as opportunities for repentance/returning. It may be that Nebuchadnezzar began his final assault on Jerusalem during one of the aliyot going up festivals. This would not necessarily contradict the Jewish tradition that connects the final destruction of Jerusalem to the 9th of Av.
 
The Hebrew גַּת gat meaning press is used to describe a wine press, an olive press etc. Here it is Judah herself that is being utterly crushed and poured out under the weight of HaShem’s foot.
 
Yet future, Yeshua the King of Judah, would allow Himself to be put under the גַּת press of God’s justice, taking on himself the sins of Judah, Israel and the nations. His desperate prayers for the cup of plagues and redeeming atonement to be taken from Him were prayed in Gan גַּת gat Sheminim.
 
עַל־אֵ֣לֶּה׀ אֲנִ֣י בוֹכִיָּ֗ה עֵינִ֤י׀ עֵינִי֙ יֹ֣רְדָה מַּ֔יִם כִּֽי־רָחַ֥ק מִמֶּ֛נִּי מְנַחֵ֖ם מֵשִׁ֣יב נַפְשִׁ֑י הָי֤וּ בָנַי֙ שֽׁוֹמֵמִ֔ים כִּ֥י גָבַ֖ר אוֹיֵֽב׃
 
1:16 Over these I wail, my eye, my eye, water runs down because far from me is the comforter, from returning my soul, my children have become stunned because the enemy has prevailed.
 
The repetition of עֵינִ֤י aiyniy “my eye” denotes the uninterrupted tears of inconsolable suffering.
 
The Comforter is of course God and yes, the then future atoning Comforter Yeshua, Imanu El, with us God.
 
“From returning my soul” is a way of saying “from saving my life”. It’s also an allusion to the acceptance of a repentant person or in this case people. At this point Judah is beginning to realize that she is responsible for her own suffering due to her rebellion but she is not yet repentant and thus is still far from the returning of her soul through the Comforter.
 
“My children have become stunned” could be understood as “My children have become numb through shock, horror and awe”. Therefore, when we read “because the enemy has prevailed” we see a sober warning. When we raise our children in a society that saturates them with godlessness, evil violence, immoral images, isolation and disconnection from truth, they become numb and the origin of their ignorance becomes obvious. It is the satanic impetus which we as a society have acted upon in raising them, that has prevailed.
 
פֵּֽרְשָׂ֨ה צִיּ֜וֹן בְּיָדֶ֗יהָ אֵ֤ין מְנַחֵם֙ לָ֔הּ צִוָּ֧ה יְהוָ֛ה לְיַעֲקֹ֖ב סְבִיבָ֣יו צָרָ֑יו הָיְתָ֧ה יְרוּשָׁלִַ֛ם לְנִדָּ֖ה בֵּינֵיהֶֽם׃
 
1:17 Stretched out is Zion, in her hands there is no comfort, YHVH has commanded against Jacob enemies to surround him, and Jerusalem has become an unclean menstruating woman among them.
 
Zion, the temple mount, the center of Israel’s sacrificial cult, represents all of Israel. She opens her hands to find no comfort because she has long since rejected her Comforter. YHVH has assigned enemies as tools of discipline against Jacob/Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem. The priests and the temple have become defiled, metaphorically, an unclean menstruating woman.
 
“Zion spreads out her hands from anguish like a woman spread upon the birth stool. She screams but there is no one to speak comfortingly to her heart. The Lord commanded the House of Jacob to keep the commandments and Torah, but they transgressed the decree of his Memra. Therefore his oppressors completely encircle Jacob. Jerusalem is like an unclean woman among them.”
 
-2nd Century C.E Aramaic Targum to Lamentations 1:17
 
צַדִּ֥יק ה֛וּא יְהוָ֖ה כִּ֣י פִ֣יהוּ מָרִ֑יתִי שִׁמְעוּ־נָ֣א ׳כָל־עַמִּים׳ ״כָל־הָֽעַמִּ֗ים״ וּרְאוּ֙ מַכְאֹבִ֔י בְּתוּלֹתַ֥י וּבַחוּרַ֖י הָלְכ֥וּ בַשֶּֽׁבִי׃
 
1:18 YHVH is right, for His commandments I rebelled against, hear now all you peoples/tribes, my sorrow, my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity.
 
Judah admits that YHVH is right to discipline her. She admits that she has rebelled against Him and broken His commandments. She thus testifies to the peoples/tribes “Hear my confession and the sorrow which reflects the pain caused by my willful sin, and look at the result of my actions, my daughters and sons have been taken into captivity.”
 
“The Lord told the people of the House of Israel that they should not allow those who kill by the sword to pass through their land. Josiah the king went forth and drew his sword against Pharaoh the Lame on the plain of Megiddo, which he had not been commanded [to do] and he had not sought instruction from before the Lord. Therefore archers shot arrows at King Josiah and he died there. Before his spirit left him he moved his lips and said, “The Lord is blameless for I have transgressed against his Memra.” Hear now all peoples, the lamentations that Jeremiah made over Josiah and see my affliction that has come upon me after his death. My virgins and young men have gone into exile.”
 
-2nd Century C.E Aramaic Targum to Lamentations 1:18
 
קָרָ֤אתִי לַֽמְאַהֲבַי֙ הֵ֣מָּה רִמּ֔וּנִי כֹּהֲנַ֥י וּזְקֵנַ֖י בָּעִ֣יר גָּוָ֑עוּ כִּֽי־בִקְשׁ֥וּ אֹ֙כֶל֙ לָ֔מוֹ וְיָשִׁ֖יבוּ אֶת־נַפְשָֽׁם׃
 
1:19 I called to my lovers, the ones who deceived me and caused my priests and elders in the city to perish as they sought food for their souls.
 
Rashi cites a tradition that says, “the children of Yishmael, who came out toward the exiles when their captors were leading them on the road nearby, and pretended that they were compassionate toward them. They brought for them various kinds of salty foods and inflated skin flasks. They thought that they [contained] wine, so they ate and became thirsty and wished to drink; but when they untied the flasks with their teeth, the air entered their intestines and they died.”
 
רְאֵ֨ה יְהוָ֤ה כִּֽי־צַר־לִי֙ מֵעַ֣י חֳמַרְמָ֔רוּ נֶהְפַּ֤ךְ לִבִּי֙ בְּקִרְבִּ֔י כִּ֥י מָר֖וֹ מָרִ֑יתִי מִח֥וּץ שִׁכְּלָה־חֶ֖רֶב בַּבַּ֥יִת כַּמָּֽוֶת׃
 
1:20 Look YHVH because of my adversary my intestines are troubled, my core being turns within me, for I was bitter in my rebellion, outside the sword has made me childless and at home there is death.
 
This is a confession to God that Judah was intentionally willful/bitter in rebelling against Him.
 
The reference to the intestines is both an allusion to physical agony and to conflicted and nagging emotions. The gut being the figurative seat of Hebrew emotion.
 
Judah’s sin has resulted in the armies outside the walls of Jerusalem killing her children and within her walls death from starvation and plague. The same has spiritual significance: outside the body sin wreaks havoc on our family and friends and inside the body, at the core of the inner person, the wages of sin are death.
 
שָׁמְע֞וּ כִּ֧י נֶאֱנָחָ֣ה אָ֗נִי אֵ֤ין מְנַחֵם֙ לִ֔י כָּל־אֹ֨יְבַ֜י שָׁמְע֤וּ רָֽעָתִי֙ שָׂ֔שׂוּ כִּ֥י אַתָּ֖ה עָשִׂ֑יתָ הֵבֵ֥אתָ יוֹם־קָרָ֖אתָ וְיִֽהְי֥וּ כָמֽוֹנִי׃
 
1:21 They heard, for I was groaning, for me there is no comfort, all my enemies have heard of my trouble, they are glad for it is Your doing, You have brought about the day You warned would come; may they become like me.
 
The enemies of Israel and Judah heard of her suffering and were glad. But the enemies of Israel are without excuse for their mocking of the Jewish people. They knew that the God of Israel was disciplining His people and yet they continued to honor their own gods and even mocked the cessation of the festivals of YHVH, thus mocking YHVH Himself. Therefore, the phrase concerning Israel’s enemies, “May they become like me” is not simply a statement of spiteful vengeance, but a deserved curse that will manifest on the enemies of God and of Israel.
 
The LORD had warned Israel through the prophet Jeremiah of this coming wrath (Jeremiah 25:15-38)
 
תָּבֹ֨א כָל־רָעָתָ֤ם לְפָנֶ֙יךָ֙ וְעוֹלֵ֣ל לָ֔מוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר עוֹלַ֛לְתָּ לִ֖י עַ֣ל כָּל־פְּשָׁעָ֑י כִּֽי־רַבּ֥וֹת אַנְחֹתַ֖י וְלִבִּ֥י דַוָּֽי׃
 
1:22 Let all their wickedness come before You and do to them as You have done to me for all my rebellion, for my groaning is great and my core being is faint.
 
“May there enter before you on the great judgment day all their evil deeds which they have done to me. May you turn against them as you have turned against me because of my many rebellions, for my groans are many and my heart is weak.”
 
-2nd Century C.E Aramaic Targum to Lamentations 1:22
 
This same prayer is prayed by Israel today concerning those who have committed such great atrocities against her. Though these afflictions have been allowed by God for the purpose of discipline, the fullness of her justification will come when Israel repents and calls on YHVH through the One Whom she has pierced, Yeshua HaMelekh the Comforter, Whom we have sought, though He has seemed far off, but is nonetheless closer to use than breathing.
 
“And the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may act according to Him.”
 
-D’varim (Deuteronomy) 30:14 Author’s translation according to the illumination of John 1:1
 
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