Images and Ideas of Debated Readings in the Book of Lamentations

The Hebrew versions of the five poems in the book of Lamentations are riddled with debated readings. Debated readings are words, phrases, or sentences whose forms and meanings modern readers find difficult or objectionable. In this book, Gideon R. Kotzé adopts a text-critical approach to the interpretation of such readings and suggests that some of them make sense as expressions of images and ideas that circulated widely in the cultural and intellectual environment of Lamentations. After surveying examples of passages in Lamentations where the Hebrew wordings show remarkable resemblances to the images and ideas exhibited by cultural products from all over the ancient Near East, the author discusses five case studies of debated readings that can be explained along similar lines. On this interpretation, the readings in question are not corrupt and do not have to be emended for that reason.

Born 1982; studied ancient languages and theology at Stellenbosch University, South Africa; 2014-17 lecturer in ancient languages and cultures in the Department of Ancient Studies of Stellenbosch University; since 2017 research professor in the Focus Area Ancient Texts at the Faculty of Theology of North-West University, South Africa.