3:5 immured... For banah alay vayiqaf. To immure is, literally,“ to enclose within walls” – here, in biting contrast to the demolition of Jerusalem’ s city walls. See, e. g., 2:7, 8 18. Immurement was a particularly cruel( and slow) form of execution, mentioned by Thucydides in his History of the Peloponnesian Wars:(“... there was no length to which violence did not go; sons were killed by their fathers, and suppliants dragged from the altar or slain upon it; while some were even walled up in the temple of Dionysus and died there.”) See also Sir Walter Scott’ s notes to his epic poem Marmion:“... among the ruins of the abbey of Coldingham were some years ago discovered the remains of a female skeleton which, from the shape of the niche, and the position of the figure seemed to be that of an immured nun.” Apt parallels to the subject matter of Lamentations, both these sources describe desecrations in places of worship.
3:6 Benighted as those long dead, I dwell in gloom and obscurity...“ Benighted” – b’ mahashakim – as in John Milton’ s“ He that has light within his own clear breast May sit in the centre, and enjoy bright day: But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts Benighted walks under the mid-day sun; Himself his own dungeon.”
3:23 How abundant is Your faithfulness, renewed with every morning... Both the liturgical timing and the specific language of“ Modeh Ani,” were inspired by this verse. It is intriguing that our first prescribed words of prayer each day, taught to the youngest of children, are drawn from Lamentations. For additional liturgical references to Lamentations, see also 3:66, 4:11, 5:21.
3:28 the moral load... See discussion of this term in Laura Frances Callahan’ s“ Motherhood and the Moral Load,” Think, 20( 58), 2021, 55-68.
3:47 Panic and peril... insecurity and instability: alliteration based on pahad va-fahat... hasheit v’ ha-shaver
3:48 beautiful people... Reflecting the image of the nation personified repeatedly in Lamentations as an innocent young girl: bat‘ ami
3:50 Quietude eludes me... Inspired by Maya Angelou:“ In silence we listen to ourselves, and in the quietude, we may even hear the voice of God.”
3:59 Divine Judge, bring me justice... approximating poetic repetition of the Hebrew verb root in shifta mishpati. Compare Abraham’ s plea in 18:25 –“ Will the Judge( shofet) of all the Earth not do justice( mishpat)?” The image is enshrined in the American Declaration of Independence: " Appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world....”
3:61 ugly... unsavory... reflecting the assonance of herpatam... mahshevotam
3:63 orchestrated to harm me... playing on the musical nuance of manginotam.( verb root: ngn)
3:66 Vanquish them! In Your zealous wrath, root them out from under the very heavens of God! See comment at 4:11; the conclusion of the Haggadah passage, shfokh hamatkha
4:2 How can this be... This is the only use of the word eichah outside the opening words of chapters 1, 2, and 4. It’ s reprise here is unexpected and jarring. To capture this effect, the question(“ How can this be?”) is
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