to draw on that one finds with books such as Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, or Isaiah. Perhaps this is to be expected because Lamentations is only twice alluded to in the New Testament, while a book such as Isaiah seems omnipresent.1 So when one comes to read Lamentations theologically as a Christian, one has to start with a comparatively slender thread of prior reflection as a guide. When we reflect theologically on Lamentations, issues of method require some comment. First of all, Lamentations was not