also provides ways that this tradition may be effectively expanded, especially as they have been spelled out in this Introduction and in the commentary itself. First, paying attention to Lamentations may aid a heightened appreciation for the power and relevance of OT poetry, especially poetry that addresses harsh subject matter. OT studies have long benefited from careful, insightful analyses of Hebrew poetry. From Lowth’s seminal work in the eighteenth century (Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the