Hello, I'm looking for some help on commentaries about the book of Lamentations. I already have a couple of the more expositional commentaries - NAC and Preacher's but I'm looking to add the WBC commentary by House and Garrett.
Could somebody who has this commentary tell me how much of the book is devoted to Lamentations and how much to Song of Songs? It would also be helpful to me to know how detailed this book is. Although NAC and Preacher's are great commentaries they don't have a lot of detail - particularly on a couple of points where I'm feeling a bit stuck :)
Thank you!
Eglise Protestante Evangélique de Libramont, Belgique - www.epelibramont.com
Lamentations starts at page 266. There are 473 pages total. Below is the TOC
LAMENTATIONSAuthor’s PrefaceMAIN BIBLIOGRAPHYCommentary BibliographyGeneral BibliographyINTRODUCTIONCONSIDERING LAMENTATIONSTEXTAUTHORSHIP AND DATEIntroductions to the Old TestamentCommentaries, Monographs, and ArticlesConclusionLITURGICAL USESPLACE IN THE CANONPOETIC FORM AND METERAcrostic FormatPoetic MeterLAMENTATIONS AND ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN PARALLELSGENRE: LAMENT AND ACROSTICTHEOLOGICAL PURPOSES IN LAMENTATIONSGod, the People of God, and Their SufferingGod and Jerusalem/ZionGod and the NationsGod and PrayerConclusionTEXT AND COMMENTARYHOW SHE DWELLS ALONE! (1:1–22)HOW THE LORD HAS CLOUDED THE DAUGHTER OF ZION! (2:1–22)I AM THE MAN (3:1–66)HOW THE GOLD HAS TARNISHED! (4:1–22)REMEMBER, O LORD (5:1–22)Garrett, D. (2004). Vol. 23B: Word Biblical Commentary : Song of Songs/ Lamentations. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, Incorporated.
Thank you, that is really helpful. Looks like Lamentations makes up a decent chunk of the book.
I think that the WBC is one of the better commentaries out there for Lamentations. It's both technical and Evangelical.
I know that you said you already had a couple exposition driven commentaries, but may I suggest you also look into the NIV Application and Tyndale Old Testament Commentary (TOTC) resources for Lamentations. They both offer more spiritual depth and insight than the NAC.
Thank you for your advice Joshua.
I have the Tyndale series on order but as yet it has not arrived and is unlikely to be here before I get my work done on Lamentations. However, it looks as though the WBC volume will be worth the price of admission.