LAMENTATION

LAMENTATION (Hebrews qinah), an elegy or dirge. The first example of this form of poetry is the lament of David over Saul and Jonathan (2 Samuel 1=>17-27). It was a frequent accompaniment of mourning (Amos 8=>10). In 2 Samuel 3=>33, 34 is recorded David’s lament over Abner. Prophecy sometimes took the form of a lament when it predicted calamity (Ezekiel 27=>2, 32; 28=>12; 32=>2, 16).