Lamentations
in Baker Commentary on the Old Testament
Pages
384
Publisher
Baker Academic
Published
7/29/2026
ISBN-13
9780801030703
The book of Lamentations is disturbing, says highly regarded Old Testament scholar Mark J. Boda. It forces readers to encounter the honest pain of a community and to struggle with the various strategies employed for processing that pain. Its presence in the scriptural canon of all streams of Judaism and Christianity is testimony to its enduring value.
This substantive and useful commentary on Lamentations is both critically engaged and sensitive to the theological contributions of the text. It is grounded in rigorous scholarship but accessible to those who preach and teach. In addition to paragraph-level commentary, all volumes of the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament (BCOT) series feature
This substantive and useful commentary on Lamentations is both critically engaged and sensitive to the theological contributions of the text. It is grounded in rigorous scholarship but accessible to those who preach and teach. In addition to paragraph-level commentary, all volumes of the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament (BCOT) series feature
- a fresh translation of the Hebrew text
- incisive comments based on the author's translation
- linguistic, historical, and canonical insights
- concluding reflections
- footnotes addressing technical matters
Reviews
Matt Quintana
October 6, 2026
October 6, 2026
Boda's new commentary on Lamentations is now one of the best commentaries available on this biblical book. The author's expertise in the prayer traditions of the OT shines through in the volume, which provides an accessible yet informed treatment of this difficult OT writing. In keeping with the aim of the BCOT series, the commentary is written at the semi-technical level and should be a great choice for students and ministry leaders alike. At the same time, the work is clearly informed by significant scholarship and engages even some of the more recent academic work on Lamentations. The commentary makes a real contribution through its emphasis on "voicing" dynamics in the poem and the close attention to the importance of OT traditions and intertextuality in Lamentations (the appendixes to the commentary provide a great summary). The dedicated sections of theological reflection on each chapter are profound and often powerful. In Boda's latest commentary, students and preachers will find a great exegetical resource, and scholars should also take it into account.