Daughter Zion and Weeping in Lamentations 1–2

Abstract

Weeping is a powerful non-verbal behavior by which people signal their pain and distress, and communicate a need for comfort and assistance. The book of Lamentations verbalizes the phenomenon of weeping to describe the tears of ‘daughter Zion’ and the empathetic tears of the narrator who addresses her in ch. 2. Thus, the eloquence and power of the poetry is augmented by verbal descriptions of a non-verbal behavior. In Lamentations 1–2, the motif of weeping is inextricably bound up with the personification of Zion both as a daughter and as the mother of the people. This article examines the personification of Jerusalem and its functions within the poetry in order to understand the expression ‘daughter Zion’ and how ‘daughter Zion’ heightens the emotional impact of the poetry and becomes a source of comfort in the midst of deep despair. As a daughter, Zion stands in solidarity with the suffering children of Lamentations, and as the mother of the community, she intercedes on their behalf and weeps for her suffering and missing children. All the instances of weeping occur with reference to the death of children.