Question: what is the meaning of the book of lamentations

title: Book of Lamentations
text: The Book of Lamentations ( Hebrew : אֵיכָה ‬ , ' Êykhôh , from its incipit meaning `` how '' ) is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem . In the Hebrew Bible it appears in the Ketuvim ( `` Writings '' ) , beside the Song of Songs , Book of Ruth , Ecclesiastes and the Book of Esther ( the Megilloth or `` Five Scrolls '' ) , although there is no set order ; in the Christian Old Testament it follows the Book of Jeremiah , as the prophet Jeremiah is its traditional author . Jeremiah 's authorship is no longer generally accepted , although it is generally accepted that the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586 BC forms the background to the poems . The book is partly a traditional `` city lament '' mourning the desertion of the city by God , its destruction , and the ultimate return of the divinity , and partly a funeral dirge in which the bereaved bewails and addresses the dead . The tone is bleak : God does not speak , the degree of suffering is presented as undeserved , and expectations of future redemption are minimal . 

Answer: answer: The Book of Lamentations is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem. The book is partly a traditional ``city lament'' mourning the desertion of the city by God, its destruction, and the ultimate return of the divinity, and partly a funeral dirge in which the bereaved bewails and addresses the dead.