תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן סִדְרָן שֶׁל נְבִיאִים: יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְשׁוֹפְטִים שְׁמוּאֵל וּמְלָכִים יִרְמְיָה וִיחֶזְקֵאל יְשַׁעְיָה וּשְׁנֵים עָשָׂר....
סִידְרָן שֶׁל כְּתוּבִים: רוּת וְסֵפֶר תְּהִלִּים וְאִיּוֹב וּמִשְׁלֵי קֹהֶלֶת שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים וְקִינוֹת דָּנִיאֵל וּמְגִילַת אֶסְתֵּר עֶזְרָא וְדִבְרֵי הַיָּמִים.
וּמִי כְּתָבָן?....
דָּוִד כָּתַב סֵפֶר תְּהִלִּים עַל יְדֵי עֲשָׂרָה זְקֵנִים עַל יְדֵי אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן עַל יְדֵי מַלְכִּי צֶדֶק וְעַל יְדֵי אַבְרָהָם וְעַל יְדֵי מֹשֶׁה וְעַל יְדֵי הֵימָן וְעַל יְדֵי יְדוּתוּן וְעַל יְדֵי אָסָף וְעַל יְדֵי שְׁלֹשָׁה בְּנֵי קֹרַח.
יִרְמְיָה כָּתַב סִפְרוֹ וְסֵפֶר מְלָכִים וְקִינוֹת.
The Sages taught: The order of the books of the Prophets when they are attached together is as follows: Joshua and Judges, Samuel and Kings, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and Isaiah and the Twelve Prophets....
The baraita continues: The order of the Writings is: Ruth and the book of Psalms, and Job and Proverbs; Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Lamentations; Daniel and the Scroll of Esther; and Ezra and Chronicles.
And who wrote them?....
David wrote the book of Psalms by means of ten elders of previous generations, assembling a collection that included compositions of others along with his own....
Jeremiah wrote his own book, and the book of Kings, and Lamentations.
Biblical names for the book of Lamentations:
Kinot - Kinah means a dirge, elegy, mournful expression of feeling of loss, lament for the dead, mournful song or poem. Used in Tanakh only in: Jer., Ezra, Amos, II Ch. and II Samuel 1:17 (See next source)
Aikha - rhetorical term, "Alas!," or "How could it be...." - to expresses shock at the enormity of the catastrophe; possibly reflects a questioning of its ethical legitimacy
(17) And David intoned this dirge over Saul and his son Jonathan—
Do biblical books have multiple names (in Talmudic literature)?
B'reishit is called Sefer Rishon, Sefer Briat HaOlam, Sefer HaYashar (See next source.)
Sh'mot is called Homesh Sheini, Sefer Yeziat Mitzraim
Vayikra is called Torat Kohanim
Bamidbar is called Homesh HaPekudim
D'varim is called Mishne Torah (derived from Deut. 17:18 - that the king should write out a copy of the Torah)
What do these names say about these books: General content, initial topic, sequence within Humash?
(יהושע י, יג) וידום השמש וירח עמד עד יקום גוי אויביו הלא היא כתובה על ספר הישר מאי ספר הישר א"ר חייא בר אבא א"ר יוחנן זה ספר אברהם יצחק ויעקב שנקראו ישרים שנא' (במדבר כג, י) תמות נפשי מות ישרים.
The Gemara cites a series of expositions with regard to what is called the book of Yashar. The verse states: “And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. Is this not written in the book of Yashar”? (Joshua 10:13). The Gemara asks: What is the book of Yashar? Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: This is Genesis, which is the book of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were called righteous [yesharim], as it is stated: “Let me die the death of the righteous [yesharim]” (Numbers 23:10).
We call Lamentations the book of Eikha. Bava Batra called it Kinot.
What is the difference; is there a difference; can we identify what brought about the change in name?
Structure of Eikha and some questions to consider
5 chapters; 1-4 are acrostics; ch. 3 is a triple acrostic; 5 has 22 lines, which is equal to the Hebrew letters of the alphabet.
Acrostics in the ancient world were composed to record the author or an important person, not to structure the lines of a sequence. This usage in Tanakh is unique.
Eikha Rabbati states that since Israel sinned from aleph to tav, they were consoled similarly. (This midrash not found in printed editions.)
Chapters 1, 2 and 4 open with the word "Eikha."
Who is "talking" in Eikha; are the five chapters related stylistically, conceptually?
Is there progress within the book; does a process of consolation or reconciliation occur?
How is God portrayed in the text; does he appear or is He addressed within it?
Does Jeremiah appear in the text; can we associate it with his prophecies in his book?
If Eikha expresses surprise at the catastrophe, could Jeremiah express surprise having foretold and forewarned Israel of their destruction if they don't alter their ways?
STUDY PASSAGES
VOICE #1 = Ch.1:1-11: - narrator, observer of the Destruction (who: Jeremiah?; not God; anonymous?)
1: 1-3
5 refers to a multitude of sins. But see 2:14, 4:13, and especially 5:7, where sins are identified.
8
9 - The Forlorn Widow interjects: "See, God, what has happened to me?" Also 1:11, 20 and 2:20.
VOICE #2 = Ch. 1:12-end: the Forlorn Widow speaks
12 She introduces a concept which will be subject of chapter 2, God's Day of Wrath.
VOICE #3 = Chapter 2: third person descriptive narrative of God, the Enemy
1 and 5
17
20-22 (See 5:22 which concludes Eikha on the same theme: "You have raged against us.")
VOICE #4 = Chapter 3: the interpretation of the Destruction; the anonymous "teacher"
1, 10
21-29
31-32
40
55-57
The different "Voices" or various passages can be identified as different perceptions of the Destruction or reactions to it. Some were elegies which offered consolation and comfort. I read these as Kinot, dirges in the traditional sense.
Others noted many passages which echoed the book of Job. Such verses expressed surprise at the excessive wrath of the Almighty. These sequences, which I read as Eikha passages, expressed dismay at divine behavior which seemed to deviate from the expected.
The two names for Lamentations reflect differing visions of the Destruction of the Jewish nation and the varied literary/psychological responses they engendered.