It was the custom of the ancient Hebrews to give their books titles based upon its first word. Lamentations is therefore called Seper 'Ēkāh, the Book of How. It's an appropriate name.
How could this have happened to Jerusalem?
How can we speak about the depravities of war?
How can we blame the victims for this tragedy?
Lamentations 4 is the third poem of the book to begin with the word "how." It draws us into the shock and dehumanisation of war like no other chapter in the Bible.
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Lamentations' first word is 'ēkāh (1:1) which translates as "how" in English. 'Ēkāh also happens to begin both Lam 2:1 and 4:1.
