Lament serves a multitude of functions reflected by the various genres and forms. As Westermann notes, “the lament has a history. . . . [It] has a historical antecedent.”1 Lament, therefore, recounts a historical suffering. “Lament stems from an acute experience of pain, be it physical, emotional, or spiritual.”2 It is the human response to anguish and adversity, and is not bound by the rules of praise. Instead, lament can take the form of complaint, “in the sense of bemoaning the troubles one has undergone . . . [and] complaint in the sense of arguing with and complaining to God about one’s
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