Starting out with Lamentations

My New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible gives me some introductory facts about the book of Lamentations.  

1. The Book of Lamentations consists of a series of five mournful poems.  Together they constitute a moving expression of grief over the destruction of Jerusalem and exile of its people by King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E.  A concise summary of this historical background can be found in 2 Kings 25: 8-21.  (Introduction) 

2. The authorship of Lamentations is disputed. The introductory section Authorship and Date of Composition ends thus:  "...it is best to seek to understand Lamentations not as an utterance of Jeremiah, but rather as the composition of an anonymous exilic author (or authors) who gave eloquent poetic expression to the sense of bewilderment, anguish, and loss felt by many of the people.  The vividness and local color found in this book, as well as the freshness and intensity of feeling expressed in it, suggest that the author was a Judean survivor remaining behind in the land and writing in close proximity to the catastrophic demise of the nation in 586 B.C.E." 

II Kings 25:8-21 itemises the precious temple furnishings which were taken away to Babylon: the bronze, gold, and silver, all of which are itemised in the account of the building of Solomon's Temple. See I Kings 6:1-38, 7:1-51, II Chron. 3:1-17, 4:1-22, 5:1-14.  (These are listed in Garland's Subject Guide to Bible Stories.)

Joyce Voysey