The Book of Ezekiel and Mesopotamian City Laments

By (author) Donna Lee Petter

Book cover: The Book of Ezekiel and Mesopotamian City Laments

Extent: 222 pages

Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht

Subjects: Ancient Near East

Series: Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(December 2011)

ISBN: 9783727816901

Price: $59.00

In stock

The lament genre as a matrix for the compilation of the book of Ezekiel.


This study is a comparison of the book of Ezekiel with the well-known city lament genre of ancient Mesopotamia. Nine shared features are analyzed and explained. These features derive from the work of F.W. Dobbs-Allsopp and his comparison of biblical Lamentations with city laments of Mesopotamia. This material provides a fruitful point of comparison, one that is more than coincidental given Ezekiel’s geographical location in Nippur (the provenience of one of the five historical city laments). Compelling comparative evidence reveals that the lament genre is reflected in the book of Ezekiel and was used as a matrix for its compilation. Ezekiel’s usage of the city lament genre is, perhaps, the key to understanding the organizational structure of much of the book along with its various themes.

  • By (author) Donna Lee Petter