21. The Book of Lamentations: Grief, Poetry, and the Question of God’s Presence

Dr. Cameron Howard explores the Book of Lamentations — grief, poetry, and God's presence.

The Book of Lamentations is one of the lesser-known books of the Hebrew Bible, but it may be one of the most honest. In this episode of the Bible in a Year podcast, Dr. Cameron Howard, Professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary, joins hosts Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker and Kristofer Phan Coffman to explore this Lamentations Bible book — a collection of five lament poems set against the devastation of Jerusalem’s siege and destruction by Babylon in 586 BCE. Dr. Howard unpacks the book’s striking acrostic structure, its shifting voices, and the way its poetry reaches for language to describe suffering that almost defies description.

More than a historical document, Lamentations raises questions that still resonate today: Is God present in suffering? Has God abandoned us? Dr. Howard explores the theological significance of a book that gives voice to grief, anger, and doubt — and explains why a tradition that includes shaking a fist at God is actually powerful evidence of a God who is not a tyrant. Whether you are new to the Lamentations Bible book or returning to it with fresh eyes, this conversation offers a thoughtful and moving guide to one of Scripture’s most profound and underappreciated voices.

Bible Bingo

Daughter Zion
Strong Man
Poetry
Affliction
Unless

7-Word Summary

How long, Lord, and why? OR Are you there, God? It’s me, Zion.

Scripture References

Lamentations 1 and 2 — Daughter Zion poems
Lamentations 3:1 — “I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath”
Lamentations 5:19-22 — the closing verses, ending with “unless you have utterly rejected us”

Featuring

Cameron B.R. Howard

Cameron B. R. Howard, associate professor of Old Testament, joined the Luther Seminary faculty in July 2012. She received her Ph.D. from Emory University in 2010. She also holds a Master of Theological Studies degree from the Candler School of Theology at Emory and a Master of Theology degree from Columbia Theological Seminary. Howard is the author of The Old Testament for A Complex World: How the Bible's Dynamic Testimony Points to New Life for the Church (Baker Academic, 2021). Committed to making academic biblical scholarship accessible and relevant to clergy and laypeople, Howard has written over two dozen essays for WorkingPreacher.org and is a contributor to BibleOdyssey.org. She is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

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Hosted By

Kathryn Schifferdecker

Kathryn M Schifferdecker is Professor and Elva B. Lovell Chair of Old Testament at Luther Seminary. Ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 2001, Schifferdecker was associate pastor for five years at Trinity Lutheran Church, Arkdale, Wisconsin, before coming to Luther in 2006. Schifferdecker is a frequent contributor to Working Preacher, Word & World, and the author of "Out of the Whirlwind: Creation Theology in the Book of Job" (Harvard University Press, 2008). She is currently writing a commentary on the book of Esther.

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Kristofer Phan Coffman

Kristofer Phan Coffman is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary. He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Religion and Cultures at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Kristofer is, to the best of his knowledge, the first Cambodian to receive a doctoral degree in any aspect of biblical studies or the study of the ancient world. He brings his own experience as a first generation Cambodian-American to his readings of the biblical text in an effort to help readers reframe their reading of ancient texts as a cross-cultural interaction, hoping to build skills both for the reading of the biblical text as well as the modern task of relating to people from cultures different than their own. In addition to his work in the New Testament, Kristofer writes on food, farming and sustainability. His first book, Harrowing the Gospels: A Cambodian (American) Rereading of Agriculture in Mark and Matthew will be published in the Brill Biblical Interpretation Series in Fall 2025, and he is currently writing a book on reading the Bible with cultural sensitivity for Baker Academic.

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About The Bible in a Year Podcast

This podcast guides you on a journey through the books of the Bible, providing insights on how Scripture can shape your life today. Each episode focuses on one or two books of the Bible in fun, engaging, and authentic conversations between Luther Seminary faculty and guest Bible scholars who are experts on the book(s) in question. Join us as we make our way through the Bible in a year — new episodes drop every Wednesday in 2026!

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