Klaagliedere 3:42 : vergifnis of nie-vergifnis
Date
2014
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
This article investigates the short prayer of Lamentations 3:42, the only text in the prayer literature that uses the particle לא (no) together with the term סלח (forgive). The exegetical study focuses on the literal, historical and theological dimensions of the short prayer. The questions posed by this article is: Does this text portray God's unwillingness to forgive? Does Lamentations 3 only speak about punishment and judgement or do we find references to divine forgiveness? Lamentations 3 speaks about punishment, but not rejection or unwillingness to forgive. The worshipper in verse 42 confronts God with his real self: He is supposed to forgive. In the rest of chapter 3 we find reminders of God's forgiving heart: mercy and compassion (vv. 22, 32); faithfulness (v. 23); kindness (vv. 25, 26, 27); salvation (v. 26); and steadfast love (v. 32).
Description
CITATION: O'Kennedy, D. F. 2014. Klaagliedere 3:42 : vergifnis of nie-vergifnis. Acta Theologica, 34(2): 94-108, doi:10.4314/actat.v34i2.6.
The original publication is available at http://www.scielo.org.za
The original publication is available at http://www.scielo.org.za
Keywords
Bible. Lamentations, III, 42 -- Criticism, interpretation, etc., Forgiveness, Punishment
Citation
O'Kennedy, D. F. 2014. Klaagliedere 3:42 : vergifnis of nie-vergifnis. Acta Theologica, 34(2): 94-108, doi:10.4314/actat.v34i2.6.