(Heb. qinah), an elegy or dirge. The first example of this form of poetry is the lament of David over Saul and Jonathan (2 Samuel 1:17-27). It was a frequent accompaniment of mourning (Amos 8:10). In 2Sam 3:33,34is recorded David's lament over Abner. Prophecy sometimes took the form of a lament when it predicted calamity (Ezekiel 27:2,32; 28:12; 32:2,16).

LAMENTA'TION, n. L. lamentatio.

1. Expression of sorrow; cries of grief; the act of bewailing.

In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation and weeping. Matt. 2.

2. In the plural, a book of Scripture, containing the lamentations of Jeremiah.