Lecture 3

^4:3^ Ghimel. Even the sea monsters have drawn out the breast, they have given suck to their young. The daughter of my people is cruel, like the ostrich in the desert.

69. Here he describes their misery in detail.

And first, he presents the affliction of the siege as regards their hunger;

second, the capture and destruction of the city, at the Lord has accomplished his wrath (Lam 4:11);

third, the mockery of their captors against the citizens, at depart you that are defiled (Lam 4:15).

Concerning the first, he does four things.

First, he touches upon the hunger of the children;

second, the hunger of refined people, at they that were fed delicately have died in the streets (Lam 4:5);

third, the hunger of those consecrated to God, at her Nazarites were whiter than snow (Lam 4:7);

fourth, the immense hunger of mothers, at the hands of the pitiful women have boiled their own children (Lam 4:10).

Concerning the first, he touches on two things.

First, the hunger of infants;

second, that of young children and adolescents, at the little ones have asked for bread (Lam 4:4).

Concerning the first, he touches on two things.

First, the lack of milk;

second, the effect of this lack, at the tongue of the sucking child has stuck to the roof of his mouth (Lam 4:4).

Sea monsters (lamiae), monsters having the body of a woman and the feet of a horse, whose name comes from laniando, (Lanius, “butcher.”) because they tore to pieces (laniant) their children.

Cruel like the ostrich, of which Job speaks: She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers, she has labored in vain, no fear constraining her (Job 39:16). And the women of Jerusalem are compared to ostriches not for cruelty of feeling but because of their similarity in acting: because they did not give milk to their children, which was from a lack of nourishment.