Lamentations 5:18
עַ֤ל הַר־צִיֹּון֙ שֶׁשָּׁמֵ֔ם שׁוּעָלִ֖ים הִלְּכוּ־בֹֽו׃
Desolation’s Location: עַל הַר־צִיּוֹן
עַל (“upon”) is a preposition introducing the place affected.
- הַר־צִיּוֹן — “Mount Tsiyon (Zion),” a construct phrase with the article prefixed to הַר (“mountain”) and bound to צִיּוֹן (Zion)
This locates the tragedy not just geographically but symbolically — Zion was the site of the temple, God’s dwelling place, now devastated.
Relative Clause: שֶׁשָּׁמֵם
שֶׁ is a relative pronoun (“which, that”) introducing a descriptive clause.
- שָּׁמֵם — Qal perfect 3ms of שׁ־מ־ם (“to be desolate”) with dagesh forte for doubling
Together: “which is desolate” — emphasizing Zion’s ruined state, a key theme of Lamentations.
Irony of Inhabitants: שׁוּעָלִים הִלְּכוּ־בֹו
שׁוּעָלִים — “foxes,” symbolic of wildness and desolation; their presence marks abandonment and desecration.
- הִלְּכוּ — Qal perfect 3mp of ה־ל־ך with a doubling stem form due to poetic form; “they walked/wandered”
- בֹּו — “in it” (preposition + 3ms suffix), referring to Zion
The tragic reversal: once teeming with worshipers, Zion is now roamed by foxes. The perfect verb expresses a completed state — desolation has fully set in.
Parsing Table: Key Forms in Lamentations 5:18
| Hebrew Word | Root | Form | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| שָּׁמֵם | שׁ־מ־ם | Qal perfect (3ms) | “Was desolate” — state of Zion |
| שׁוּעָלִים | שׁ־ע־ל | Noun (mp) | “Foxes” — image of abandonment |
| הִלְּכוּ | ה־ל־ך | Qal perfect (3mp) | “They walked” — wild creatures moving freely |
| בֹּו | ב־ו | Preposition + 3ms suffix | “In it” — referring to Mount Zion |
The Grammar of Holy Desolation
Lamentations 5:18 uses tight relative clauses and stark poetic imagery to illustrate the depth of Zion’s humiliation. The perfect verbs fix the destruction as irreversible; the syntax wraps theological meaning into grammatical form. Foxes roam where priests once stood — and grammar helps us feel the shame in every clause.
