The term Eichah Rabbati, which is general even now, is used to designate the many extracts in Yalkut Shimoni which have been included with the other Biblical books.
[2]: xi Leopold Zunz concluded that "the last sections were added later" and, furthermore, "that the completion of the whole work must not be placed before the second half of the seventh century," because the empire of the Arabians is referred to even in a passage of the first chapter.
[3] However, according to a reading of Salomon Buber's edition (which is the only correct one as shown by the context), Seir, not Ishmael, is mentioned in connection with Edom in this passage to 1:14.
They constitute more than one quarter of the work[5] These proems and, perhaps, most of the annotations, which are arranged in the sequence of the verses,[6] originated in the discourses of which, in olden times, the Book of Lamentations had been the subject.
The numberless proems originating in the synagogal discourses of the earliest times must be regarded as the richest source upon which the collectors of the midrashim could draw.
For example, in connection with the words "at the beginning of the watches" (Lamentations 2:19) is introduced the whole discussion of the Jerusalem Talmud[18] on the statement of the Mishnah, "to the end of the first watch"; in connection with the words "let us lift up our heart with our hands to God in heaven" (3:41) is introduced a story from the Jerusalem Talmud Ta'anit 65a, telling how Abba bar Zabda preached on this verse during a fast-day service.
[20] For example, the same aggadah is used to explain the three passages Lamentations 1:1, 2:4, and 2:5, in each of which the word "like" occurs; the same comment is applied both to 3:53 and 3:56; a sentence of Shimon ben Lakish is used five times;[21] and the explanation for reversing the order and putting the letter פ before ע is given twice.
In the view of Galit Hasan-Rokem, Athenians are chosen for this purpose as they were themselves seen as paragons of wisdom; "by telling of the life of Jerusalem before the destruction, the stories recreate what has been lost, not only to enhance the pain of its absence but also to awaken joy at what once was".
[2]: 63–64 Several of the stories belong to folktale types attested widely in Eurasia,[2]: 39–87 such as Aarne-Thompson tale-types AT 655 "The Wise Brothers", AT 655A "The Strayed Camel and the Clever Deductions".
These collections, as well as the long passage on 1:5 ("her enemies prosper"), giving so many accounts of the sufferings of Israel, including the times of the Temple in Jerusalem and the fateful Bar Kokhba revolt, are the most impressive in Lamentations Rabbah; they form an integral part of the work, like the interesting sagas and stories to on the greatness of the city of Jerusalem and the intelligence of her inhabitants.
The stories of Lamentations Rabbah fill over fifteen columns of the Venice edition (about eleven in the first chapter), and include more than one-fourth of the midrashic comments (without the proems).