Composition thumb|right|The lamentations of Jeremiah are depicted in this 1860 woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld. The traditional ascription of authorship to Jeremiah derives from the impetus to ascribe all biblical books to inspired biblical authors, and Jeremiah being a prophet at the time who prophesied its demise was an obvious choice. Additionally in 2 Chronicles 35:25 Jeremiah is said to have composed a lament on the death of King Josiah, but there is no reference to Josiah in the book of Lamentations and no reason to connect it to Jeremiah. However, the modern consensus amongst scholars is that Jeremiah did not write Lamentations; like most ancient literature, the author or authors remain anonymous.
composition thumb|right|the lamentations of jeremiah are depicted in this 1860 woodcut by julius schnorr von karolsfeld the traditional ascription of authorship to jeremiah derives from the impetus to ascribe all biblical books to inspired biblical authors and jeremiah being a prophet at the time who prophesied its demise was an obvious choice additionally in 2 chronicles 3525 jeremiah is said to have composed a lament on the death of king josiah but there is no reference to josiah in the book of lamentations and no reason to connect it to jeremiah however the modern consensus amongst scholars is that jeremiah did not write lamentations; like most ancient literature the author or authors remain anonymous