334 JERRY A. GLADSON “ hiddenness ” of God, or even as Deus absconditus. In this respect, it is similar to the ambiguous, indeterminate, partial approach to reality characterized by postmodernism. If the reading proposed here is accepted, God in the book of Lamentations cannot be regarded as completely silent. The divine Voice, however fleeting, joins the other voices in Lamentations in this poignant, moving dirge over a fallen, despairing city. Columbia Theological Seminary Jerry A. GLADSON Decatur, GA USA SUMMARY Lamentations reflects the silence of God. God seemingly does not act or speak. To some, this detachment represents an absence of God; to others, a “hiddenness” of God (Deus absconditus). Analysis of Lam 3,55-57, the crux interpretum for the divine silence, suggests the q strophe may break this oppressive silence. The strophe reflects an awareness of God who speaks. God stands in the background of the whole of life for this poet, emerging only fleetingly and in ways oblique. This perspective is similar to the ambiguous, indeterminate approach to reality in postmodernism. The divine Voice thus joins other voices in Lamentations.