This work brings research on oral traditional poetry to bear on a recurrent biblical prophetic metaphor: the mourning earth. Within a set of nine prophetic compositions, the study explores in each passage the particular expression and literary impact of the metaphor and its attendant themes. Since consideration is given to the diachronic dimensions of the nine texts, the study serves as an illustration of the operation of an oral or oral-derived aesthetic within the biblical prophetic traditions over a range of historical settings as well as prophetic genres. (Publisher Book Description)