John Gill Commentary Lamentations 5:10

"Our skin is black like an oven, Because of the burning heat of famine." — Lamentations 5:10 (ASV)

Our skin was black like an oven, because of the terrible
famine .
Or "terrors [and horrors of] famine"; which are very dreadful and distressing: or, "the storms of famine"; see (Psalms 11:6) (119:53) ; or, "burning winds" ^F21 ; such as are frequent in Africa and Asia; to which the famine is compared that was in Jerusalem, at the siege of it, both by the Chaldeans and Romans; and as an oven, furnace, or chimney becomes black by the smoke of the fire burnt in it, or under it; so the skins of the Jews became black through these burning winds and storms, or burnings of famine;

see (Lamentations 4:8) . So Jarchi says the word has the signification of "burning"; for famine as it were burns up the bodies of men when most vehement.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F21: (ber twpelz) "horrorum famis", Montanus; "terrores, [vel] tremores", Vatablus; "procellas famis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "exustiones", Pagninus, Calvin; "adustiones famis", Stockius, p. 281.