![]() God directs the same kind of laughter toward earthly hotshots who think their power exceeds his. Why? Because, as the psalm answers, those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land and the Lord knows the wicked face a reckoning. After all, he’s the creator.Ĭonsider Psalm 37:12-13: “The wicked plot against the righteous, and gnash their teeth at them but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that their day is coming.” Laughter here shows the impotence of the wicked and the futility of their plots and gnashings against the righteous. Let’s start with an umbrella verse, Ecclesiastes 3:4: “A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” The Biblical text, always practical, acknowledges human emotions and makes boundaries for their proper use. I’ve come to this conclusion: Humor is a fundamental sub-theme in both testaments.īecome a Member of Biblical Archaeology Society Now and Get More Than Half Off the Regular Price of the All-Access Pass! Explore the world’s most intriguing Biblical scholarshipĭig into more than 9,000 articles in the Biblical Archaeology Society’s vast library plus much more with an All-Access pass. Consequently, I believe it’s possible to read many verses, stories and even books through the lens of humor, indeed to see portions of the Bible as intended to be very funny. I chuckle at many passages, even while acknowledging the sadness they may contain. My emotions span sorrow, understanding or joy as I empathize with the characters who cross its pages. The editorial statement provides a light touch-comic relief, if you will-to the Chronicler’s usually routine kingship formula.Īs I study and teach, I find I read the Bible ever more slowly, and as I do, I smile more and more frequently. Being a wordsmith myself, I smiled at this bygone scribe relieved at this monarch’s death. He passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings” (italics added). The text reads, “Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. Studiously plowing through the reigns of Solomon through Jehoshaphat, I came to 2 Chronicles 21:20 and laughed outright. I remember one day resolving to do arduous work in 2 Chronicles. ![]() ![]() Perhaps Vincent Van Gogh’s Still Life with Bible could have used more pigments from his floral paintings? Photo: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam/Vincent van Gogh Foundation. Lighten up! Laughter is an important, and often overlooked, literary element in the Bible.
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