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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Kerygmania: Humour in the Old Testament?
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Storyteller
Apprentice
# 5320
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Posted
Is there humour in the OT or is it just me?
What do shipmates think is side-splitting when read in the holy book or heard from the lectern?
Is humour the intention of the original writer(s) or is it all in the perception of you and me the readers?
I am looking forward to a very long string of responses with examples of what may be humourous to one reader and perhaps may not so amusing to others. Are shipmates up to it? We shall see.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
[ 19. November 2013, 01:15: Message edited by: Mamacita ]
Posts: 5 | From: London | Registered: Dec 2003
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Moo
Ship's tough old bird
# 107
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Posted
C.S.Lewis was married to a Jewish woman who had converted to Christianity. He said that she had told him that Jews find parts of the OT very funny. One specific example he gave was Abraham's bargaining with God about whether Sodom and Gomorrah should be destroyed.
One OT passage which strikes me very funny is Moses's speech in Numbers 11:4-15. I didn't recognize the humor until I heard it read aloud by someone who thought Moses's whining self-pity was hilarious.
Storyteller, welcome to the ship and to Kerygmania. Congratulations on a very interesting first post. I assume you have familiarized yourself with the Kerygmania guidelines as well as the 10 Commandments. Enjoy the voyage!
Moo
[ 16. December 2003, 18:36: Message edited by: Moo ]
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Kerygmania host
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See you later, alligator.
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Adrienne
Shipmate
# 2334
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Posted
![[Killing me]](graemlins/killingme.gif) ...just read the Numbers passage in a whiney-voice...
I think Jeremiah 13 (1-11) - in which the Lord tells Jeremiah to bury his underwear - is hilarious. Try a resigned, mildly Pythonesque voice...maybe it's just me...
A
Posts: 977 | From: UK | Registered: Feb 2002
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
Judges 3 -- Ehud the left-handed and Eglon the fat -- is a riot. Especially when Ehud gives the death-stab to Eglon, and then locks him in "the upper room" and his servants outside hear him groaning but figure he's just taking a dump so they don't rush in until it's too late (even then, they wait until the point of embarassment which i find delightful).
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This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...
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andras
Shipmate
# 2065
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Posted
quote:
What do shipmates think is side-splitting when read in the holy book or heard from the lectern
I'm quite sure that the Jacob 'saga' is meant to have its funny side. Jacob is the OT equivalent of Del Boy Trotter, always trying out a new scam and always getting into trouble because of this - and his father-in-law is another one from the same mould.
Jacob spends his whole life avoiding his brother after trying - and failing - to cheat him of his inheritance, and the best joke of all is that he doesn't need to, as his brother has long since forgiven him.
And of course it's the cheating Jacob who receives God's special favour, not the upright, forgiving Esau. Even God seems to find pleasure in the lovable rogue!
John
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God's on holiday.
(Why borrow a cat?)
Adrian Plass
Posts: 544 | From: Tregaron | Registered: Dec 2001
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Ann
Curious
# 94
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Posted
I find the Numbers passage funny as well. quote:
Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased.
For me, it's God doing his nut and Moses trying to emulate the Lord and only succeeding in looking peeved.
quote:
He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He led Israel for eight years. Judges 12:14
A judge of Israel and that's all they could find to say about him (I hope this was in the days of polygamy BTW).
And it's nice to know that grumpiness is the better part of wisdom - quote:
If a man loudly blesses his neighbour early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse. Proverbs 27:14
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Ann
Posts: 3271 | From: IO 91 PI | Registered: May 2001
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Psyduck
Ship's vacant look
# 2270
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Posted
I was preaching on Genesis 3 the Sunday before last. I love the buck-passing bit - where God goes for Adam, and he says "But the woman...." and God tackles Eve, and she says "But the snake..." I always visualize the snake looking behind him, to see if there's anyone he can blame.
Then there's the whole Samson cycle, which is really incredibly broad humour. Not really my taste - though I have been to 'special events' with big congregations at which the moronically ecstatic interaction of speaker and congregation could be described as a thousand philistines smitten with the jawbone of an ass...
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The opposite of faith is not doubt. The opposite of faith is certainty.
"Lle rhyfedd i falchedd fod/Yw teiau ar y tywod." (Ieuan Brydydd Hir)
Posts: 5433 | From: pOsTmOdErN dYsToPiA | Registered: Feb 2002
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
Actually Eve gives a realistic and accurate account of what happened. "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." That's what happened.
Adam on the other hand tries to throw it back on God. "The woman, which THOU gavest me...."
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This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...
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Anselm
Shipmate
# 4499
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Posted
I love the ironical humour of Jonah.
He runs away from God because he knows God will be gracious to the gentiles and turn from his wrath.
A result of which is that he needs the saving grace of God and converts a whole ship load of gentile sailors.
etc etc
The OT narratives in the original language often have delightful plays on words.
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carpe diem domini
...seize the day to play dominoes?
Posts: 2544 | From: The Scriptorium | Registered: May 2003
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Psyduck
Ship's vacant look
# 2270
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Posted
NEAM: quote:
Actually Eve gives a realistic and accurate account of what happened. "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." That's what happened.
Adam on the other hand tries to throw it back on God. "The woman, which THOU gavest me...."
![[Confused]](confused.gif)
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The opposite of faith is not doubt. The opposite of faith is certainty.
"Lle rhyfedd i falchedd fod/Yw teiau ar y tywod." (Ieuan Brydydd Hir)
Posts: 5433 | From: pOsTmOdErN dYsToPiA | Registered: Feb 2002
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Lioba
Shipmate
# 42
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by psyduck:
NEAM: quote:
Actually Eve gives a realistic and accurate account of what happened. "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." That's what happened.
Adam on the other hand tries to throw it back on God. "The woman, which THOU gavest me...."
As if Eve had said: The snake, which thou hast created, deceived me. No only putting the blame on another being, but ultimately on God himself.
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Conversion is a life-long process.
Posts: 502 | From: Germany | Registered: May 2001
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Talitha
Shipmate
# 5085
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Posted
Are we allowed to stray into the NT as well? There's that bit in James: Is anyone sick? He should pray, etc.
James sounds pretty impatient with his audience, and someone (Adrian Plass?) wrote that he imagined that bit being read in the voice of Basil Fawlty, and I've always found it funny since.
<desperate barrel-scraping attempt to redirect the thread back to humour, and away from arguments about Adam and Eve>
Posts: 554 | From: Cambridge, UK | Registered: Oct 2003
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by psyduck:
I can't help you understand my POV if you can't be a little more explicit about what you don't understand about it.
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This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...
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andras
Shipmate
# 2065
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Posted
quote:
What do shipmates think is side-splitting when read in the holy book or heard from the lectern?
Here's another - Tobit has, as far as I'm aware, the original archetype of the Jewish Mother fussing over him before he sets off on his travels, worrying out loud about all the dangers he will face and whether he will ever come back to her.
She doesn't know that his travelling companion is the Archangel Raphael; though even if she did, I suspect that she'd be no easier in her mind or quieter in her opinions.
In the NT, I've always been amused by the reaction of the Woman at the Well in Samaria who simply tells Jesus when he promises her living water, Sir, you haven't got a bucket! Read aloud in the right tone of voice, that one gets the real laugh that I'm sure was intended.
John
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God's on holiday.
(Why borrow a cat?)
Adrian Plass
Posts: 544 | From: Tregaron | Registered: Dec 2001
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Ponty'n'pop
Shipmate
# 5198
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Posted
At the wedding of Ponty and Mrs Ponty, a selection from the book of proverbs was read, including gems such as:
21v9: "Better to live on a roof than share a house with a nagging wife."
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"....creeping around a cow shed at 2 o'clock in the morning. That doesn't sound very wise to me"
Posts: 236 | From: South Wales | Registered: Nov 2003
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Talitha
Shipmate
# 5085
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Posted
I suppose there's also Peter at the Transfiguration: Let's build three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah...
Peter, the prototypical church committee member. Practicalities first, then we can get on with being amazed at the miracle.
Posts: 554 | From: Cambridge, UK | Registered: Oct 2003
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frin
Drinking coffee for Jesus
# 9
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Posted
The bit where the Rachel fakes having a period in order to run off with the household Gods is quite funny (Genesis 31). It's like a biblical legitimation for bunking of sports lessons.
Ezekiel is the foundation text for all situationist protest. I especially like the bit where Ezekiel (during his representation of the iniquity which will be wrought on Israel) bargains with God that he should only have to cook his food on cow dung, and not human dung, because God's original idea grosses him out (Ezekiel chapter 4).
And I can't remember off the top of my head who is ordered to go and bury some underwear in the banks of a river to make an almighty point about the state of the nation, though I do remember that Dyfrig was asked to read it at an advent service after a mix up with the chapter numbers.
The Old Testament is full of hilarious moments and bitter ironies. Good thread topic.
'frin
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"Even the crocodile looks after her young" - Lamentations 4, remembering Erin.
Posts: 4496 | From: a library | Registered: Apr 2001
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Saviour Tortoise
Shipmate
# 4660
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Posted
I don't know whether this is true or not but I was once told that all the parables are basically jokes with a message, and that to a first century jew they would have been pretty funny.
Makes sense to me. The format is correct - "and then, you'll never guess what right, this Samaritan came along...."
I love the idea that Jesus was getting ideas across with a sense of humour.
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Baptised not Lobotomised
Posts: 745 | From: Bath, UK | Registered: Jun 2003
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Chapelhead*
Ship’s Photographer
# 1143
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Posted
I find the call of Moses quite amusing, with all Moses’ whinging and moaning about being called by God.
<Whiney voice>
But I can’t go and speak to my people ‘cus I’m not very good at talking, an’ what if they don’t believe me, an' can’t you send someone else, ‘cus if they ask I don’t even know what your name is, an’ stuff...
<Thunderous voice>
I AM WHO I AM – NOW GET WITH THE PROGRAM, BUDDY, AND SMART WITH IT!!!
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Benedikt Gott Geschickt!
Posts: 7082 | From: Turbolift Control. | Registered: Aug 2001
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Storyteller
Apprentice
# 5320
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Posted
What a wonderful ship this is! Seventeen replies in less than 12 hours to my first posting! Replies above read like a little congregation or a big housegroup.
But what do we really think... is the humour we see in the OT (or the NT) the intention of the original writer(s) or is it all our own perception? For example, for what reason do we imagine the original writer included the Ehud/Eglon (Judges 3) story? Is this just an interesting story? Is this told as a joke? Is Judges 3 an example of ancient 'stand-up'? If it is a joke (which appears to be told at the expense of Moabites), does this mean ancient Moabites were to Hebrew writers what the Irish are to English joke-makers and Mexicans are to American joke-makers today? How may a Moabite descendent read this story today? Moreover, how may this story be read and understood in a 'poe-faced' Bible-belt?
Posts: 5 | From: London | Registered: Dec 2003
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Anselm
Shipmate
# 4499
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Storyteller:
But what do we really think... is the humour we see in the OT (or the NT) the intention of the original writer(s) or is it all our own perception?
I think that at least some of it is intended - humour is not a recent invention!
It's an odd sort of theology that would exclude the possibility of humour from the intentions of the Biblical storytellers.
Wasn't that part of the plot for "The Name of the Rose"? The monk didn't want his scribes laughing at Aristotle's work on humour - he thought that humour and laughter were ungodly?
I also love the story of Esther. The juxtaposition of characters is delightful! And the scene were Haman begs for mercy from Esther, but the king comes in and thinks he's making a pass at his Queen...
...and then he gets hanged and there's a mass slaughter. ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
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carpe diem domini
...seize the day to play dominoes?
Posts: 2544 | From: The Scriptorium | Registered: May 2003
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Psyduck
Ship's vacant look
# 2270
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Posted
Of course, the word 'slaughter' contains the word 'laughter'....
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The opposite of faith is not doubt. The opposite of faith is certainty.
"Lle rhyfedd i falchedd fod/Yw teiau ar y tywod." (Ieuan Brydydd Hir)
Posts: 5433 | From: pOsTmOdErN dYsToPiA | Registered: Feb 2002
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Psyduck
Ship's vacant look
# 2270
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Posted
Actually, it was always the height of the gallows that got me in the book of Esther. But I don't think that was meant to be funny....
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The opposite of faith is not doubt. The opposite of faith is certainty.
"Lle rhyfedd i falchedd fod/Yw teiau ar y tywod." (Ieuan Brydydd Hir)
Posts: 5433 | From: pOsTmOdErN dYsToPiA | Registered: Feb 2002
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daisymay
St Elmo's Fire
# 1480
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Posted
Well now, psyduck, you're supposed to get so drunk at Purim that when you're cheering Mordecai and banging away at Haman, you're unable to tell the difference.
Want to join the rabbis in the booze?
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London
Flickr fotos
Posts: 11224 | From: London - originally Dundee, Blairgowrie etc... | Registered: Oct 2001
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Psyduck
Ship's vacant look
# 2270
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Posted
I intend to, Daisymay, as I have an appointment with a certain Rabbi Burns on the 25th of next month! Yes, I had heard edifying tales of Purim! And fancy Haman getting a suspended sentence...
Actually, we're all overlooking another bit of gallows humour in the OT - in Genesis 40, when Joseph tells the butler, inyterpreting his dream that "Pharaoh will lift up your head!" and this good news cheers up the poor old baker so much that he asks for an interp - and gets "Pharaoh will lift up your head - from on top of you !!!"
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The opposite of faith is not doubt. The opposite of faith is certainty.
"Lle rhyfedd i falchedd fod/Yw teiau ar y tywod." (Ieuan Brydydd Hir)
Posts: 5433 | From: pOsTmOdErN dYsToPiA | Registered: Feb 2002
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Storyteller
Apprentice
# 5320
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by psyduck:
Of course, the word 'slaughter' contains the word 'laughter'....
Do you mean like the word 'funeral' contains the word 'fun'?
Posts: 5 | From: London | Registered: Dec 2003
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irreverentkit
Apostle's Amanuensis
# 4271
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Posted
Elijah and the prophets of Baal, where he taunts them with "where is old Baal, anyway? Maybe he's turned aside from the path ..." (Hebrew euphamism for going off for a whizz)
Also, my OT prof told us that "feet" was a euphamism for sexual organs. So where Ruth lies down that night with Boaz is ....
Posts: 1010 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Wildthing
Apprentice
# 5323
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Posted
quote:
is the humour we see in the OT (or the NT) the intention of the original writer(s) or is it all our own perception?
I am sure humour was intended. If one believes that the original writer of all scripture is God as God certainly has a sense of humour. For one thing He made me and loves me . Then I look at the duck billed platypus!
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WiLdThInG
Posts: 4 | From: Milford Haven | Registered: Dec 2003
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Rich T
Apprentice
# 5333
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Anselm:
I also love the story of Esther. The juxtaposition of characters is delightful! And the scene were Haman begs for mercy from Esther, but the king comes in and thinks he's making a pass at his Queen...
...and then he gets hanged and there's a mass slaughter.
In a similar vein, there's 2 Kings 2:23-25, proving that, when it comes to hair loss at least, Elisha (and God?) can't take a joke. Grumpy old men at their most badass.
![[Ultra confused]](graemlins/confused2.gif)
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"A Methodist of the most bigoted and persecuting type" (W. S. Gilbert, 'The Gondoliers')
Posts: 3 | From: York / Marple | Registered: Dec 2003
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Scot
Deck hand
# 2095
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Posted
Welcome aboard, Wildthing and Rich T!
I hope you enjoy posting in Kerygmania. Please be sure to read the guidelines (top of the board) and the Ship's 10 Commandments (in the menu to the left). If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
scot
Kerygmania Host
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“Here, we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.” - Thomas Jefferson
Posts: 9515 | From: Southern California | Registered: Jan 2002
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Kyralessa
Shipmate
# 4568
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by irreverentkit:
Also, my OT prof told us that "feet" was a euphamism for sexual organs. So where Ruth lies down that night with Boaz is ....
That's been done to death already on this thread.
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In Orthodoxy, a child is considered an icon of the parents' love for each other.
I'm just glad all my other icons don't cry, crap, and spit up this much.
Posts: 1597 | From: St. Louis, MO | Registered: May 2003
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Justinian
Shipmate
# 5357
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Posted
There certainly is humour in the old testament. Particularly in the Hebrew.
I can't believe that no one has given the classic example of the plague of frog (sic) that sat upon the land. (and got in the water pipes and kept everyone up at night...) (The verbatim translation is "And the frog arose and covered the land of Egypt")
(No, I don't read Hebrew- I just have a fair number of Jewish friends interested in religion)
[ 28. December 2003, 21:07: Message edited by: Autobailer ]
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My real name consists of just four letters, but in billions of combinations.
Eudaimonaic Laughter - my blog.
Posts: 3926 | From: The Sea Coast of Bohemia | Registered: Dec 2003
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Newman's Own
Shipmate
# 420
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Posted
Most of my favourites have already been mentioned, particularly Abraham's haggling with God. However, I must add that Aaron's explanation on the lines of "I don't know what happened... we melted gold and this golden calf popped out" is hilarious.
Jacob indeed was a rogue! And I always felt for poor Leah, who was a pawn in a dirty trick, knew that her husband would not have wed her had he not thought she was her sister, and who married a man so lustful and self-centred he was not even aware of with whom he was in bed.
Jesus' own humour could be rich. Yes, I know that most scholars today insist he had no special knowledge of what was ahead - but I still cannot get past giggling when, in the parable of Dives and Lazarus, Lazarus mentions how those who will not listen to the prophets are not going to heed a man who is risen from the dead. Not to mention that I can just imagine the dry inflections when Jesus said he came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.
Can anything good come out of Nazareth?
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Cheers,
Elizabeth
“History as Revelation is seldom very revealing, and histories of holiness are full of holes.” - Dermot Quinn
Posts: 6740 | From: Library or pub | Registered: Jun 2001
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Nunzia
Shipmate
# 4766
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Posted
I always laugh at the account of the Hebrew midwives putting one over on the King of Egypt by saying, "...the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them."
It's just the kind of thing an oppressor would believe about the people who slave for him. "They're not like real people!"
From the New Testament: Luke 22:25
Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors..."
I always imagine Jesus rolling his eyes when he says "Benefactors".
As far as Storyteller's question about the intentionality of biblical humor...
I think most good humor arises from the character of the people portrayed. Anytime you describe the human race accurately, you're going to come up with some pretty funny stuff.
[fixed code]
[ 28. December 2003, 23:37: Message edited by: Moo ]
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Posts: 1903 | From: Crazy-glued to the ledge | Registered: Jul 2003
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basso
Ship’s Crypt Keeper
# 4228
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Posted
This may be just my low sense of humour, but I always picture Nathan, after he's told his parable to David after David has sent Uriah off to his death, as a Borshch Belt comedian saying "It's you! It's you! It's you!"
(Imagine the comedian leaping around the throne, beating David about the shoulders with a BladderOnAStick...)
b.
Posts: 4358 | From: Bay Area, Calif | Registered: Mar 2003
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Timothy the Obscure
Mostly Friendly
# 292
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Posted
I've always found the childbearing competition between Leah and Rachel pretty funny--not quite sure whether to feel sorry for Jacob or not. But I guess he made his own bed(s)... ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Timothy
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When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion.
- C. P. Snow
Posts: 6114 | From: PDX | Registered: May 2001
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ptarmigan
Shipmate
# 138
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Posted
There's a graphic description in one of the Psalms which I remember from my cathedral chorister days, which goes as follows:
"Then the Lord awoke as one out of sleep,
And like a giant refreshed with wine,
He smote His enemies about their hinder parts,
And put them to a perpetual shame".
(Psalm 78 verses 65-66)
(Edited to correct typo)
[ 30. December 2003, 04:18: Message edited by: ptarmigan ]
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All shall be well. And all shall be well. And all manner of things shall be well. (Julian of Norwich)
Posts: 1080 | From: UK - Midlands | Registered: May 2001
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Psyduck
Ship's vacant look
# 2270
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Posted
Ptarmigan: If the King James is correct in its translation of Samuel, it's possible that this psalm is connected with 1 Sam 5, a rip-roaring, laugh-a-minute haemorrhoid-fest which reduces the Philistines to a laughing stock by the deployment of truly "base" humour. Ch. 6: 17 refers to the five golden haemorrhoids that the Philistine pentapolis had to give as a "trespass offering". I'll look up the MT and Brown Driver and Briggs tomorrow morning if I have time, to see what the original actually is. (It's 25 years since I last looked at this passage closely. I've never preached on it, because it might 'sit uneasily' with my congregation... )
And for the record - I know that the subject matter is no joke... ![[Waterworks]](graemlins/bawling.gif) ![[Paranoid]](graemlins/paranoid.gif)
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The opposite of faith is not doubt. The opposite of faith is certainty.
"Lle rhyfedd i falchedd fod/Yw teiau ar y tywod." (Ieuan Brydydd Hir)
Posts: 5433 | From: pOsTmOdErN dYsToPiA | Registered: Feb 2002
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Anselm
Shipmate
# 4499
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Posted
I love the incident when Saul get 'crowned' King. quote:
1 Samuel 10:20-24 (ESV)
[20] Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. [21] He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by lot; and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found. [22] So they inquired again of the Lord, "Is there a man still to come?" and the Lord said, "Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage." [23] Then they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. [24] And Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people." And all the people shouted, "Long live the king!"
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carpe diem domini
...seize the day to play dominoes?
Posts: 2544 | From: The Scriptorium | Registered: May 2003
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ptarmigan
Shipmate
# 138
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by psyduck:
Ptarmigan: If the King James is correct in its translation of Samuel, it's possible that this psalm is connected with 1 Sam 5, a rip-roaring, laugh-a-minute haemorrhoid-fest which reduces the Philistines to a laughing stock by the deployment of truly "base" humour. Ch. 6: 17 refers to the five golden haemorrhoids that the Philistine pentapolis had to give as a "trespass offering". ...
I was quoting the psalm from the version in the Book of Common Prayer, not "King James". The BCP uses and older (and more poetic) translation, which I think is by Coverdale.
The Samuel passage in my RSV is about "tumours" rather than haemorrhoids.
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All shall be well. And all shall be well. And all manner of things shall be well. (Julian of Norwich)
Posts: 1080 | From: UK - Midlands | Registered: May 2001
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Psyduck
Ship's vacant look
# 2270
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Posted
'Tumours' is the bland translation of many new versions. I still haven't looked up the etymology of the word in the original... hang on...
The word usually translated "haemorrhoid" ('ophel - from a root meaning 'swell') is the word the consonants of which are found in the text in 1 Samuel 5 (k*thiv). The vowels, however, imply the word t*chor, which is found in the margin (q*re)
According to Brown, Driver and Briggs, the word t*chor in 6:17 (I don't know how to do shewas) derives from an Aramaic vb. t*char, to 'strain at a stool', and there's a Syriac cognate of that meaning 'dysentery'. Hence 'tumours caused by dysentery' or 'haemorrhoids'. The same word is found at Dt. 28:27; The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.
The implication seems to be that either 'ophel or t*chor can mean 'haemorrhoid', and that both clearly mean some sort of sore on the rear end, which is both painful and undignified. A really , really gross joke on the Philistines!!!
Hertzberg, in his Old Testament Library commentary (I knew I'd seen it somewhere! ), makes the connection with Psalm 78, tracing it back to the scholar Thenius, who bases his comparison apparently on the Vulgate.
I have to say that it would be quite a challenge to get an edifying sermon out of any of this...
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The opposite of faith is not doubt. The opposite of faith is certainty.
"Lle rhyfedd i falchedd fod/Yw teiau ar y tywod." (Ieuan Brydydd Hir)
Posts: 5433 | From: pOsTmOdErN dYsToPiA | Registered: Feb 2002
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ChastMastr
Shipmate
# 716
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by psyduck:
...The vowels, however, imply the word t*chor ... derives from an Aramaic vb. t*char, to 'strain at a stool'
As well, the Yiddish word tuchus means "posterior, ass, heiny, tushie, butt, booty, gluteus maximus," so there are modern slang words relating to this as well.
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My essays on comics continuity: http://chastmastr.tumblr.com/tagged/continuity
Posts: 14068 | From: Clearwater, Florida | Registered: Jul 2001
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hermit
Shipmate
# 1803
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Posted
I have to agree with Anselm about Jonah, the entire book is hilarious. After interminable whining that would have gotten you or me zapped by lightning or turned into pillars of salt, we have that classic ending of Chapter 4
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"You called out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent, you put to flight my blindness... You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain that peace which was yours." Confessions, St Augustine
Posts: 812 | From: Seattle | Registered: Nov 2001
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Oscar the Grouch
Adopted Cascadian
# 1916
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Posted
Can't believe that there has been a discussion on humour in the OT and no-one has mentioned Job.
Quite apart from anything else, I follow the line of thought that sees the outburst from Elihu as the comic light relief in the tense drama of Job engaging with his friends and challenging God. As the debate goes on, it is clear that Job is continually growing in his thoughts and statements, whilst the friends are stuck in the same old loops, endlessly repeating platitude after platitude.
Then Job begins to challenge God to come and meet him face to face. As the drama builds the audience expects God to make his appearance. What comes is Elihu - a blustering, pompous, self-opinionated buffoon who fails to understand the issues and cannot grasp what Job is saying. He blathers on and on and on. When he finally runs out of steam - everyone ignores him.
To appreciate the humour here (and throughout Job), you really need to see or take part in a "performance" of the book. A dramatised reading of the whole thing from start to finish is wonderful and it really highlights just how gut-wrenchingly dumb Elihu is.
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Faradiu, dundeibáwa weyu lárigi weyu
Posts: 3871 | From: Gamma Quadrant, just to the left of Galifrey | Registered: Dec 2001
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Moo
Ship's tough old bird
# 107
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Posted
quote from Smart Alex quote:
To appreciate the humour here (and throughout Job), you really need to see or take part in a "performance" of the book. A dramatised reading of the whole thing from start to finish is wonderful and it really highlights just how gut-wrenchingly dumb Elihu is.
{Tangent alert}
How long does it take to do a dramatized reading? I'm trying to talk my rector into one.
{/Tangent alert}
Moo
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Kerygmania host
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See you later, alligator.
Posts: 20365 | From: Alleghany Mountains of Virginia | Registered: May 2001
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Oscar the Grouch
Adopted Cascadian
# 1916
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Moo:
{Tangent alert}
How long does it take to do a dramatized reading? I'm trying to talk my rector into one.
{/Tangent alert}
Moo
If I remember correctly, the one I took part in lasted about 2.5 hours (with an intermission).
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Faradiu, dundeibáwa weyu lárigi weyu
Posts: 3871 | From: Gamma Quadrant, just to the left of Galifrey | Registered: Dec 2001
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
Job is by far my favourite book of the Bible. I'd love to see a good dramatization.
(I'm also fond of Jonah and Tobit -- guess I'm a sucker for a good story!)
[ 18. January 2004, 04:37: Message edited by: Mousethief ]
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This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...
Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001
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guinness girl
Ship's Barmaid
# 4391
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Posted
I always find it really amusing in Genesis 17 v 15-19 when God tells Abraham that Sarah will have a son, and Abraham thinks (to paraphrase), "oh, he CAN'T mean Sarah, silly God, he must mean Ishmael" - and God says, "well, yes, ok, I will bless Ishmael, BUT, I did actually mean Sarah".
Just makes me giggle every time to think of God saying, in effect, "hello? I'm GOD - I think I would know..."
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supplying people with laughs at my expense since 1982!
Posts: 463 | From: Leeds, England | Registered: Apr 2003
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Glenn316
Shipmate
# 2988
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Posted
Elisha obviously did NOT have a sence of humor about his baldness!
2Ki 2:23-24 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. 24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
Posts: 111 | From: S.E. Michigan | Registered: Jul 2002
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
I must be sense of humour impaired. I've always found the attempts to describe bits of the bible as funny to be strained.
But that's just me.
Isn't the plague of frog Terry Pratchett rather than the Bible?
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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