On Humor And The Comic In The Hebrew Bible (bible And Literature Series)

JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT SUPPLEMENT SERIES 92 Editors David J.A. Clines Philip R. Davies BIBLE AND LITERATURE SERIES 23 General Editor David M. Gunn Assistant General Editor Danna Nolan Fewell Consultant Editors Elizabeth Struthers Malbon James G. Williams Almond Press Sheffield This page intentionally left blank On HUMOUR and the COMIC in the HEBREW BIBLE Edited by Yehuda T. Radday & Athalya Brenner The Almond Press • 1990 Bible and Literature Series, 23 General Editor. David M. Gunn (Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia) Assistant General Editor: Danna Nolan Fewell (Perkins School of Theology, Dallas, Texas) Consultant Editors: Elizabeth Struthers Malbon (Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blacksburg, Virginia) James G. Williams (Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York) Copyright © 1990 Sheffield Academic Press Published by Almond Press Editorial direction: David M. Gunn Columbia Theological Seminary P.O. Box 520, Decatur GA 30031, U.S.A. Almond Press is an imprint of Sheffield Academic Press Ltd The University of Sheffield 343 Fulwood Road Sheffield S10 3BP England Typeset by Sheffield Academic Press and printed on acid-free paper in Great Britain by Billing & Sons Ltd Worcester British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data On humour and the comic in the Hebrew Bible. 1. Bible. O.T.—Critical studies I. Radday, Yehuda II. Brenner, Athalya III. Series 221.6 ISSN 0260-4493 ISSN 0309-0787 ISBN 1-85075-241-9 ISBN 1-85075-701-lpbk CONTENTS Abbreviations and Acknowledgment List of Contributors 7 9 1. BETWEEN INTENTIONALITY AND RECEPTION: ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND APPLICATION (A PREVIEW) A. Brenner and Y.T. Radday 13 2. ON MISSING THE HUMOUR IN THE BIBLE: AN INTRODUCTION Y.T. Radday 21 PART I. In general 3. ON THE SEMANTIC FIELD OF HUMOUR, LAUGHTER, AND THE COMIC IN THE OLD TESTAMENT A. Brenner 39 4. HUMOUR IN NAMES Y.T. Radday 59 5. HUMOUR AS A TOOL FOR BIBLICAL EXEGESIS F. Landy 99 PART II. In particular 6. ISAAC, SAMSON, AND SAUL: REFLECTIONS ON THE COMIC AND TRAGIC VISIONS J.C. Exum and J.W. Whedbee 117 7. WIT, WORDS, AND A WOMAN: 1 SAMUEL 25 M. Garsiel 161 8. is HUMOUR ALSO AMONG THE PROPHETS? R.P. Carroll 169 9. JOKING IN JEREMIAH 18 P.R. Davies 191 10. LAUGHING AT THE BIBLE: JONAH AS PARODY J. Miles 203 11. THE COMEDY OF JOB W. Whedbee 217 12. 'COME BACK, COME BACK THE SHULAMMITE' (SONG OF SONGS 7.1-10): A PARODY OF THE WASF GENRE A. Brenner 251 13. QOHELET'S FOOL: A COMPOSITE PORTRAIT E. Levine 277 14. ESTHER WITH HUMOUR Y.T. Radday 295 Select Bibliography Index of Biblical References Index of Authors 315 317 327 ABBREVIATIONS BA BDB BH BLS BWANT HAT JBL JSOT JSS MH OTL SBL ZA W Biblical Archaeologist F. Brown, S.R. Driver, C.A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Oxford, 1907) Biblical Hebrew Bible and Literature Series Beitrage zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament Handbuch zum Alten Testament Journal of Biblical Literature Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Journal of Semitic Studies Mishnaic Hebrew Old Testament Library Society of Biblical Literature Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft ACKNOWLEDGMENT The Editors wish to record their gratitude to Professor David Clines for his meticulous reading of the proofs and the many improvements to the accuracy of the text introduced by him. This page intentionally left blank CONTRIBUTORS Athalya Brenner is a graduate of the University of