Hebrew Humor and Other Essays

style and diction, its pathos, and also by the flashes of genuine humour, which here and there illuminate its pages. Naturally its humour differs materially from the broad, rich humour of S

s on a journey; or peradventure he sleepeth and must be awaked" (1 Kings xviii. 27). The Aristophanic punning on proper names is paralleled not infrequently in the Bible. Thus, for example, the Hebrew word Nabal (1 Sam. xxv. 3), which means "rogue," is well applied as the proper name of a man, who was noted for the baseness of his character. Characteristic, too, is the name of one of Job's fair daughters, Keren-happuch (Job xlii. 14), which literally means "a horn (or box) of cosmetics," suggesting the means by which the owner of that name may occasionally have embellished her charms. To the same class belongs the term Tsara (???), which

frequently derides princes and leaders for not preserving and upholding that true spirit of patriotism, which generally helps to make a country secure from external invasion. "Ye are," he exclaims with bitter irony, "Ye are only mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to pour out strong drinks" (Isa. v. 22). Isaiah's orations frequently contain graphic and satirical descriptions of how things will be when that fatal day-the dies irae, dies illa-comes, on which the enemy will reign supreme within the capital of the Judaeans, bringing with them the suffering of famine, sickness, and pestilence. These poorly clad and careworn men will surround the lucky owner of a decent garment, saying

1]) eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet . . . it shall come to pass that instead of sweet smell there shall be bad odour, and instead of a girdle a rent, and burning instead of beauty" (ibid. iii. 16

people. His description of the origin and manufacture of an idol is certainly full of humour. "He" (the pious idolater) "heweth down a tree (he says) and burneth part thereof in a fire; one part serves him as firewood, by means of which he roasteth meat and is satisfied; yea, he

en and to dumb dogs. "His (Israel's) watchmen," he says, "are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all

own country. It is to be found in the fourteenth chapter of Isaiah, a short extract from which runs as follows:-"The whole earth is now (after thy fall) at rest and quiet; people break forth into singing. Yea, even the fir-trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us. Hell from beneath is astir at thy coming

om and Gomorrah . . . neither shall the Arabian pitch his tent there, nor shall the shepherds make their fold in that place. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of

is commonly ascribed, or some one unknown, who had assumed the pseudonym of "Koheleth." But this is certain that he does not belong to that class of writers whose humour is but a mixture of bitterness and melancholy, and who, like the authors of Faust and Manfred, speak bitingly of humani

ζε? θνητ?

ο?π? γ?

which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all the labour that he

ng and vainly tried to obtain, in the High Court of Justice, redress for wrongs done to him, and he put down in writing: "If thou seest oppression of the poor, and violence done to justice and righteousness in the provinces, do not feel astonished at that: for one that is high watches over the high, and over them are yet higher ones" (Eccles. v. 7). Elsewhere he condemns a land, "whose king is childish, and whose princes feast al

l) preaching, which is a weariness of the flesh" (ibid. xii. 12). The bookworm, too, was no great favourite of his, for he refers to him with, as it were, a pitiful smile: "Where there is much study, there is m

class of women is by no means flattering to the fair sex generally. "I find," he says, "more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are bonds: he that is deemed good before God will escape from her; but the sinner will be caught by her." And again: "One (perfect) man among a thousand did I find; but one perfect woman among all these did I not find" (ibid. vii. 26 and 28)

babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of the eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed drinks. . . . Thine eyes shall behold strange things, and thine heart shall utter nonsensical words. Yea, thou sh

rks sarcastically: "For now they say, We have no king; as we were not (even) afraid of God, what can a (mortal) king do to us?" (Hos. x. 3). Whatever they did under the pretension of honouring God was, in Hosea's opinion, nothing but hypocrisy, for "although Israel has fo

ghts of man. And referring to them, he says with biting irony: "Concerning them, one may (aptly) say, They slaughter man, but kiss the calves" (ibid. xiii. 2)[8-1]. Continuing to deride those credulous men,

ey might materially profit by it. Speaking of the king and the ruler of the people, Hosea considered him not a bit better than his profligate courtiers, who spent the greater part of the day in feasting and debauchery. There was especially no end to their orgies at the celebration

ve something to drink" (Amos iv. 1). The patricians of his people followed the bad example of the judges. They lived an easy and luxurious life, indifferent to the approaching common danger with which they were threatened-the loss of their freedom and independence. Speaking of them, Amos says bitterly: "Woe to them that put off the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come

the following manner: "Hear ye," he says, "that swallow up the needy, and destroy the poor of the land, saying, When will the new moon be over, that we may sell again corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat,

genuine humour in the Bible. The following are intended to show that even some of the most austere Biblical personages, such, for instance,

y, and burn incense, and walk after other gods whom you know not; and (then) come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and s

Diogenes, who went about the streets of Athens in the daytime carrying a lighted lantern in his hand in search of a perfect man, saying: "Run ye to and fro through the st

ribes them with genuine humour, as follows: "They are upright as the palm-tree, but speak not; they must needs be borne,

s, rather coarse, and not altogether palatable. The curious may be ref

by the force of circumstances. "When," he says, "you shall be in your enemies' land, then shall the land rest and enjoy her sabbath" (Lev. xxvi. 34). And again: "Because thou didst not serve the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart, while there was (around) an abundance of all things; therefore shalt thou serve thy enemies, whom the Lord

beareth them aloft on his pinions" (Deut. xxxii 11–13). But at the same time he foresaw with the far-seeing eye of a prophet, that, as soon as they will have grown "fat, thick, and fleshy" they would forsake the God of their fathers, and worship id

n words (ludus verborum, or Wortspiele) that occur in the same sacred volume. In his well-known short poetical strain (comp. Book of Judges xv. 16), Samson, the noted wit of the Bible, purposely uses, as it

jaw-bone

enteous a

hus it ca

ousand on

tupid one." Such and similar puns abound in the Bible as well as in the Talmud, as, for instance, the phrase found in the latter work: ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? "Be

n the Bible, which can only be detected by the study of the original Hebrew text, and

tno

s probably derived from ???, m

. Eccles

Juvenal, S

y may not eat, but h

race, Carm.

am si teti

uosa blan

aversos

et salie

p. Amos