Who Was the Greatest Comedian in the Bible?

Special thanks to Mike Cotton for asking this intriguing question.

Having an enquiring mind, I want to know the answer too!

Using my amazing secrets-of-the-universe-revealing powers (which are far beyond those of mere mortal men) and applying my deductive (wacky?) mind …

Remember: Without a Laff-O-Meter available during biblical times, my response can only be subjective.

The word jubilation comes from the name Jubal, so I’m sure he knew how to have a good time. Jubilations (celebrations) often involve lots of laughs. At the very least, hilarious hijinks or shenanigans should ensue. And everyone has a good time. Until someone gets carried away and knocks over the punchbowl. Or spills something difficult to clean onto the fancy carpet.

Isaac’s name means laughter, so that automatically makes Abraham, the Father of Laughter.

The best comedy often comes from pain. So Job monopolizes that category. Plus, he said some funny, although sardonic, statements. Ie, Job 17:10b (NIV): “I will not find a wise man among you.” (Obviously, he couldn’t put on a Christmas play that year, because you need at least three. And he lived before Christ was born.)

Women adore a man with a sense of humor; and David was quite a lady’s man, so he had to be funny. Plus, I heard he killed at the palace.

Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, so he had to have an excellent sense of humor too. If only to survive. Unless you’re a beautiful woman without discretion, this is one of the funniest verses in the Bible: Proverbs 11:22 (RSV): Like a gold ring in a swine’s snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.

Amos prophesied some funny things. From Amos 6:12 (ESV): Does one plow there (the sea) with oxen? (Not as funny today, but folks in the Old (Ancient) Testament days used to howl at that one. Keep in mind, they didn’t have cable, movies, or the Internet, so they were often quite easily amused.)

Although the humor gets lost in translation, Micah was quite the comical prophet too, using lots of puns. Micah 1:15 (NKJV): “I will yet bring an heir to you, O inhabitant of Mareshah (‘Inheritance’).”

In the New (Not as Ancient) Testament, the Apostle Paul used some humor to make his points in his epistles. Ie, he tells Philemon whatever Onesimus owes him, Philemon should charge to Paul, so Paul will owe Philemon instead of Onesimus. Where upon Paul reminds Philemon he owes Paul for the everlasting security of his eternal soul!

But since Jesus is perfect; and He’s the Son of God, I have to say Him. Especially during lightning season. He not only used humor, He also made his points doing so. Which makes Him an excellent speaker. Plus, He’s the only way to Heaven, so yes, I say Jesus is the Greatest Comedian in the Bible. You could say His telling a healed blind person not to tell anyone is a funny request. Here’s an actual Jesus joke: John 8:44c (NIV): “When he [the Devil] lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (Again, it was funnier then, but I’d still go ahead and laugh, if only to avoid the lake of fire.)

Thank you again Mike for your excellent question! I hoped you enjoyed the answer.

Blessings & Joy,
Dean

PS I couldn't escape the gnawing feeling that perhaps this was the setup for an old joke, so having written all that over two weeks ago, I finally Googled it today; and sure enough, it is an old joke! Apparently, the correct answer is Samson, because "he brought the house down". But then again, had I Googled sooner, I wouldn't have written my review of comedy in the Bible.