Biblical Humor and Performance

Audience Experiences That Make Meaning

Edited by Peter S. Perry

Cascade, 2023

What's so humorous about the Bible? Quite a bit, especially if experienced with others! Nine biblical scholars explore their experiences of reading and hearing passages from the Bible and discovering humor that becomes clearer in performance. Each writer found clues in their chosen biblical text that suggested biblical authors expected an audience to respond with laughter. Performers have a powerful role in either bringing out or tamping down humor in the Bible. One audience may be more disposed to respond to humor than another. And each contributor found that experiencing humor changed the interpretation of the biblical passage. From Genesis to Revelation, this study uncovers the Bible's potential for humor.

Reading the Megillot

A Literary and Theological Commentary

by Jeanette Mathews

(Smyth & Helwys, 2023)

The Jewish festival scrolls known as the Megillot is a collection of Old Testament books that recognize that life itself—with all its joys and griefs, successes and failures, achievements and yearnings—can be a key to interpreting Scripture.

In Reading the Megillot, Jeanette Mathews uses her own translations to reimagine each book as a different type of performance: Songs of Songs as a Greek play, Ruth as a miniseries, Lamentations as performance poetry, Ecclesiastes as a television talk show, and Esther as a pantomime. Each script is introduced with historical and literary context and followed by commentary highlighting performative features that shed new light on biblical traditions. These close readings reveal important connections between the books and contemporary issues. Through these scrolls, the drama of human experience becomes a touchpoint for faithful reenactment by new audiences.

  pdf Read Prof. Jane Foulcher's comments at the book launch (179 KB)