I was reading the book, On Humour, by Simon Critchley for my one of my classes this semester and came across a section that discussed the humorous and ironic elements in the story where God promises Abram and Sarai a child in their old age.
The author’s attention to detail in his analysis is striking. He doesn’t bring up anything doctrinal, theological, or controversial–just something extremely and interestingly observant.
Check it out:
In Hebrew, the name ‘Isaac’ or ‘Isha-ak’ means ‘the one who will laugh’, and the fact that, in Genesis 17, God himself chooses this name for the son of ninety-nine-year-old Abram and the ninety-year-old Sarai shows that He too is not without a sense of humor. Indeed, on hearing that a child will be born to him, Abram incredulously falls down laughing. As reward for their faith in Him, God adds syllables to the elderly couple’s names, becoming AbrAHam and SarAH–an onomatopoeic ‘Ha-Ha’ (41).
Pretty crazy, huh? Just to note, the author is not saying that the only reason God changed their names was to make a ‘Haha’; I think he is simply pointing out the irony that God orchestrated in it–that when He changed their names, the added letters to their names makes a ‘Haha’.
To be sure, God does have a sense of humor, and we know this because we were made in his image, and we express this image when we express and enjoy humor. In fact, when we laugh, we image-forth God’s nature, and our laughter doesn’t just surface and end in a temporal happy aching, but goes deeper, touching our soul in a way that reminds us of our spirituality, our Creator, and the One we are designed to have lasting and joyful fellowship with.
