Is there an example of humor in the bible?
The humor is usually in word plays and they do not translate into English the same way. But there is one episode which I find very amusing. In Genesis 23, Abraham is desiring a place to bury his wife (this usually meant in a cave) and he is talking to the elders at the gate in Hebron. He asks if he can buy some property from them so he can bury his dead. Now, Abraham is a wanderer and does not own land, but he does own an enormous entourage which includes a number of fighting men as well as some rather massive herds and flocks. So the Hittites reply, “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. none of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.” Abraham then requests intercession with Ephron the Hittite, asking to buy his cave at Machpelah, which is at the end of Ephron’s field. Now, Ephron is sitting right there, and so he himself responds saying he will GIVE Abraham both the cave and the field, and that these witnesses her
