by Diana Castro-Vazquez

On Tuesday, October 29, 2024, Dr. Rosy Kandathil came to Greensboro College for the 61st annual Jean Fortner Ward Lecture on faith and higher education issues. According to Greensboro College, “The Hean Fortner Ward Lecture Series was initiated in 1964 to bring outstanding speakers and lectures to the Greensboro College campus. This series is made possible through the generosity of the late Mr. William S. Ward, Methodist layman of Greensboro. And is named in honor of his wife, an alumna and former trustee of the college.”

Dr. Lawrence Czarda opened the lecture by welcoming all students, staff, and faculty. He then gave space to Reverend Dr. Robert Brewer to introduce the audience to Kandathil. She is an assistant professor at Wake Forest University. According to her biography at Wake Forest University, “she teaches courses that center the critical study of biblical literature. Her current book project is a comparative literary investigation of the Hebrew and Greek versions of the biblical book of Esther. Tentatively titled, ‘Seriously Funny: Humor and Violence in the Narrative Traditions of Esther,’ the project explores constructions of gender, power, and Jewish identity during the Second Temple period…  Prior to her doctoral studies, she worked as a trial attorney in the Criminal Defense Division of the Legal Aid Society in New York City.”

Kandathil starts by comparing violence and humor in the Bible. Everyone can agree that there is violence in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament. But she receives a lot of pushback when she says there is humor in the Bible, something serious, sacred, and serious. She wants to challenge the idea of humor in the Bible and reclaim it. Just because the Bible is a serious text, it does not mean that there is no humor in it. Humans are a big part of the Bible; humor can be serious, and humans are humorous. Even now, we use humor to inform us about serious topics, more recently, the election of 2024. We criticize serious topics using humor. She makes a point that what we laugh about can connect us in a unique way. Humans use laughter to connect and bond. Sometimes, the first reaction that comes from humans is laughter, which causes us to pause and think about the subject/topic of the humor.

This applies to the Bible as well. The Bible is ancient and a different culture; if we do not understand the humor in it, we will not understand the Bible and its meaning. Kandathil gives a couple of stories from the Bible where the humor is obvious. King Eglon of Moab was using the bathroom when he was assassinated by Ehud; this story uses toilet humor. Samson was a very unnatural, strong Israelite who loved to talk in riddles, puns and jokes. Samson uses violence throughout his lifetime, one time killing a thousand men with the jawbone of a donkey. Then, there is the story of Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute who helped two Israelite spies. The humor is that she had to tell the spies what to do, when and where to hide. The spies were on a mission before the walls of Jericho fell; after they left and the walls fell, the only family left was Rahab and her family. What do all these stories have in common? Humor and violence. If we only saw the violence, we would condemn the story and then move on. With humor, it forces us to look at the story in a more critical way.

Kandathil is fascinated with the biblical story/book of Esther. The book never mentions the words “God,” “covenant,” or any other “Godly” word, which makes it very interesting. The story goes that a Persian king held a contest to find a wife. He married Esther, a Jewish woman who hid her ethnicity until she convinced the king to reverse a genocide order that would have killed all the Jews. The humor is that this story is in the genre of farce. Farce is “a light dramatic composition marked by broadly satirical comedy and improbable plot,” according to Merriam-Webster dictionary. Nobody could talk to the king in this time period without being summoned first. It is highly unlikely that Esther could talk to the king without being summoned and sentenced to death. She was Jewish and the marriage between her and king would have never been allowed. Her hiding her ethnicity would have also been highly unlikely. When she does talk to the king, she convinces him that the Jews can defend themselves. This turns into a bloodbath that results in 75 thousand deaths. The humor in this story makes readers stop and analyze the story and the violence. Is this a happy ending? What does it mean when the oppressed (Jews) get power/revenge?

Even today, the story of Esther is still being used. In 2008, Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu gave Obama the Book of Esther “in a speech to the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a pro-Israel lobbying group, Netanyahu described Haman, the villain of the tale, as “a Persian anti-Semite [who] tried to annihilate the Jewish people.” The context of his speech was that Iran, the modern successor to Persia, presents the greatest danger to peace and security on the planet,” according to The Christian Science Monitor. In 2012. Mike Pompeo was asked, “Could it be that President Trump right now has been sort of raised for such a time as this, just like Queen Esther, to help save the Jewish people from the Iranian menace?” To which he responded, “As a Christian, I certainly believe that’s possible.”

This lecture was very informative and eye-opening. Many people do not see humor in the Bible, but it is important to see it to understand its messages. I enjoyed this lecture and highly recommend that everyone listen to all future lectures hosted at Greensboro College.