The Bible is the most serious book ever written. It is also, in places, genuinely funny.
Not accidentally funny. Not funny because of translation quirks that produce unintended humor.
I mean, intentionally, pointedly, sometimes satirically funny.
The God who invented laughter wrote a book that includes a man complaining that his neighbor’s wife nagged him into giving away something he wanted to keep, a prophet mocking idol worshipers for using the same piece of wood to cook their dinner and bow down in worship, and a donkey that stopped mid-journey to argue with its rider.
The playfulness in Scripture is not decoration.
It reflects the character of a God who, as Zephaniah puts it, rejoices over his people with singing and exults over them with loud singing.
The same God who spoke the universe into existence also, apparently, has opinions about people who nap too much and the specific sound a locked door makes when you are trying to figure out if your king is using the bathroom.
The verses below carry a real point.
But they also carry something else: the unmistakable quality of a God who created human beings in his image, gave them humor, and occasionally used it himself.
Verses That Make You Stop and Reread
1. The Donkey That Argued Back
“Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?’” — ESV, Numbers 22:28
Balaam had beaten his donkey three times for not moving.
The donkey stopped, turned around, and started a conversation. Balaam did not even seem surprised. He just answered.
2. The Fastest Way to Solve a Baby Dispute
“Then the king said, ‘Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.’” — ESV, 1 Kings 3:25
Solomon’s proposal was deliberately outrageous.
It worked immediately.
3. Eglon Was Very Fat
“And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. And the handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly.” — ESV, Judges 3:21–22
The narrator described the sword being swallowed by Eglon’s considerable midsection with remarkable specificity.
Scripture does not always spare the reader unnecessary detail.
4. The Locked Door Confusion
“When they waited till they were embarrassed, and still he did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there was their lord fallen dead on the floor.” — ESV, Judges 3:25
Eglon’s servants waited outside his locked room, assuming he was indisposed.
He was, in fact, dead. The narrative treats the servants’ confusion with quiet irony.
The Wisdom Literature’s Dry Sense of Humor
5. The Door on Its Hinges
“As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed.” — ESV, Proverbs 26:14
The lazy person moves. They just do not go anywhere.
The door analogy is technically accurate and quietly devastating.
6. The Nagging Wife Compared to a Dripping Faucet
“A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike.” — ESV, Proverbs 27:15
Proverbs does not soften this comparison.
It also notes, in the next verse, that no one can control the wind or keep oil from slipping through the hand.
7. The Sluggard and the Lion
“The sluggard says, ‘There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!’” — ESV, Proverbs 22:13
The lion is, almost certainly, not there.
The sluggard has an impressive ability to generate catastrophic obstacles precisely when work is required.
8. The Man Who Buries His Hand in the Dish
“The sluggard buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it back to his mouth.” — ESV, Proverbs 19:24
He found the food. He reached into the bowl.
And then stopped.
9. Elijah Mocks the Prophets of Baal
“And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, ‘Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.’” — ESV, 1 Kings 18:27
Elijah suggested, among other possibilities, that Baal might be in the bathroom.
This is not a modern translation taking liberties. The Hebrew is quite clear.
The Relatable Moments
10. The Preacher Who Put People to Sleep
“And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.” — ESV, Acts 20:9
Paul preached past midnight. Eutychus fell asleep in the window and fell three stories.
The remarkable thing is that Paul stopped the sermon, raised him from the dead, and then continued preaching.
11. The Disciples Arguing About Who Is Greatest
“And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you discussing on the way?’ But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.” — ESV, Mark 9:33–34
They had been with Jesus long enough to know this was not the right argument to be having.
So they said nothing.
12. Peter Asleep in Prison
“And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to Peter, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And the chains fell off his hands.” — ESV, Acts 12:7
Peter was scheduled for execution the next day.
He was asleep.
13. Sarah Laughed at the Promise
“So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?’” — ESV, Genesis 18:12
The angel had just announced that the ninety-year-old Sarah would have a son.
She laughed. The child was later named Isaac, which means laughter.
The Surprisingly Specific
14. The Wood Used to Roast Dinner and to Worship
“Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, ‘Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!’ And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it.” — ESV, Isaiah 44:16–17
Isaiah’s critique of idolatry is also a very specific comedy of errors.
Same piece of wood. Half for dinner. Half for the divine.
15. Job’s Friends Who Made Everything Worse
“Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: ‘If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient? Yet who can keep from speaking?’” — ESV, Job 4:1–2
Eliphaz asked Job if he would be annoyed if he said something.
Then said it anyway.
16. The Men of Sodom Who Wore Themselves Out Looking for the Door
“And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.” — ESV, Genesis 19:11
The angels blinded the men who had come to cause harm.
The men then exhausted themselves looking for a door they could no longer find.
Joy, Laughter, and Delight in God
17. God Laughs at the Schemes of the Wicked
“He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.” — ESV, Psalm 2:4
The schemes that seem so threatening from ground level produce laughter in heaven.
That is a remarkable piece of perspective.
18. A Cheerful Heart Is Good Medicine
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” — ESV, Proverbs 17:22
God prescribed joy as medication long before anyone studied the connection between emotional health and physical wellbeing.
19. Go Eat Your Food With Joy
“Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.” — ESV, Ecclesiastes 9:7
Qohelet’s prescription for a good life includes eating well and drinking with a cheerful heart.
God has approved this.
20. He Will Rejoice Over You With Singing
“The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” — ESV, Zephaniah 3:17
God sings over his people.
Loudly.
21. Sarah’s Final Word on the Whole Thing
“And Sarah said, ‘God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.’” — ESV, Genesis 21:6
When Isaac was born, Sarah’s response was laughter.
The woman who laughed at the impossible promise got to laugh again when it came true.
22. The Disciples Did Not Believe the Women Because It Seemed Like Nonsense
“But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.” — ESV, Luke 24:11
The disciples’ response to the women’s report of the resurrection was: this sounds like nonsense.
They were wrong. It was not nonsense.
23. The Children in the Marketplace Who Would Not Be Satisfied
“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.” — ESV, Matthew 11:17
Jesus described people who could not be pleased regardless of what was offered.
They objected to John for being too austere. They objected to Jesus for eating and drinking too much.
What People Ask About Fun and Humor in the Bible
Is there humor in the Bible?
Yes. Elijah mocked the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18:27. Proverbs uses dry, pointed observations about lazy people. Numbers 22 contains a talking donkey who argues with its owner. The narrative of Eglon’s assassination in Judges 3 is described with specific comic detail. God made human beings with the capacity for humor, and it is reflected in Scripture.
What is the funniest story in the Bible?
Opinions vary, but several consistently make the list. Elijah’s mockery of Baal’s prophets is deliberately satirical. Balaam’s argument with his donkey is absurdist comedy. The servants waiting outside Eglon’s locked room, eventually realizing their king was dead, is written with unmistakable irony. Eutychus falling asleep during Paul’s sermon and falling from a window is both dramatic and relatable.
Did Jesus have a sense of humor?
Yes. Matthew 11:17 shows Jesus comparing his critics to sulky children who object to everything. Matthew 19:24 uses the image of a camel going through the eye of a needle with deliberate exaggeration to make a point. His descriptions of people straining out gnats while swallowing camels (Matthew 23:24) reflect a sharp, ironic wit.
What does the Bible say about laughter and joy?
Proverbs 17:22 calls a joyful heart good medicine. Ecclesiastes 9:7 commends eating and drinking with a merry heart. Psalm 2:4 describes God laughing. Zephaniah 3:17 says God rejoices over his people with loud singing. The Bible presents joy and laughter as consistent with, rather than opposed to, genuine faith.
Are there any strange or weird stories in the Bible?
Yes. Numbers 22 contains a talking donkey. Judges 3 describes a sword disappearing into a king’s midsection with precision. Ezekiel contains visions involving wheels with eyes. Second Kings 2:24 records bears coming out of the woods when young men mocked Elisha. First Kings 18:27 has a prophet suggesting a god might be in the bathroom. The Bible is, in places, very strange.
We Are Asking for the Joy That Lasts Longer Than the Moment
Father, we want to thank you for something today.
Thank you for inventing laughter.
For writing a book that includes a prophet mocking false gods, a donkey starting an argument, and a man too lazy to lift food to his own mouth.
You did not have to include any of that.
You did.
We are asking you to give us the kind of joy that Zephaniah described: the kind that makes you sing over us loudly.
Not the shallow happiness that depends on circumstances going well.
But the deep, surprised laughter of Sarah holding the child she was told she was too old to have.
Let us find you in the moments of lightness as easily as we find you in the serious ones.
And remind us that the God who made the donkey talk and the disciples look utterly confused at the risen Jesus is also the God who holds our lives with the same creative, personal, surprising attention.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.