Sensing Humor and Its Absence in the Book of Tobit

This paper addresses the ongoing debate about humor in Tobit. The lack of consensus is due, in part, to the fact that readers make very different assessments of Tobit's character and situation. These differing evaluations result in conflicting opinions about whether the book contains humor and the type of humor which may be present. After surveying the range of scholarly opinion, the essay focuses on specific episodes in which Tobit has been described as acting risibly. Readers who view Tobit negatively tend to conclude that he is being ridiculed. Others see their own idiosyncrasies in Tobit. The paper concludes by considering the surprisingly benign situation of the Israelite exiles in Tobit's Nineveh. While life in exile is usually assumed to be dangerous and chaotic, here Tobit causes danger and chaos for himself, at times in humorous fashion. Nevertheless, he receives all the divine care he needs in order to thrive.