Laughter

Laughter shows up sparingly in the UPDV, mostly in two registers: as a creaturely season in life's rhythm, and as a divine response to the schemes of the wicked.

A Time for Laughter

Ecclesiastes places laughter inside the cycle of seasons that mark human life: "a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance" (Eccl 3:4). Laughter is paired with dancing and set against weeping and mourning — one of the ordained moments of creaturely existence rather than a permanent state.

Yahweh's Derisive Laughter

The Psalms and Proverbs portray Yahweh laughing at the wicked, but the laughter is derision rather than mirth. The Lord laughs at the wicked because "he sees that his day is coming" (Ps 37:13). Against the nations who plot, Yahweh's response is the same: "But you, O Yahweh, will laugh at them; you will have all the nations in derision" (Ps 59:8).

Wisdom personified in Proverbs takes the same posture toward those who refused her counsel: "I also will laugh in [the day of] your⁺ calamity; I will mock when your⁺ fear comes" (Prov 1:26). The laughter is judicial — a sovereign's response to opposition that has run out of time.