Sarcasm in the Bible: 1 King 18:27

 

The Bible is not afraid to use sarcasm and biting irony to mock false gods, expose hypocrisy and doctrinal error, and to call out spiritual arrogance. The scriptures use sarcasm while also warning us against being malicious, mean-spirited, or seeking personal revenge.

In 1 Kings 18:27 the prophet Elijah laughs at the priests of Baal who prayed for hours for their deity to start a fire. Baal seems to be uninterested in and unresponsive to their prayers. The English Standard Version (ESV) translates Elijah as perhaps suggesting that Baal is busy relieving himself (urinating).  Other translations are a little more demure but it is probable that Elijah meant to insultingly mock Baal as a false deity.

The original Hebrew phrase, : שִׂיחַ וְכִי־שִׂיג (siach wachi-sig), is a hendiadys (two words joined by "and"). The word siach ( שִׂיחַ Strong’s 7879) usually means "speak," or "meditate" but can be used as a euphemism for bodily urination. The second word, sig (שִׂ֛יג  Strong’s 7873) usually means "to turn aside" or "withdraw".

The linking word for siach and sig is wachi (וְכִֽי־ Strong’s H3588). Depending on its surrounding context it can mean any of the following: and, but, now, even, that, for, because, when, or if.

An interesting discussion of this occurs here: https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/20670/was-baal-relieving-himself

Definition: Hermeneutics

Reading books about biblical interpretation, one often comes across the word “hermeneutics.”  The word comes from the Greek word ἑρμηνεύω (ermeneuō, "translate", or "interpret").  Hermeneutics is the science of the interpretation of written texts and theories about how this should be done.

Some writers think that the word derives from the name of Hermes, the messenger of the Greek gods.  Hermes, in ancient Greek mythology, was the inventor of language and speech.

A specialized subset of the science is Biblical Hermeneutics, the study of the interpretation of the text of the books of the Bible.  Obviously for believers, the scriptures are more than just “text,” but a reverent study of the scriptures should include a study of everything about the scriptures.  An attempt must be made to understand the books of the Bible as one would other texts.

When was the text written? Where was it written?  By whom was it written?  To whom was it written?  What was the historical situation in which it was written?  Is it poetry, history, allegory, a song, a sermon, an expository treatise, or something else?  What was the original language and what special characteristics does that impart to the meaning of the text? 

Hebrew for Christians

The ministry of John Parsons is the presentation to the ἐκκλησία of basic information on the Hebrew language, based on a Messianic understanding.  His aim is to promote Jewish literacy in the ἐκκλησία.  
The website is www.Hebrew4Christians.com and includes glossaries, alphabets, discussions of Hebrew grammar, articles, and many other features.  Several books and DVDs are offered for purchase, including transliterated Hebrew and Greek Bibles.  (Transliteration into English is a phonetic rendering of the Hebrew and Greek texts into a format which can be read aloud phonetically by a reader who is unfamiliar with the original language(s).)

Parsons states that "The hermeneutical primacy of the Hebrew text should be evident to all who study the Scriptures seriously." (Hermeneutics is the study of the theory and practice of Biblical interpretation.)