Comical moments and comical characterisations in Tobit: the undermining of self-righteous piety, simplistic retribution, and limited Yahwism
This article argues that comic moments and comic characterisation are used in Tobit as a means of satirically exposing a type of Yahwism characterised by inward-looking piety, religious and ethnic endogamy, and simplistic notions of retribution. Comic moments and comic characterisation, therefore, i...
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publications
2022
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| Summary: | This article argues that comic moments and comic characterisation are used in Tobit
as a means of satirically exposing a type of Yahwism characterised by inward-looking piety,
religious and ethnic endogamy, and simplistic notions of retribution. Comic moments and
comic characterisation, therefore, in Tobit is an important ethical device used to expose the
problematic nature of an obsessive emphasis on religious boundary maintenance as
demonstrated by the extreme version of endogamy that Tobit endorses. The article argues that
the theme of “insults” in Tobit and the distinction between public and private behaviour serves
to destabilise the main character’s hyper-religiosity. The article suggests that Tobit’s restrictive
form of Yahwism and his overzealous Yahwistic piety are exposed and undermined in Tobit
in order to illustrate to audiences that the deity Yhwh does not operate within a mechanistic
moral calculus. The article pays close attention to the significance of the language and
translations of Tobit when making this case. |
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