Bible Dictionaries
Laugh

Holman Bible Dictionary

To express joy or scorn with a chuckle or explosive sound. Laughter is central to the account of the birth of Isaac. Both Abraham (Genesis 17:17 ) and Sarah (Genesis 18:12 ) laughed in contempt and disbelief at God's promise that Sarah would bear a son. The name Isaac (from the Hebrew word for laughter) served as a joyful reminder that the last laugh was on those slow to believe (Genesis 21:3 ,Genesis 21:3,21:6 ). Laughter can serve as a sign of contempt (Genesis 38:23; 2 Chronicles 30:10; Job 22:19 ) or of confidence (Job 5:22; Job 39:18 ,Job 39:18,39:22 NAS). References to God's laughing at the wicked demonstrate God's confident contempt ( Psalm 2:4; Psalm 37:13; Psalm 59:8 ). Laughter is frequently contrasted with signs of mourning (Job 8:21; Psalm 126:2; Luke 6:21 ,Luke 6:21,6:25 ). Though Hebrew wisdom recognized a time to laugh as part of God's ordering of time (Ecclesiastes 3:4 ), wisdom downplayed the value of laughter, associating it with fools (Proverbs 29:9; Ecclesiastes 7:4 ,Ecclesiastes 7:4,7:6 ), calling it madness (Ecclesiastes 2:2 ), and finding sorrow preferable (Ecclesiastes 7:3 ).