The Wisdom of Beasts: Humour and Animal Imagery in Proverbs 30

Proverbs 30, which begins with the heading »the words of Agur,« contains some of the most difficult material in the book of Proverbs. I will propose in this paper that many of the incongruities, unexpected turns of phrase, exaggerations, and ambiguities of Prov 30 can be read as humorous. Although identifying what makes something humorous is notoriously difficult, one dominant theory concentrates on the role of incongruity: that is, humour works by subverting expectations. Incongruous elements in Prov 30 include Agur's confession of ignorance, the depiction of people as animals, and the idea that animals can be wiser than humans. The words of Agur deploy animal imagery and humour in order to condemn pride and demonstrate the limits of human wisdom. Incongruous features in the text also function to develop the figure of Agur as an unconventional sage whose teaching adds nuance to the perspectives on wisdom found in the book of Proverbs.