Recently a number of commentators have argued that the book of Jonah consistently alludes to the exiled Cain. These allusions are taken as evidence that exile is also a main theme in Jonah, even though the book contains no explicit mention of exile. Kelsey contends that the same sense of exile exhibited in Genesis 4 'permeates the book of Jonah'. Some scholars call Cain and Jonah 'typological figures of exile', while others view their stories as allegories. These authors base their conclusions on verbal echoes, analogous situations, and similar characterizations. This paper argues that there is inadequate textual evidence to support these sweeping claims. The analysis begins with an assessment of the proposed verbal allusions and then moves on to alleged similarities in plot and characterization. The conclusion considers ways to assess the importance of a given intertextual allusion and comments on the current tendency to find exile in much biblical literature.

This paper addresses the ongoing debate about humor in Tobit. The lack of consensus is due, in part, to the fact that readers make very different assessments of Tobit's character and situation. These differing evaluations result in conflicting opinions about whether the book contains humor and the type of humor which may be present. After surveying the range of scholarly opinion, the essay focuses on specific episodes in which Tobit has been described as acting risibly. Readers who view Tobit negatively tend to conclude that he is being ridiculed. Others see their own idiosyncrasies in Tobit. The paper concludes by considering the surprisingly benign situation of the Israelite exiles in Tobit's Nineveh. While life in exile is usually assumed to be dangerous and chaotic, here Tobit causes danger and chaos for himself, at times in humorous fashion. Nevertheless, he receives all the divine care he needs in order to thrive.

King James VI recommended that his son examine "especially the bookes of theKingsandChronicles, horizontal ellipsis there shall yee see your selfe, as in a myrrour." While some biblical texts have been described as "mirrors for princes," this genre label has not been applied to Samuel-Kings. This paper asks what kind ofFurstenspiegelthese books would make. Two patterns stand out. First, fathers from Eli to Solomon fail to pass on their supposedareteto their sons and end up supporting a substitute son-figure. Second, in 2 Kings 16-23 rule alternates between good and evil fathers and sons. Why do the seemingly virtuous monarchs fail to educate their sons as Deuteronomy dictates? This question is addressed with special attention to Ahaz and his son Hezekiah.

Stuart Lasine examines all aspects of the human situation and condition in Yahweh’s cosmos as depicted in the Hebrew Bible. As his starting point Lasine uses the phrase “the human condition”, which has been used to describe features of existence with which every person must cope, in ways which vary according to their culture, their situation within that culture, and their personality. In particular the most consistent factor that is basic to the human condition is mortality and, in the biblical context, the sometimes difficult relationship between the creator God and humankind. An examination of this forms the basis of Lasine’s study, which draws analytical tools from several disciplines, including literary theory, psychology and philosophy.