Only Online: In Memoriam
James William (Bill) Whedbee, Ph.D.

Nancy B. Lyon Professor of Biblical Studies
September 24, 1938-January 22, 2004

From Jay David Atlas, Peter W. Stanley Professor of Linguistics and Philosophy

As a literary interpreter of the Hebrew Bible, Bill Whedbee became famous and controversial in the early 1970’s for treating the Book of Job as, of all things, a comedy. Comedy as a literary genre was characterized by Bill as a “use of the U-shaped plot-line that leads ultimately to the happiness of the hero and his restoration to a serene and harmonious society; [by] ...its conventional character types such as a boaster, buffoon, and fool; [by] ...its exploitation of various literary strategies such as caricature, irony, parody, and satire – strategies designed to highlight incongruity and ridiculousness; [and by] ...its dual intention of both subversion of the status quo and celebration of life and love – all in the service of transforming perceptions and affirming hope and the possibility of renewal (Whedbee 1998: 226).”

Though his treatment of the Book of Job as comedy was intellectually striking, it is not my favorite chapter in his 1998 Cambridge University Press book The Bible and the Comic Vision. That soubriquet applies to Chapter Four, his discussion of the Book of Jonah. In the biblical folklore of young children, Jonah is the reluctant prophet who is swallowed by a whale – actually “a great fish” – having been thrown willingly overboard in a storm in order to save sailors and the ship. Whedbee describes the story deliciously, in passages that are my favorite from his book. These are Bill’s words:

“What a way to deal with a rebel prophet: to give him a lengthy ride in a sea monster that finally vomits him up on dry ground (op.cit. 201). ...Yahweh speaks to the fish who obeys; then he speaks again to the prophet with a repeated word of commission to get on the road to Ninevah; no wonder that Jonah immediately complies the second time around (op.cit. 204). ...In the briefest of reports the narrator tells us that Jonah ‘began to go into the city, going a day’s walk; and he cried out, ‘Forty days more, and Ninevah will be overthrown’ (3:4). What follows is a report of the most stupendously successful mission in the history of prophetic preaching: ‘The people of Ninevah believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth’ (3:5) (op.cit. 205).”

Then, much to Jonah’s moral disgust, Yahweh recants his intention to destroy the city and all its inhabitants. Bill remarks that the Book of Jonah “reveals the compassion of God as the most mysterious motivation for his action toward his erring creatures.” A “compassion that transcends guilt or innocence, mercy that goes beyond the rule of reciprocity, and love that embraces all creatures great and small ... enable the comic spirit to prevail...(op.cit. 219-20).”

In his last words on the comic vision, Bill wrote, “...the comic vision contains a robust affirmation of life and revels in exuberance and excess...It shows how the comic eye can stare directly into the face of death and still see the surging powers of life and laughter (op.cit. 288).”

Bill Whedbee was a comedian, gentle and compassionate. He lived exuberantly. He stared directly into the face of death and still saw the surging powers of life and laughter. His spirit would make the angels smile. So we say ‘Goodbye, Bill’. Indeed God will be with thee.