γέλως

From the study of James 4:9

Range of meaning

Laughter. The word can be neutral or happy, but in Jewish wisdom writing it is often the loud, careless laughter of the fool or of someone secure in sin.

Against the English

"Laughter" sounds harmless or good to modern ears. The kind of laughter James means is narrower: the easy laughter of people who feel no danger.

How it drifted

Modern English links laughter with humor and health. The ancient wisdom tradition linked one kind of laughter with folly and spiritual complacency.

Used elsewhere in the period

Eccl 7:6: "like the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool." Sir 21:20: "a fool raises his voice when he laughs." Sir 27:13: the laughter of fools "in the wantonness of sin." Luke 6:25: "Woe to you who laugh now."

From the study of Sirach 21:20

Range of meaning

Laughter: audible laughing, which can be mirth, merriment or mockery. In the Greek Old Testament it usually translates Hebrew śĕḥōq, 'laughter, sport'.

Against the English

English 'laughter' matches well. The point lies in how it is paired here: laughter with a raised voice.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ecclesiastes 2:2 ('of laughter I said, It is mad'); 7:3, 6. Sirach 19:30 (some editions 19:27) says a man's clothing, 'the laughter of his teeth' and his walk show what he is. Sirach 27:13 says the laughter of fools is in reckless sin. James 4:9: 'let your laughter be turned to mourning.' Greek moral writers worried about the same thing: Plato (Republic 388e) does not want guardians given to fits of laughter, and Epictetus (Enchiridion 33.4) advises that laughter be neither much, nor frequent, nor unrestrained.