Sarcasm is serious business. I am not kidding! Wait… was that first statement sarcastic? Or at least ironic? And the second one?
No, not really. The first one is a paradox for sure, an apparent contradiction, and the second one perhaps as well: I am not kidding but I am.
So surely, this is a bad example to start a discussion of sarcasm. Now that is irony!
Oh my, this is complicated… How on earth can we tell these concepts apart? Matthew Pawlak (2023) has tried in his study of Sarcasm in Paul’s Letters, a fascinating even if excruciatingly precise study.
As I said, sarcasm is serious business. So, let’s take a closer look at how it works. I will start by exploring two key concepts, irony and sarcasm, and then apply them to Paul’s writing style.
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Irony: Saying One Thing, Meaning Another
The original meaning of the Greek word for ‘irony’, eironea, is to hide something through deception or pretence (ibid.: 10f). Both irony and sarcasm involve saying something different from what we truly mean.
Often, irony is defined as meaning the very opposite of what is stated. It can be. Commenting “What a beautiful day!” when it’s raining is the obvious example. But it is not always this way.
In his discussion of irony, Pawlak (ibid.: 24-27), uses the following example: “You are so clever!” blurted out in response to someone who is annoyingly showing off his superior knowledge about things.
Here, the words are technically true— the person is clever. The intended meaning is not the opposite of the factual statement (“You are stupid!”).
However, as Pawlak points out, the statement does imply a negative evaluation of the other person’s behaviour. This evaluation is indeed the opposite of what sounds positive. “You are so clever!” really means “You are so annoying!”
Sarcasm: A Sharper Sting
Sarcasm, a form of irony, comes from the Greek word sarkázein (to tear flesh). While irony is often neutral or even humorous, sarcasm typically carries a sharper edge: it mocks, ridicules, and sometimes insults. Sarcasm is usually directed at people, while irony can refer to situations or events.
Pawlak (ibid.: 32) defines sarcasm as an expression where a positive statement implies a negative attitude. A great biblical example comes from Job, who sarcastically tells his friends, “No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you” (Job 12:2). Job isn’t praising his friends – he is mocking their arrogance.
In other words, so Pawlak (ibid., 58), “I argue that sarcasm normally functions as an implicit challenge to what the speaker perceives as a claim to some positive quality made by another party”. That claim is ridiculed and undermined.
Recognising Sarcasm
How can we tell that something is sarcasm? Let’s turn to 1 Kings 22 for an example. King Ahab of Israel is plotting to go to war against Syria. But he strongly desires king Jehoshaphat of Judah to join him in that fight. To accomplish this, he has brought together 400 prophets, and they are all proclaiming the same message: “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king!” (1 Ki. 22:6).
Jehoshaphat likely senses that something is amiss with the unanimity of the 400 prophets, which prompts him to request another opinion. The only option at hand appears to be the prophet Micaiah, who resides in prison.
When he is brought in, Ahab asks: “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” Micaiah answers: “Go up and triumph; the LORD will give it into the hand of the king” (1 Ki. 22:15). On the face of it, he is giving the same answer as the other prophets.
But Ahab is annoyed. “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?” (1 Ki. 22:16). How did he know? How did Ahab pick up that Micaiah was insincere in his answer?
It must have been obvious. Most likely, his body language and his tone of voice gave him away.
In written texts, recognizing sarcasm can be tricky, as we lack tone of voice and body language. But there are signs, for instance:
- Negative Evaluation: Sarcasm is often followed by an explicit denial.
- Hyperbole: Sarcasm often involves exaggeration.
- Incongruity: What is said does not fit the context or situation.
An Example in Romans
One tool Paul uses in Romans to structure his text is questions, such as:
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! (Rom. 6:1f)
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! (Rom. 6:15)
On the surface, Paul appears to give these questions serious consideration. However, they fulfil all three criteria just listed. Paul quickly rejects these ideas as absurd. The suggestion may well be an exaggeration. And the context of Romans makes it clear enough that Paul could not seriously have entertained such a course of action. We are dealing with sarcasm (so Pawlak 2020: 124ff; see also Rom. 2:17-23 and 3:7f).
The Corinthian Correspondence
Sarcasm and irony aren’t just clever tricks – they are tools Paul used to challenge, rebuke, and encourage his readers in profound ways. Paul’s use of sarcasm is especially noticeable in 1 Corinthians. However, I do not find it easy to apply these labels or even to follow Pawlak as he applies them.
It is clear enough in 1 Corinthians 4:8: “Without us you have become kings!” Denial immediately follows, and one can easily imagine Paul’s caustic tone of voice. Likewise in 1 Corinthians 6:15, “Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!”
But what is sarcastic in 1 Corinthians 1:27f and 2:1-4? Based on the context, Pawlak argues that Paul considers the wise and the wisdom of this world to be not wise at all. He therefore places “wise” and “wisdom” in quotation marks (Pawlak 2020: 208). Something similar applies in 1 Corinthians 8:1, “’knowledge’ puffs up”, where even the ESV uses quotation marks to indicate that this is not real knowledge at all (see also 1 Cor. 8:9-11, where their knowledge is equally suspect, even though now it is without quotation marks).
Paul’s sharpest and most biting rhetoric appears in 2 Corinthians, especially in his vitriolic self-defence beginning in 2 Corinthians 10; this is nothing new.
But beware. Sarcasm is not quite as prevalent here as it is often made out to be. We need to be precise (Pawlak certainly is). In 2 Corinthians, Paul often uses self-deprecating irony, a form of irony where negative statements about oneself imply a positive evaluation.
This is the very opposite of sarcasm. Instead of a positive evaluation implying the negative, as in sarcasm, we get a negative evaluation implying a positive one.
For example, when Paul says, “I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!” (2 Cor. 10:1), and “I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you” (2 Cor. 11:8), he uses irony to express his frustration with the Corinthians’ misguided perceptions.
And when Paul directly compares himself with the “super-apostles” in 2 Corinthians 11:4-6 and 11:19-21, he effectively combines sarcasm (toward the false apostles and the Corinthians) with self-deprecation (in relation to himself).
One could also say his whole take on boasting in these chapters is sarcastic (ibid.: 210f). Paul is going to join in the boasting, but he considers it a fool’s errand. He only reluctantly engages in it in 2 Corinthians 11:21b-12:10, the so-called Fool’s Speech (also known by its German name, Narrenrede).
And now comes the big surprise. According to Pawlak (ibid.: 38), this section, the Fool’s Speech, “does not contain significant verbal irony or sarcasm”. The boasting here is not ironic, but factual, including the implied positive evaluation of Paul’s actions. Paul has done and experienced all of it, and it should count for something.
Besides, in parts, something else is going on, necessitating yet another label. The speech includes the use of parody. Paul imitates something in a way that ridicules it. This way, he mocks the cultural expectations of what makes for heroic exploits. His are almost the opposite (being lowered in a basket in flight instead of scaling the city walls in attack, 2 Cor. 11:33) – and yet…
Paul also ridicules or at least relativizes the visionary genre of the journey to heaven, while at the same time bringing in his own experience (2 Cor. 12:1ff). He refuses to make a big deal out of it.
And there is plenty of paradox here as well: weakness is strength. But sarcasm this is not.
Do You Not Know…?
As I said, I don’t find it easy to apply these labels. What, for instance, should I do with Paul’s repeated “do you not know…?” in 1 Corinthians (e.g., 1 Cor. 3:16)? It certainly carries a sting but is it sarcasm? Neither Pawlak nor others classify it as such (Pawlak 2020: 208f, 212).
More important than getting the label right, however, is to analyse and be able to explain how a statement, in this case a question, is meant. It appears that Paul feigns surprise at the lack of knowledge or the fact that he needs to (re-)inform the Corinthians of certain things. But of course, he is not surprised at all.
The force of the question is a statement: you ought to know (but you don’t). In other words, you are not as wise and knowledgeable as you think you are.
Sounds like sarcasm to me, but I may be wrong; what do I know?
Wait… is that self-deprecation?
Attribution
Sarcasm 1 <https://pixabay.com/vectors/ai-generated-man-sarcasm-laughing-8288688/> CC0
Sarcasm 2 <https://pixabay.com/photos/sarcasm-word-letters-sarcastic-2015186/> CC0
Superhero <https://pixabay.com/en/boy-cartoon-comic-comic-characters-2025552/> CC0
References
Unless indicated differently, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Pawlak, Matthew Christian. 2020. ‘Sarcasm in Paul’s Letters’ (Ph. D. Thesis, Cambridge: Peterhouse, Cambridge University) <https://api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/api/core/bitstreams/a8f3aa29-4b7c-4976-968e-8627efd876af/content> [accessed 4 December 2024]
Pawlak, Matthew. 2023. Sarcasm in Paul’s Letters, Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series, 182 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) (paid link)
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