Original Word: שְׂחוֹק
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: schowq
Pronunciation: seh-khok
Phonetic Spelling: (sekh-oke')
KJV: derision, laughter(-ed to scorn, -ing), mocked, sport
NASB: laughter, laughingstock, joke, enjoyment, sport
Word Origin: [from H7832 (שָׂחַק - laugh)]

1. laughter (in merriment or defiance)

derision, laughter, to scorn, mocked, sport

Or schoq {sekh-oke'}; from sachaq; laughter (in merriment or defiance) -- derision, laughter(-ed to scorn, -ing), mocked, sport.

see HEBREW sachaq

Word Origin
from sachaq
Definition
laughter, derision, sport
NASB Translation
enjoyment (1), joke (2), laughingstock (5), laughter (6), sport (1).

שְׂחֹק, שְׂתוֺק noun [masculine] laughter, derision, sport (properly infinitive construct); — absolute שְׂחֹק Jeremiah 48:26 5t.; construct Ecclesiastes 7:6; absolute שְׂחוֺק Jeremiah 20:7 7t.; —

1 laughter (joyous) Job 8:21 ("" תְּרוּעָה), Psalm 126:2 ("" דִנָּה), Ecclesiastes 2:2 ("" שִׂמְחָה), Ecclesiastes 10:19 ("" שִׂמֵּחַ); as hollow Proverbs 14:13 (opposed to כָּאַב), Ecclesiastes 7:3 (opposed to כַּעַס), compare הַבְּסִיל ׳שׂ Ecclesiastes 7:6.

2 (object of) derision, ׳הָיָה לִשׂ, Jeremiah 20:7; Jeremiah 48:26,27 (read ׳לִשׂ for ᵑ0 ׳הַשּׂ ᵐ5 ᵑ6 ᵑ9 Gie Du; Co strike out vv), Jeremiah 48:39; Lamentations 3:14; elsewhere Job 12:4 (twice in verse)

3 sport Proverbs 10:23.

Definition and Scope

שְׂחוֹק gathers within one word the whole spectrum of laughter—from radiant joy to corrosive mockery, from wholesome festivity to empty‐headed sport. Scripture uses it for spontaneous delight, for the “sport” of the foolish, and for the bitter experience of becoming a public laughingstock. The term therefore serves as both a barometer of the heart and a moral evaluation of what moves the lips.

Distribution Across Scripture

Fifteen occurrences span the Wisdom writings (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes) and the Prophets (Jeremiah, Lamentations). The frequency in Wisdom literature reveals its importance for ethical reflection, while the prophetic uses expose the national and personal shame that accompanies covenant unfaithfulness.

Joyful Laughter Rooted in Redemption

Psalm 126:2 records the purest form: “Then our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with shouts of joy.” This is covenant laughter—an overflow of gratitude when the LORD reverses captivity. Job’s friend Bildad holds out a similar hope: “He will yet fill your mouth with laughter” (Job 8:21). True laughter is thus grounded in God’s saving acts; it is covenantal, communal, and missionary (“Then it was said among the nations…”).

Festivity and Legitimate Enjoyment

Ecclesiastes 10:19 notes that “A feast is prepared for laughter, and wine makes life merry.” Within biblical parameters, celebration is commended as a gift of God (Ecclesiastes 2:24); laughter here enlivens fellowship and honors the Giver when kept within moral bounds.

Derision of the Righteous

Job laments, “I have become a laughingstock to my friends” (Job 12:4), a cry echoed by Jeremiah: “I have become a laughingstock all day long” (Jeremiah 20:7). Lamentations 3:14 widens the scene to national tragedy. In each case, righteous sufferers are scorned not because of sin but because they cling to God. Their experience foreshadows the greater Mocked One whose faithfulness drew jeers on Golgotha.

Laughter as the Sport of Folly

Proverbs 10:23 pictures wickedness as “sport” to a fool, and Ecclesiastes relentlessly critiques hollow amusement:

• “I said of laughter, ‘It is folly’ ” (Ecclesiastes 2:2).
• “Sorrow is better than laughter” (Ecclesiastes 7:3).
• “Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool” (Ecclesiastes 7:6).

When laughter divorces itself from truth, it becomes an anesthetic that deadens conscience and masks eternal realities.

National Humiliation and Divine Judgment

Three times in Jeremiah 48 (verses 26, 27, 39) Moab is doomed to become “a laughingstock.” The ridicule of the nations serves as visible evidence of divine justice. Israel herself tasted similar shame. Derisive laughter, then, is a covenant sanction; it warns every nation that prides itself against the LORD.

Divine Reversal: From Mockery to Joy

The polarity—joyful release versus painful ridicule—points to a coming reversal for all who trust in God. Present sorrow may cast the righteous as objects of sport, yet future restoration will broaden their smiles into eternal praise. The motif anticipates Jesus’ promise: “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh” (Luke 6:21).

Theological Insights

1. Laughter is morally freighted. Its quality depends on its source and object.
2. Mockery of the righteous is evidence of a world at odds with its Maker.
3. God intends redeemed laughter to bear witness to His faithfulness among the nations.
4. Empty amusement reveals the vanity of life lived “under the sun.”
5. Final joy belongs to the people God liberates; the last laugh is eschatological and holy.

Ministry Applications

• Pastoral discernment: Encourage celebrations that magnify God, not self‐indulgence.
• Comfort for the mocked: Biblical precedent dignifies their pain and promises vindication.
• Prophetic warning: Societies that mock righteousness court the judgment that turns them into a byword.
• Discipleship focus: Teach believers to evaluate entertainment—does it spring from, and lead to, the fear of the LORD?
• Evangelistic appeal: Invite the weary to exchange the world’s superficial mirth for the deep, covenantal laughter found in Christ.

Summary

שְׂחוֹק stands as a mirror to the heart and a measure of society. Joyful when anchored in salvation, hollow when divorced from truth, and terrifying when it signals divine derision, it reminds every reader that true laughter is ultimately a gift of the God who “will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouts of joy.”

בִּשְׂח֥וֹק בשחוק הַשְּׂחֹ֗ק השחק חוק כִּשְׂח֣וֹק כשחוק לִשְׂח֖וֹק לִשְׂחֹ֖ק לִשְׂחֹ֥ק לִשְׂחוֹק֙ לשחוק לשחק מִשְּׂחֹ֑ק משחק שְּׂחֹק֙ שְׂ֝ח֗וֹק שְׂח֡וֹק שְׂח֣וֹק שְׂחֹ֣ק שְׂחֹ֤ק שחוק שחק biś·ḥō·wq bisChok biśḥōwq Chok haś·śə·ḥōq hasseChok haśśəḥōq ḥō·wq ḥōwq kiś·ḥō·wq kisChok kiśḥōwq liś·ḥō·wq liś·ḥōq lisChok liśḥōq liśḥōwq miś·śə·ḥōq misseChok miśśəḥōq śə·ḥō·wq śə·ḥōq seChok śəḥōq śəḥōwqInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts