Throughout, puns and other forms of linguistic play abound. There is, for example, the extended incongruity between God's repeated promises to the patriarchs and his delayed and limited fulfillment. Jacob is a classic trickster figure, with Isaac, Esau, and Laban as dupes. The plot of the Joseph story is shaped in the comic manner with its final recognition, reconciliation, forgiveness, and regeneration. Indeed, there is little in Genesis that Whedbee is not able to draw within one or another aspect of the comic vision - Only Genesis 34 seems in its violence and abrupt conclusion to stand outside.
Diverse stances emerge.
God Yahweh is at times arbitrary and uncanny, a trickster in his own right, but he is finally on the side of compassion, life, and celebration. Whedbee's consideration of Genesis as a whole as comic, with its overarching U-shaped plot and final celebration, is important. Part II picks up with the story with Exodus. Each encourages us to attend to the social and religious functions of comedy. Women also play unexpectedly heroic roles at key points in the story.