ABSTRACT
Exaggeration and hyperbole do not have a big place in Jewish humor today. In this chapter, the author shows that exaggeration does figure prominently in Talmudic and Midrashic literature. Og, the giant, is an example of Talmudic exaggeration and hyperbolic language. By exaggerating Og's size, Moses's feat of killing him was made even more spectacular. There is a Talmudic principle that evil men are always evil and, indeed, do the worst kind of evil deeds. Conversely, good people always do the best deeds. This principle itself is a form of hyperbole. Rabbi Yitzchak bases his explanation on the fact that the Hebrew word for swallow used in the verse is similar to the word used in the Talmud when it discusses the permissible way of feeding a camel on the Sabbath. There the word means to feed an animal by putting food in its mouth. Actually, the word haliteni is only used this one time in the Scriptures.
