1 and 2 Samuel
The events recorded in Ruth occur during the period of the judges (late 2nd millennium B.C.). In focusing on the ordinary life of a particular Judahite clan rather than on the nation of Israel in relation to her Canaanite neighbors, this book paints a far more serene picture of Israel's community life in the promised land than Judges does. Ruth emphasizes faithfulness even to the spirit of the Law in daily life and personal relationships, and in this way contrasts with the portrayal of Israel's deliberate and at times hypocritical religious disobedience throughout Judges. Ruth herself emerges as a model convert to Judaism (cf. Lev. 19:33-34; Josh. 6:22-26). Beyond developing the theme of faithfulness, Ruth establishes another link in the genealogical chain leading to Israel's royal line, which begins with David and culminates in Jesus (Matt. 1:1-17, esp. V. 5).
Background
Scholars often point to the account of Ruth's "redemption" by Boaz as a classic example of the levirate marriage obligation spelled out in Deut. 25:5-10. But that passage places the responsibility of fathering a child for an Israelite man who dies sonless only on his brother(s) in order to carry on the "name" of the deceased. The importance of producing a son probably consisted not so much in elevating his social status (as childbearing did for women; cf. Gen. 16:1-5; 1 Sam. 1:1-7) or in enjoying family life, though indeed offspring did signify God's blessing (4:11; cf. Gen. 15:5). Rather, a man needed an heir, for possession of land in Canaan by his genealogical line preserved his family's continued participation in the covenantal promise (Gen. 15:18-21; Num. 36:7-9). According to Mosaic law, daughters could inherit their father's property, but only in the absence of sons to maintain the family estate (Num. 27:1-11; 36).
The book of Ruth weaves together the regulations regarding landed inheritance and levirate marriage (esp. Num. 27:11; Deut. 25:5-6); Ruth substitutes for Naomi, Elimelech's wife, who according to 1:11 has passed childbearing age. Boaz's action in marrying his close relative's widowed Moabite daughter-in-law is motivated by his assuming responsibility to father an heir for Elimelech to maintain his family's separate, landed inheritance. In going beyond the letter of the Law, Boaz's behavior parallels Ruth's own voluntary, sacrificial fidelity to her widowed Israelite mother-in-law, who had no legal means of support.
The names of those who figure in the story of Ruth enhance the message of the book's eloquent narrative. Elimelech's name ("my God is king") acknowledges from the start divine supremacy in orchestrating what promises to be a devastating future for his family. After losing her husband, sons, and consequently her social status, Naomi ("pleasantness") rejects her name in favor of Mara ("bitter"), but her life becomes "pleasant" again by the end of the book. The names of Elimelech's and Naomi's sons, Mahlon ("weakness, sickness") and Chilion ("annihilation, consumption"), suggest these men's ultimate fate. The name Ruth probably goes back to the word for "friend, companion" - a role Ruth fulfills above and beyond the call of duty in relation to Naomi. The name of Ruth's Moabite sister-in-law Orpah means "back of the neck," which Orpah turns to Naomi upon departing for her "mother's house" in Moab. The meaning of Boaz is less certain, but some have translated it "In him there is strength."
Composition
Suggestions for the date of the book range from 950 to the 5th century, though the events recorded occurred before the time of David, who became king of Israel ca. iooo. The book claims no particular author, and the original manuscript may have undergone later editorial changes before reaching its current form. Jewish congregations read Ruth publicly during the Festival of Weeks, which follows Passover.
1 Naomi's Bitter Plight
Famine in Canaan prompts a Judahite family to move some 50 miles from their home in Bethlehem ("house of bread") to Moab, the territory on the southeastern side of the Dead Sea in which Lot settled. The death there of Elimelech, the husband, and the eventual deaths of his two married sons leave the family matriarch, Naomi, destitute.
While her childless, widowed daughtersin-law may regain economic support by returning to their "mothers' houses" in Moab and may even find second husbands through whom they can bear children, the aging Naomi's fortunes look hopeless. As a single female in a patriarchal society, she lacks a means of economic support; as a childless widow, she lacks inheritance rights of her own; and as an older woman, she can no longer bear sons through whom she might claim her dead husband's landholdings back in Bethlehem. Unwilling to subject her daughters-in-law to a fate bound up in her own, Naomi releases them from any obligation to follow her on her journey back to Canaan, where by now the famine has ended. But one daughter-inlaw, Ruth, does the unexpected by refusing to desert the protesting Naomi, and the arrival of the two widows in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest stirs up the town. Ruth's lifelong pledge of faithfulness to Naomi's people and to her God contrasts sharply with the idolatrous behavior of the Moabite women in Numbers 25.
2 The Widows' Fortunes Begin to Change
Verse 1 allows the reader to understand the significance of the events that unfold in this chapter before the story's own subjects do. The poverty-stricken women agree that Ruth should glean in the fields in keeping with the
Law's provision for the "needy and the alien" (Lev. 19:9-10; 23:22), but Ruth knows nothing of Boaz or his relationship to Naomi when she begins her day's work. Neither does Naomi know that Ruth will be gleaning in Boaz's field.
Boaz, however, immediately learns Ruth's identity as daughter-in-law to his kinswoman by marriage, Naomi. Recognizing his responsibility as a "redeemer" to his deceased clansman Elimelech's family - and honoring Ruth for her self-sacrificial faithfulness to Naomi - Boaz surprises Ruth with generosity beyond what the Law requires (the ephah container in v. 17 held about 5 gal.). Perhaps Boaz's unusually kind care for this non-Israelite woman stemmed from feeling a bond with her, for his own mother, Rahab (the harlot from Jericho), was also a foreigner grafted into Israel's community after taking great personal risk in harboring Israelite spies at the outset of the conquest (Joshua a; cf. Matt. i:5). Both Ruth and Naomi come to realize how God has directed the day's course of events, and Ruth continues to support her mother-in-law by gleaning in Boaz's field through the barley and wheat harvests.
3 Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor
With the grain harvest over and Ruth now an accepted member of the Bethlehemite community, Naomi devises a plan to provide security for her daughter-in-law. But the plan requires boldness on the part of the heretofore humble Moabitess (cf. 2:10), for it essentially requires her to propose marriage to her voluntary master (v. 9; cf. Ezek. 16:8). Unwavering in her obedience to Naomi, Ruth now surprises Boaz by putting him in a potentially compromising situation during the night at the local threshing floor, where he guards his grain pile in slumber. Upon awaking in the dark, the startled Boaz handles the situation honorably and pledges to see that Ruth is "redeemed" either by her closest kinsman or by Boaz himself. In making this promise, Boaz realizes the potential for his role as redeemer to intensify from merely providing protection and support to producing descendants who will not be considered his own but his relative Elimelech's.
Women in the Old Testament
Primarily portrayed as wives and mothers, women in the Old Testament represent a host of roles spanning millennia. The biblical text includes named and unnamed women appearing as queens and commoners, prophetesses and diviners, heroines and villainesses. The text contains portraits of women in various life stages as child, virgin, wife, mother, and widow. In addition, women emerge in stylized, allegorical form in Proverbs as Dame Folly (portrayed as an adulteress) and Dame Wisdom, two voices competing publicly in the marketplace (Proverbs 7-9). The Song of Songs extols a woman's beauty in a collection of love songs that also vividly depict the open, free, sexual enjoyment of a handsome man and beautiful woman.
Because men predominate the Old Testament accounts, women seem at first reading to be not of central importance. Men assume the dominant positions in the family as fathers and husbands and in society as kings, priests, military leaders, and judges. But a closer reading shows women's importance. Because of the relative brevity of space women receive, each appearance of a woman may be seen as heralding a major textual event. Furthermore, the absence of textual space about women does not mean that women played a small role in Israelite society. Quite the contrary. Those accounts devoted to law and narration support the significant contribution of women throughout the ages
to Israel's religious and cultural development.
The biblical text sheds light on women in creation, family and society, and religious matters, as well as by allegory and through specific examples. Even anonymous and silent women receive significant textual treatment.
Creation
The creation story shows that together male and female reflect the image of God (Gen. 1:27). Both sexes share equally in dignity before God, ability to sin, responsibility for sin, and capacity for good or evil. This joint reflection continues in the Bible's portrayal of God as having both traditionally male and female characteristics. God is both mighty warrior (Exod. 15:3) and one who is like a midwife, seamstress, mother, nurse, and hen (Pss. 22:910; 71:6; 91:4;139:13; Isa. 49:15; 66:9,13). Unlike other ancient Near Eastern religions, which show the gods marrying and having children, the Bible never portrays God with a consort.
Genesis 1 and 2 exemplify the view that man and woman complement each other and stand incomplete when alone (Gen. 2:18). The woman, created to share the man's workload as his companion, nonetheless has a free will and stands accountable individually before God. The first woman, named Eve by her husband Adam after the fall (Gen. 3:20), presents a complex picture. Because the
serpent addressed her and not the man, scholars speculate she was the more creative, vulnerable, or spiritually attuned partner - or maybe just the one available at that moment! Her punishment because of her sin of disobedience involved hatred between her offspring and the serpent's, increased pain in childbearing, and a change in status from being an equal partner with her husband to having him rule over her (Gen. 3:15-16). Scholars puzzle over the derivation of the Hebrew word for "woman," 'isha; perhaps it comes from 'ish, "man," or from the root '-n-s, meaning "soft and delicate."
Family and Society
Women remained under the protection of their fathers and then their husbands throughout their lives; as Israel grew and divided into tribes, women married within their tribe or clan. While these restrictions may seem confining, they also gave women a measure of security and status. As with a man, the biblical text most frequently defines a woman in terms of function and family relationships. She is wife, mother, daughter, widow, servant, or slave. The law required virginity upon marriage only of the woman (Deut. 22:13-21).
Women did not share the same societal rights as men, for sons as heirs received property. But if a father died without sons and close male relatives, as in the case of the daughters of Zelophehad, daughters did inherit, but with the stipulation that they could choose whom they married within their father's tribal clan (Num. 27:1-11; 36). Similarly, the law specified that a husband could initiate a divorce proceeding, not a wife. A man might marry more than one wife, but the law forbade him from abusing his first wife by depriving her of food, clothing, and marital rights (Exod. 21:10).
Unlike in neighboring societies, an Israelite woman was not considered a man's property. A young girl and an unmarried young woman - both states synonymous with virginity - were vulnerable in Israel; consequently, the Law protected them against rape but not against being sold into slavery. Young women had a say in choosing their life partners (Gen. 24:58; Ruth 3:9), but their parents, while taking their feelings to heart, more consistently chose for them. Scholars argue that texts showing the degradation, sacrifice, murder, mutilation, and abuse of women (e.g., Gen. 19:8; Judg. 11:30-40; 19; 21) reflect not a biblical view but rather the prevailing lawless and violent conditions of Israel's neighbors.
Genealogies mention women, although less frequently than men. Serah, a daughter of Asher, appears three times in genealogies (Gen. 46:17; Num. 26:46; 1 Chr. 7:30), a fact attesting to her significance, but the narrative excludes further explanation about her. Rabbinic tradition, however, fills in with many stories about Serah; one claims that she grew up in Jacob's household in Canaan and at the request of Joseph's brothers conveyed through her music the news that Joseph was alive in Egypt.
The biblical text presents a healthy view of sexual love, one
that includes pleasure of one's spouse up through old age (Gen. 18:12). The Song of Songs forthrightly presents the woman as an equal participant in romantic love; the woman both openly loves a man and openly returns his admiration. The text sees sexuality and sexual love as a good gift from God (Gen. 2:23). Psalm 45:11 speaks of a bride as desired and admired. The text mentions the beauty of Sarah, Rachel, Rebekah, Abigail, Bathsheba, and Esther. The text frequently displays God's all-encompassing love for his covenantal people in sexual terms. The verb to know" represents the intimate, sexual
knowledge of a man and a woman; God often uses this verb to signify how his people have forsaken him (Jer. 4:22).
Baking flat bread-cakes in a clay oven, among the household tasks of women in ancient Israel. (Phoenix Data Systems, Neal and Joel Bierling)
A woman's status depended in part on whom she married and on his extended family connections. Women saw childbearing as a means to status and security (1 Sam. 1:6). Barrenness represented a curse (cf. Sarai, Gen. 11:30). Once widowed and without children, a woman's plight was serious, for no one necessarily as
sumed legal responsibility for her care. The text presents the plight of some childless women, however, as divinely ordained. Specific children - such as Isaac, Joseph, Samuel, and Samson - born to Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, and the wife of Manoah late in life or after an angelic announcement were divinely favored and often marked as community deliverers. A newly married man received exemption from military service and other duties for a year in order to "bring happiness to the wife he has married" (Dent. 24:5); obviously, it was hoped that within that year she would become pregnant.
The Bible strongly condemns adultery as leading to death for both the man and woman (Prov. 5:15-23; Deut. 22:22). Hosea's wife Gomer abandons her husband for multiple lovers, yet her husband, on God's command, buys her back (Hosea 3); this marital example illustrates God's redemptive love for adulterous Israel. The Law gives the husband and not the wife the right to initiate divorce (Dent. 24:1), but the biblical corpus throughout takes care to minimize opportuni ties for divorce. Malachi 2:15-16 states God abhors three things: a man's discarding the wife of his youth, divorce, and marital violence. The Bible treats prostitution, however, somewhat ambiguously as defiling the land (Lev. 19:29), as a social status (1 Kgs. 3:16), and as a metaphor for spiritual unfaithfulness (Isa. 1:21).
A widow came under the protection and supervision of a near kinsman; if she were childless and of childbearing age, the kinsman's duty included raising up children to carry the dead man's name. Tamar forced Judah to recognize her legal rights to progeny (Genesis 38), and Boaz took seriously his responsibility to raise up offspring for Mahlon (Ruth 4:10).
Proverbs reinforces the sixth commandment, to honor one's father and mother, by stressing that men and women share equally regarding the joys, sorrows, and responsibilities of parenthood. A mother must be obeyed and, even when elderly, deserves respect (Prov. 1:8; 23:22).
Religious Practice
The Law declared a woman unclean during menstruation and prohibited sexual intercourse during her monthly cycle (Lev. 18:19). While the Law reserved the priesthood for men and passed it on from father to son, both a woman and a man could become Nazirites (Num. 6:2). Women participated as singers in temple worship after the exile (Ezra 2:65; Neh. 7:67).
Allegory
Women frequently appear in the text as allegorical figures. The women in Proverbs present
interesting studies. Some are stock characters - the prostitute, adulteress, nagging wife, gossip, busybody, and mother. Others, notably Dame Folly and Dame Wisdom, illustrate for impressionable young men the paths to failure or success in life. Proverbs ends on a high note by extolling the qualities of an exemplary wife (31:10-31). This energetic woman, an organizational genius, engages in real estate, selects fine material, makes garments from linen, works far into the night for her household's good, and gives generously to the poor. Led by her husband and children, all who know her praise her.
In contrast, Ezekiel 16 portrays Jerusalem as a baby, a girl, and a desirable woman of marriageable age who forsakes her husband (God), practices infidelity with her lovers, and sacrifices her sons and daughters as food for idols. Ezekiel 23 likens both Israel and Judah to two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, who became prostitutes in Egypt and made political alliances with foreign powers against the Lord's will.
Significant Named Women
The consorts of the three patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - were the matriarchs Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah, Rachel, Bilhah and Zilpah, respectively. Hagar, the concubine of Abram, slave of Sarai, and mother of Ishmael, is the only person in the Bible to give a name to God, calling him The God who sees" (Gen. 16:13). Important converts include Rahab, the prostitute and innkeeper at Jericho (Joshua 2), and Ruth, the Moabitess, the great-great-grandmother of David. Two books bear women's names: Ruth and Esther. The text lists
four prophetesses: Miriam (Exod. 15:20), Deborah (Judg. 4:4), Huldah (2 Kgs. 22:14), and Noadiah, a false prophetess (Neh. 6:14). Esther, as queen of Persia, saved her people from destruction. The text condemns Jezebel and Athaliah, foreign queens of Israel and Judah, for bringing in the worship of alien gods.
Anonymous and Silent Women
The biblical text presents an array of anonymous men and women such as servants, soldiers, and townspeople, characters whose textual usefulness comes by way of their function. For example, Saul seeks the spiritual help of the witch or medium of Endor (1 Samuel 28). The wife of Jeroboam, a character both muzzled by the narrator and anonymous, nonetheless receives tremendous biblical importance: to her comes the first prophetic word not only of the upcoming annihilation of Jeroboam's household, but also of God's intention to uproot and scatter Israel (1 Kings 14). Rizpah, Saul's concubine, figures twice in the biblical text but never speaks. In 2 Samuel 3, involvement with her as one of the royal harem shifts sovereignty over Israel from Ishbosheth to David, and in 2 Samuel 21 her courage in defying David brings about a proper burial for Saul and Jonathan. The text confirms Elijah's status as a prophet through the words of the widow of Zarephath (1 Kgs. 17:24).
For Further Reading
Meyers, Carol, ed. Women in Scripture. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001.
ROBIN GALLAHER BRANCH
4 Boaz Marries Ruth
True to his word and to Naomi's prediction (3:18), Boaz does not delay in assembling a quorum of elders at the city gate, where official business took place, to settle the issue of Ruth's redemption. Elimelech's closest relative changes his mind about taking the opportunity to buy Elimelech's land when he discovers that Ruth comes with the package, for at this point he real izes that the inheritance will not simply be added to his own territorial claim but will instead revert to Ruth's sons (through him!) in order to maintain Elimelech's inheritance separately. In addition, Ruth and her children will add to the relative's expenses by becoming his dependents.
Harvesting winter vegetables. (Phoenix Data Systems, Neal and Joel Bierling)
As next in line, Boaz assumes the levirate responsibilities and accepts the relative's sandal to seal symbolically the legal transfer of rights. The crowd's blessing on Boaz's and Ruth's union cites Rachel and Leah, who with their handmaids bore the ancestors of Israel's 12 tribes (= "built the house of Israel"; Genesis 29-30; 35:16-18), and also mentions Tamar, mother of Boaz's ancestor Perez, through whose line David (and eventually Jesus) would come (Genesis 38; Matthew 1).
The birth of Ruth and Boaz's son Obed completes the reversal of Naomi's fortunes and represents another link in the chain of Israel's royal, Judahite line. The Bethlehemite women indirectly glorify Ruth by asserting that her loving treatment of Naomi exceeds that of the perfect number of sons (seven, v. 15). The concluding genealogy tracks 1o generations of David's ancestors.