Ruth: Standing Up for Your Friend
Scripture
Ruth 1-4
Literary
Genre
Ruth is a short story or novella within the historical books of the Hebrew Bible. It's a narrative that focuses on personal relationships and daily life, rather than grand historical events or military conquests.
Author
The author is unknown, but the book was likely written during the period of the monarchy, possibly during or after the reign of David.
Audience
The original audience was likely the people of Israel, providing a story that affirmed God's care for marginalized and suffering individuals and inclusion of foreigners within their plan. Though God is not present in the narrative, God’s character is displayed through the actions of Ruth especially.
Characters
Ruth: A Moabite widow who chooses to follow her mother-in-law to Bethlehem
Naomi: An Israelite widow who returns to Bethlehem after losing her husband and sons
Boaz: A wealthy landowner in Bethlehem, described as a "man of standing"
Unnamed kinsman-redeemer: A closer relative to Naomi who declines to marry Ruth
Themes
Loyalty and Kindness (Hesed)
Ruth's unwavering loyalty to Naomi and Boaz's kindness to Ruth exemplify the Hebrew concept of hesed, which encompasses loyalty, duty, and love. This is a word most often associated with God, but in this story, we see how this trait of God can be embodied and how people can be the way God’s faithfulness is displayed.
Providence
God is hardly mentioned and does not appear to be an active character in the story. Yet God’s guidance is evident throughout the story, working through ordinary events and people's choices.
Inclusion of Outsiders
Ruth's acceptance into Israelite society and her place in David's lineage demonstrate God's inclusive love.
Redemption
The story revolves around the concept of redemption, both in terms of property and family line. The idea of the redeemer is also often drawn upon as a forerunner of what Jesus does for us.
Friendship
Though sometimes described as a love story, the book of Ruth is more appropriately a story of friendship or women caring for women. It is in the process of advocating for another woman that Ruth finds her own provision as well. These two women are no longer legally bound, because without a man in the family, Naomi has no authority. Yet, Ruth does not abandon her and even becomes the means for Naomi’s provision.
Language
"Hesed": A key Hebrew term meaning loyal love or lovingkindness, exemplified by Ruth and Boaz's actions
"Goel": Kinsman-redeemer, a legal term for a close relative responsible for protecting family interests
"Gibor chayil" (for Boaz): Man of valor/strength/wealth/status
"Eshet chayil" (for Ruth): Woman of valor/strength/worth - though popular now, and many women who follow in this tradition in Scripture, Ruth is the only woman named with this title given to her
Lifetime (Historical Context)
Time of the Judges
The story is set during the time of the Judges, a period often characterized by moral decline and social instability in Israel. This period follows the story of Joshua and the conquest of Canaan. Israel is ruled by a succession of Judges. This period is followed by the monarchy of Saul and later David, etc.
Legal Status of Women
The vulnerability of Ruth and Naomi as widows highlights the precarious legal and social status of women in ancient Israelite society:
Economic Dependence: Women generally had limited economic rights and were largely dependent on male relatives for financial support and social standing.
Property Rights: While there were provisions for daughters to inherit if there were no sons (as in Numbers 27:1-11), women typically did not own property. Widows like Naomi and Ruth were particularly vulnerable.
Limited Legal Recourse: Women had restricted access to legal proceedings. They often required male representatives to plead their cases, making Naomi and Ruth's situation particularly challenging.
Social Vulnerability: Without male protection, widows were often at risk of exploitation or poverty. The gleaning laws were part of a social safety net for such vulnerable groups.
Agency within Constraints: Despite these limitations, the story of Ruth shows how women could exercise agency within their cultural constraints. Ruth's initiative in approaching Boaz and Naomi's strategic planning demonstrate this.
Importance of Advocacy: The story highlights the critical role of male advocates (like Boaz) in securing the welfare of vulnerable women within this legal system.
Understanding this context amplifies the significance of Ruth's actions and Boaz's kindness, while also highlighting the social and legal barriers that women like Ruth and Naomi had to navigate.
Levirate Marriage
The custom where a dead man's brother would marry his widow to continue the family line plays a crucial role in the story. It is both a conflict in the story and the resolution to it. With no sons for the women to marry, Naomi bids them to leave. But it is also through Levirate marriage that Naomi is redeemed because of Ruth and Boaz.
Gleaning Laws
The Law of Moses made several provisions for those who were in poverty. Gleaning laws were one of the ways that the community was encouraged to care for the vulnerable among them. The=is practice of leaving corners of fields unharvested for the poor to glean demonstrates ancient Israel's social welfare system.
Moabite-Israelite Relations
Historically, there has been tension between Moab and Israel. This occurs in the story of David as well. This not only adds significance to Naomi’s family’s flight to Moab but also to Ruth's acceptance into Israelite society.
Threshing Floor Customs
During harvest and threshing season, it was customary to celebrate. This means that the nighttime scene at the threshing floor carries potential for scandal, with Boaz not likely with his full wits about him. Ruth staying the night here may suggest sexual relations (as well as some of the language potentially serving as a euphemism) but that is debated. Either way, Boaz goes out of his way to help her to avoid harm to her reputation.
Legal Proceedings at the City Gates
The city gates in ancient Near Eastern towns were more than just entrances; they served as the center of public life and the location for official business and legal proceedings. This setting for Boaz's negotiation with the closer kinsman-redeemer is significant for several reasons:
Public Witness: Conducting business at the gates ensured that transactions were public, witnessed by the elders and other citizens passing through. This publicity provided legal validity to the proceedings.
Authority and Judgment: The elders of the town would sit at the gates to render judgments and oversee important transactions. Their presence at Boaz's negotiation lent authority to the process.
Legal Formality: The removal and exchange of a sandal, as described in Ruth 4:7-8, was a customary way of sealing a legal agreement, especially in matters of redemption and transfer of property rights.
This setting and the formal proceedings underscore the legal and social importance of Boaz's actions, demonstrating how he followed proper protocols while also going above and beyond in his kindness to Ruth and Naomi.
Lenses
Here are a few perspectives on the story of Ruth from a variety of scholars:
Ruth as a model of loyalty and faith
The story as an illustration of God's providence in ordinary life
Ruth's inclusion in David's lineage as foreshadowing the universal scope of God's redemptive plan
The book as a counterpoint to xenophobia in ancient Israel
Ruth and Boaz's actions as examples of living out the Torah's principles
Woven Together
Ruth's story powerfully illustrates how individual acts of loyalty and courage can advocate for God's priorities in challenging circumstances. As a Moabite widow in a foreign land, Ruth faced significant vulnerability and exclusion. Yet, her unwavering commitment to Naomi embodied hesed (loyal love) and challenged societal norms.
In a culture where women had limited rights, Ruth's decision to support Naomi was both radical and risky. By gleaning in the fields and approaching Boaz, Ruth navigated complex social and legal landscapes to secure a future for both of them. Her actions aligned with God's concern for the widow, the foreigner, and the poor, challenging the community to live up to its ideals.
Boaz's response at the city gates demonstrates how those within God's community should treat the vulnerable. His willingness to act as kinsman-redeemer shows how exceeding legal obligations can participate in God's redemptive work.
Ruth's advocacy for Naomi—and herself—made her an agent of redemption, actively participating in God's plan. Her inclusion in David's lineage underscores how God's redemption often works through unexpected individuals, crossing social boundaries.
This story challenges us to consider how we can advocate for God's priorities in our contexts, standing up for the vulnerable and marginalized, even when it requires navigating complex situations. In doing so, we may find ourselves participating in God's larger purpose of redemption and inclusion.
Conversation Starters
Ruth is sometimes told as a love story between her and Boaz. How does it change for you being a story mostly of solidarity between the two women?
What are the ways you see “hesed” in this story? And in the Bible (from God or other people)?
Who are the “gibor” and “eshet chayil” in your life?
Where have you seen unlikely examples of faith?