The+Book+Of+Ruth

THE BOOK OF RUTH
by Sam Davidson



The period covered was from sometime from 1200 to 1000 BC. -Author: Many of the books in the Old Testament don’t haven known authors and the Book of Ruth is one of these, although it was probably written sometime during the monarchy (1000-800 B.C.) Whilst the Talmud identifies Samuel as the author scriptures don’t accept this. Some scholars suggest the author is a woman as the story identifies a struggle made by two women in a male dominated world. Themes: God’s plan involves non Israelites. God works through ordinary people. Scholars believe that the context of Ruth is a narrative story, meaning that it is not real. And, they often use terms like novella to describe it. (Novella being like a short novel, But, in saying this it doesn’t mean that because the story is like a short novel it leaves out real historical facts. The style of writing reflects the craftsmanship of the writer. Contents: In the book of Ruth we are told the story of Ruth and Naomi. Ruth is the daughter-in-law of Naomi. Elimelech, the husband of Naomi and father of Ruth's husband, dies and soon after that Ruth's husband also dies. Naomi no longer has a family connection and Naomi tells Ruth to go and find somebody to marry. But Ruth decides to stay by Naomi's side. There are many themes that are seen throughout the book of Ruth.



Themes in the Book of Ruth: Faithfulness Faithfulness is a theme that is seen countless times in the book of Ruth. Ruth shows faith in Naomi and Naomi returns the favor. More importantly, Ruth, Noami and also Boaz show faith in God throughout the book of Ruth.

Themes in the Book of Ruth: Kindness The second theme in the book of Ruth is kindness. Ruth's loyalty to Naomi and Naomi's loyalty to Ruth shows kindness in both of them. Later in the book of Ruth we also see another act of kindness when Boaz buys back land to guarantee Ruth and Naomi's inheritance.

Themes in the Book of Ruth: Integrity Another quality that all of the main characters in the story of Ruth share is integrity. Throughout the Bible we see people that show great integrity...some of the time. Ruth is one of the few characters in the Bible that seems to have good morals at all times. Ruth is loyal to Naomi after their family connection is gone. Ruth makes a clean break from her land and customs. Ruth works hard in the fields. Other than Jesus there might not be another person in the Bible with more integrity than Ruth.

Themes in the Book of Ruth: Protection Another theme in the Book of Ruth is protection. This isn't a quality in the characters of the story as much as it is a characteristic of God. No matter what happens in our lives God will protect us. If what we need is to have somebody to help us then God will send someone like Ruth to help Naomi or somebody like Boaz to help Ruth Genres in the book of Ruth: The book of Ruth is primarily historical short story narrative. It divides into four scenes (Ruth 1:6-22, 2:1-23, 3:1-18, and 4:1-12), enclosed by an introduction (Ruth 1:1-5) and a conclusion (Ruth 4:13-17). There are two short poetic sections (Ruth 1:16-17; 20-21 The action of the story takes place almost exclusively in the rural, agricultural setting of Bethlehem in Judah, in the period of the judges of Israel, with only a brief introductory setting in the neighboring country of Moab. The four scenes are the intimate and personal account of a daughter-in-law’s faithfulness and loyalty within a familial setting. Her faithfulness and loyalty is a response to the tragic introduction and results in the restorative conclusion. The language of blessing and curse illuminates God’s activity and organizes the narrative. Glossary: Kinsman: is a male relative Glean: reap: gather, as of natural products; "harvest the grapes" -Gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers' fields after they have been commercially harvested or on fields where it is not economically profitable to harvest. Some ancient cultures promoted gleaning as an early form of a welfare system. Calamity- an event resulting in great loss and misfortune; "the whole city was affected by the irremediable calamity"; "the earthquake was a disaster" - A sheave (pronounced "shiv") is a wheel or roller with a groove along its edge for holding a belt, rope or cable. When hung between two supports and equipped with a belt, rope or cable, one or more sheaves make up a pulley. The words sheave and pulley are sometimes used interchangeably. Prostrate: • get into a prostrate position, as in submission • render helpless or defenseless; "They prostrated the enemy" • flat: stretched out and lying at full length along the ground; "found himself lying flat on the floor" • throw down flat, as on the ground; "She prostrated herself with frustration" • prone: lying face downward Forsake - To abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently) Threshing: the separation of grain or seeds from the husks and straw; "they used to do the threshing by hand but now there are machines to do it" Winnowing: winnow: the act of separating grain from chaff; "the winnowing was done by women" Ephah: an ancient Hebrew unit of dry measure equal to about a bushel Stealthily: avoiding detection by moving carefully



Bibliography: Atkinson, David. The Wings of Refuge: The Message of Ruth. The Bible Speaks Today. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1983

Coogan, et al., eds. The New Oxford Annotated Bible, 3d. ed. NRSV. Oxford: University Press, 200 1.

Hubbard, Robert L., Jr. The Book of Ruth. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988.