INTRODUCTION

The origin of the name Ruth comes from two possible roots. In both cases, whichever root the name comes from, the central idea is that of "friendship." One possible root is raah which means "to associate with someone." The second possible root is reut which means "to befriend." It also has the meanings of "refreshment," "satiation," "comfort."

The actual author of the Book of Ruth is unknown. According to the Talmud, Samuel was the author. It is impossible to know whether that is true or not, but that is the rabbinic tradition.

The place in the canon for this book varies slightly:

The Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew Bible has three divisions: the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. In the Hebrew canon, Ruth is found in the third division, the Ketuvim or the Writings, and it is the fifth book of the third division. It is also one of the five books known collectively as the Megilloth, meaning "scrolls," which are read in the synagogue on five holy occasions during the year. The Book of Ruth is read during the Feast of Weeks.

The Septuagint

The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Originally, in the Septuagint, the Book of Ruth was considered as an appendix to the Book of Judges, and so it was not given a title of its own. However, in later editions of the Septuagint a break between the two books, Judges and Ruth, was made.

The English Bible

The English Bible today follows the order of the Septuagint and, therefore, Ruth comes after the Book of Judges.

THE HISTORIC BACKGROUND

Ruth 1:1 states that the story took place during the time of the Judges, and later in the book, it took place during and after a time of famine. If this was the same famine as that mentioned in Judges 6:3-4, then the story would have taken place during the time of Gideon.

Ruth was a Moabite. The Moabites were descendants of Moav, Moab, who was the son of Lot through his older daughter (Genesis 19:37). They became prominent in Israel’s history during the time of the Exodus. In subsequent history, the Moabites were a major source of Israel’s troubles. The chief god of the Moabites was Chemosh (Numbers 21:29). The worship of Chemosh included human sacrifice (II Kings 3:26-27). They also worshipped the wife of Chemosh, Ashtar.

At the time of the story of Ruth the kinsman-redeemer had three obligations. First: he was to redeem his brother and his brother’s inheritance according to his ability, if it was poverty that compelled his brother to sell himself into slavery or to dispose of his land. Second: he was to serve as the avenger of the blood. Third: he was to raise up a successor to his brother, if this brother had died without leaving a son. The first and third obligations play a role in the Book of Ruth.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE BOOK OF RUTH TO SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY

The Book of Ruth contributes to four areas of Systematic Theology: Theology Proper, Christology, Soteriology, and Israelology. In this excerpt we will take a brief look only at Christology.

Christology is the Doctrine of the Son. This book contributes to Christology in that it continues the tracing of the Messianic line. Ruth becomes one of the Gentile mothers of the Messiah mentioned in Matthew 1.

Another contribution it makes in the area of Christology is the concept if the kinsman-redeemer and the kinsman-redeemer typology. For a person to be a kinsman-redeemer, he had to meet five requirements. In fulfillment of the typology, Yeshua met all five.

PURPOSE OF THE BOOK

At least six purposes can be suggested for why the book was written. Probably the major purpose was to show the superiority of the House of David to the House of Saul, and so defend the claims of David over the claims of Ishbosheth. After Saul was killed, David did not become king of all Israel, rather, Ishbosheth became the king of all the tribes except Judah. For seven years David was king only of the Tribe of Judah. Because this was the key purpose of the book, it serves as the third appendix to the Book of Judges. It showed that the godly ancestors of David were not Canaanized. While the theme of the Book of Judges is the Canaanization of Israeli society, the Book of Ruth shows that not all were Canaanized.

One rabbinic view is that Samuel wrote the book with the purpose of defending David against his critics. They said that because David was of Moabite descendant he had no right to be a king. The Soncino Commentary, which is the more scholarly Orthodox Jewish commentary, gives eight purposes for the Book of Ruth, but some of these purposes are imposing Orthodox Jewish views to the book.

KEY VERSES

There are two key verses in this book. The first is 1:16, where Ruth makes her declaration: your people are my people, your God my God. The second key verse is 4:17 that states: the father of Jesse, the father of David, since a key purpose of the book is to show the genealogical link from Judah to David.

KEY WORD

The key word is kinsman-redeemer, and the Hebrew word behind it appears twelve times in the book. Furthermore, various forms of this Hebrew word appear twenty times, such as: redeem, redeemer, redemption. But there is a related concept, the concept of chesed, which carries the meaning of "loyalty," a loyalty born out of love and kindness toward those to whom a person is responsible (1:8; 2:20; 3:10).

THEME

The theme of the Book of Ruth is that God is faithful in His work of loving, superintending, and providentially caring for His people. This book shows how God rescued the family of Elimelech from extinction and the triumph over tragedy by the family of Elimelech that gave King David to Israel.

I. THE COMMITMENT OF RUTH – 1:1-22

Verse 4 records the marriage of the sons of Elimelech and Naomi: And they took them wives of the women of Moab. The Law of Moses in Deuteronomy 7:3 did not actually forbid marriage with the Moabites as it forbade marriage with the Canaanite women. But in Deuteronomy 23:3, the Law did forbid the reception of Moabites into the Congregation of the Lord until the tenth generation. So marrying Moabites was also the wrong thing to do. God’s grace often works things out, but based upon the principle of the Law, it was the wrong thing to do. Furthermore, they married only after the death of the father who may not have allowed such marriages. The way the rabbis deal with the Mosaic Law here is to point out that the term Moab in these verses is masculine, not feminine. So the prohibition applies only to male Moabites and not to female Moabites, and to the descendants of male Moabites, but not female Moabites. That is why this prohibition of Mosaic Law did not apply to David. This is probably a valid observation, since the national identity is passed on through the father and not through the mother. So if the father was a Moabite, then the product would be Moabite, but because only the mother was the Moabite and the father was a Jew, the products were Jews. So David is considered a Jew in spite of his Moabite origins through Ruth.

Two observations can be made here. The first observation is that the names of the two wives are not Hebrew. Although today Ruth is viewed as a nice Jewish name, it was not a Jewish name in its origins. A second observation is to note the negative aspects of the marriage. The term used for the marriage here is nasa ishah in place of the normal lakach. The phrase nasa ishah appears nine times in the Old Testament and its context always has a negative connotation. The use of nasa ishah in place of lakach indicates the narrator’s negative judgment on this action.

Verse 5 records the death of the two sons: And Mahlon and Chilion died both of them. An early death was often viewed as a judgment of God. However, the names implied they were sickly men and so they may have died of natural causes. There is nothing in the text to imply that their death was a direct judgment of God.

Naomi has lost her entire family except for the two daughters-in-law. Naomi was not only a widow, but one without any sons to help her survive. The status of widows was precarious in Israel (I Kings 17:8-16; II Kings 4:1-7), and this may have been the motivation for Naomi to send the two daughters-in-law back to Moab. This was true in spite of the fact that the Law of Moses required special protection for widows. The Prophets reaffirmed this need in Isaiah 1:23. In fact, God is viewed as the Defender of the widow (Psalm 68:5; 146:9). This is also the concern of the Law of the Messiah (James 1:27).

Verse 6 provides the basis for the departure. The act is stated as: she arose with her daughters-in-law. The purpose: that she might return from the country of Moab. The basis is because: she had heard in the country of Moab how that Jehovah had visited his people in giving them bread. This phrase shows that the famine was one of divine judgment. The Hebrew word for visited is pakad. This verb is used of divine activity in the Old Testament. It sometimes carries the concept or overtones of divine judgment, as in Jeremiah 25:12. It sometimes emphasizes divine blessing, as is the case here. So when God visits, everything depends on the state of the affairs that He finds. A negative state will result in judgment; a positive one, in blessings. The verb is a warning against presuming on the holiness of God and a reminder that God delights to bless. On this occasion, God visited His people and the visit meant an end of the famine.

Naomi attempted to have the daughters-in-law return back to Moab and made more than one admonition. She begins with the verbal admonition (verses 8-9a), when Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law: Go, return each of you to your mother’s house. The statement mother’s house is unusual because the normal pattern was for the widow to return to the house of her father. This expression, "the house of your mother," is found only three other times in Scripture: Genesis 24:28; Song of Solomon 3:4; and 8:2, showing that it has a rather limited, unique, and special meaning. The phrase means that Naomi was releasing them to re-marry. So, she prayed that both of them will find security in the house of their new husbands. The mother’s house was the locus for all matters of marriage. She called upon God’s blessings: Jehovah deal kindly with you. The basis was: as you have dealt with the dead, and with me. The Hebrew word used here is the word chesed and the primary emphasis is on "loyalty to a covenant." It is the mutual and reciprocal rights and obligations between the parties of a relationship. These two widows have been loyal and loving to their deceased husbands and also to Naomi herself beyond the normal expectations, beyond the customs, beyond the rule of law. The second statement of the blessing is: Jehovah grant you that ye may find rest; the means being in the house of her husband. The term rest in the context of this book refers specifically to marriage. Following the verbal admonition, came the physical admonition. Naomi kissed them, and the daughters lifted up their voice, and wept (verse 9b).

Both women initially rejected the admonition and their intent was to return with Naomi to her own people. Naomi’s second admonition (vs. 11-13) caused a different response from each woman. Orpah had two valid options; in choosing to leave (one of the two valid options), she represents submissive obedience, and she did follow the counsel of an older woman. But Ruth responds differently: but Ruth clave unto her (v. 14b). The Hebrew word is dabak, which means "to stick like glue." The very same cause that induced Orpah to return is what caused Ruth to stay. The fact that Naomi will no longer have a husband or sons means she needed someone to take care of her. So Ruth chose to stay and cleave to Naomi for the purpose of taking care of her. While Orpah chose to become a wife again, Ruth chose to remain a daughter. Orpah did the sensible thing and the expected thing; Ruth did the extraordinary, unexpected thing. So now, her chesed went beyond her previous expression of it and beyond that of Orpah.

Naomi tried one more admonition to get Ruth to return as well. But Ruth’s response began with a plea: Entreat me not to leave you, and to return from following after you. The plea is followed by Ruth’s firm commitment stated in five bold statements. First: where you go, I will go. Second: where you lodge or live, I will lodge or live. Third: your people shall be my people. Fourth: your God my God. Fifth: where you die, will I die, and there will I be buried. From the plea to the commitment came the oath: Jehovah do to me and more also. Ruth invoked the Name of God in her oath and not the name of Chemosh. This shows in whom she truly believed. The phrase: Jehovah do so to me and more also; was the standard oath formula invoking the punishment of God if they did not do what they said they would do. Ruth invoked God’s Name thus accepting divine punishment if she did not do what she said she would do: Jehovah do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part you and me. The word death in the Hebrew text is in the emphatic position. Two observations may be noted here. First: these are the first recorded words of Ruth; the first time she is quoted in the book. Second: her decision was both social and religious. It was a social decision: your people are my people. It was a religious decision: your God is my God. Once Naomi realized the steadfastness of Ruth, she no longer tried to convince Ruth to return to Moab.

Verses 19-22 describe the arrival of Naomi, together with Ruth, in Bethlehem. There are three basic facts stated in verse 22. They set the stage for the rest of the Book of Ruth: first, Ruth was a Moabitess; second, Naomi was her mother-in-law; and third, Ruth accompanied her back to Bethlehem.

Looking at the first chapter as a whole, four observations can be made. First: the word shuv is used twelve times in this chapter. Ruth had never been to Bethlehem before and therefore, the word shuv meaning "return," carries more than just a physical connotation; it is a return to God, and a return to the Land of the people of God. Second: the chapter introduces two problems that need solving. The first problem is the provision of food for the widows; the second problem is the provision of progeny for the deceased. Third: this chapter shows the virtue of human loyalty, chesed, especially that of Ruth. It is a chesed that is worthy of being rewarded by God. Fourth: when God is at work, bitter hopelessness can be the beginning of something very good.

II. THE REAPING OF RUTH – 2:1-23

With verse 1, Boaz is introduced for the first time. There are four basic facts about Boaz which are important to the story. First: he was a relative of Naomi’s husband, and therefore, might be a kinsman-redeemer, but that is not yet stated by the use of the proper term. Second: he was a man of valor; a hero in fulfilling his obligations. Third: he was from the Clan of Elimelech, which was a subdivision of the Tribe of Judah. Fourth: as to his identity, and his name was Boaz.

Verse 2 deals with Ruth’s plan: Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi; she is still called a Moabitess even after her conversion. She is never called a Jew or Jewess or an Israelite, since she is only a proselyte, showing again that Jewishness is a matter of national identity in descent. She is always called a Moabitess, both before and after her conversion. She is now a believer in Judaism, but she is not ethnically a Jew, but still a Moabite. Her suggestion was: Let me now go to the field. Ruth made the offer to go out to the field and this will relieve Naomi of the humiliation she would have to suffer to glean among the very poor. The purpose was: to glean among the ears of grain. She would search for the gleanings for the poor; which was in keeping with the Law of Moses (Leviticus 19:9; 23:22; Deuteronomy 24:19).