Ruth
3:1 - 4:17
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- Reading the Text:
- NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
- The Bible Gateway: NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
- The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Hebrew text with concordance, commentaries. Chapter 4.
- The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary, exposition and sermons. Chapter 4.
- Historical References, Commentary and Comparative
Texts:
- Rashi's Commentary, c. 1075. chabad.org.
- From the Geneva Notes. Chapter 4.
- From
Matthew Henry's
Commentary.
Chapter
4.
- "The married state should be a rest, as much as any thing upon earth can be so, as it ought to fix the affections and form a connexion for life. Therefore it should be engaged in with great seriousness, with earnest prayers for direction, for the blessing of God, and with regard to his precepts."
- From Wesley's Notes.
Chapter 4.
- "Took Ruth - Which he might do, though she was a Moabite, because the prohibition against marrying such, is to be restrained to those who continue Heathens; whereas Ruth was a sincere proselyte and convert to the God of Israel. Thus he that forsakes all for Christ, shall find more than all with him."
- From the
Commentary on the Whole Bible
(Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
Chapter 4.
- "The winnowing process is performed by throwing up the grain, after being trodden down, against the wind with a shovel. The threshing-floor, which was commonly on the harvest-field, was carefully leveled with a large cylindric roller and consolidated with chalk, that weeds might not spring up, and that it might not chop with drought. The farmer usually remained all night in harvest-time on the threshing-floor, not only for the protection of his valuable grain, but for the winnowing. That operation was performed in the evening to catch the breezes which blow after the close of a hot day, and which continue for the most part of the night. This duty at so important a season the master undertakes himself; and, accordingly, in the simplicity of ancient manners, Boaz, a person of considerable wealth and high rank, laid himself down to sleep on the barn floor, at the end of the heap of barley he had been winnowing."
- Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
-
- "Of course, not all stories that begin with profound misery end in great joy. Even when they do, the later joy does not always cancel out the prior grief?at least not completely, nor, ever, easily."
-
- "Where is God in this story? Where is God in stories that do not have happy endings?"
-
Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17, Pentecost 23,
Commentary, Background, Insights from Literary Structure, Theological
Message, Ways to Present the Text. Anna Grant-Henderson, Uniting Church in
Australia.
- "Righteousness is different to Law in that the actions are not necessarily decreed, but in light of God's love are right for the situation. Some people might refer to this as situational ethics, but the last clause is the controlling factor."
-
Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
-
"Bitterness and Friendship: A Feminist Exegesis of the Book of Ruth,"
Joseph W. Blotz, Currents in Theology and Mission, 2005.
- "While the Book of Ruth is notable for the active women it portrays, it must be remembered that it does not break from the tradition of patriarchy, which, both then and now, often oppresses and denigrates the bodies and spirits of women and often holds men captive in the traditional societal roles as well."
-
Megillat
RUTH: Hesed and Hutzpah, A Literary Approach, study guide by Noam
Zion, Tichon Program, Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem, 2005.
- "Is this love? sex? seduction? Blackmail? a discrete religiously-motivated discussion about accepting the legal responsibilities of a redeemer? The negotiation of a shiduch without the good offices of one?s mother or father or guardian?"
-
"Holy
Economics: A Rhythm of Worthy Work and Reflective Rest," by Arthur Waskow in
Sojourners.
- "Boaz knew that even this despised foreigner was entitled to a decent job at decent pay. And the work she did was not menial or undignified; it was exactly the kind of work that most people did in the world of ancient Israel."
-
"Ruth and the Sense of Self: Midrash and Difference," Mira Morgenstern,
Judaism, 1999.
- "...far from being a book that merely reflects a calm and settled philosophy of life, the Book of Ruth is in fact filled with unsettling questions...Ruth focuses on the sustained philosophical search by its protagonist for a coherent understanding of selfhood that can include both self-affirmation and other-directed giving."
-
- Articles & Background:
-
"Engaging Biblical Women," Lillian Klein,
Bible and Interpretation,
2003.
- "Women are shown to use their sexuality as a manipulative tool to various effects (Ruth 3.7; Judges 16); in general, males condemn female sexuality."
-
"The Determination of Social Identity in the Story of Ruth," Victor
H. Matthews, Biblical Theology Bulletin, 2006.
- "...the issue raised here is the manner in which displaced individuals are able to integrate of reintegrate themselves into a local community. The process, as exemplified in the story of Ruth and Naomi, demonstrates the movement from a liminal social condition to a liminal spatial placement to a defined social condition within an established social space."
-
"Engaging Biblical Women," Lillian Klein,
Bible and Interpretation,
2003.
-
Recommended articles
from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are
linked below.
ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of
selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices.
- Beattie, D.R.G.,
"The Book of Ruth as Evidence for Isarelite Legal Practice," Vetus
Testamentum, 1974.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Beattie, Derek R.G., "Kethibh and
qere in Ruth 4:5," Vetus Testamentum, 1971.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Bertman, Stephen,
"Symmetrical Design in the Book of Ruth," Journal of Biblical
Literature, 1965.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Blotz, Joseph W.,
"Bitterness and Friendship: A Feminist Exegesis of the Book of Ruth,"
Currents in Theology and Mission, 2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Box, Johanna W.H.,
"Out of the Shadows: Genesis 38, Judges 4:17-22, Ruth 3," Semeia,
1988.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Brenner, Athalya,
"Female Social Behavior: Two Descriptive Patterns within the 'Birth of the
Hero' Paradigm," Vetus Testamentum, 1986.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Britt, Brian,
"Unexpected Attachments: A Literary Approach to the Term HSD in the
Hebrew Bible," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2003.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Davies, Eryl W.,
"Ruth IV 5 and the Duties of the GO'EL," Vetus Testamentum,
1983.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Fewell, Danna Nolan,
and David M. Gunn, "Boaz, Pillar of Society: Measures of Worth in the Book of Ruth,"
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 1989.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Gow, Murray D., "Ruth quoque--a
coquette, Ruth 4:5," Tyndale Bulletin, 1990.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Hubbard, Robert L.,
"Ruth IV 17: A New Solution," Vetus Testamentum, 1988.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Irwin, Brian P., "Removing Ruth:
tiqqune sopherim in Ruth 3:3-4?" Journal for the Study of the Old
Testament, 2008.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Manor, Dale W., "A Brief History of
Levirate Marriage As It Relates to the Bible," Restoration Quarterly,
1984.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Martin, Michael W., "Betrothal Journey Narratives,"
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2008.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Moore, Michael S.,
"Ruth the Moabite and the Blessing of Foreigners," The Catholic
Biblical Quarterly, 1998.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Thompson, Thomas and
Dorothy,
"Some Legal Problems in the Book of Ruth," Vetus Testamentum,
1968.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Tucker, Gene M., "Witnesses and
'Dates' in Israelite Contracts," Catholic Biblical Quarterly,
1966.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Van Wijk-Bos, Johanna W.H., "Out of
the Shadows: Genesis 38, Judges 4:17-22, Ruth 3," Semeia, 1988.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Weisberg, Dvora E.,
"The Widow of Our Discontent: Levirate Marriage in the Bible and Ancient
Israel," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2004.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Beattie, D.R.G.,
"The Book of Ruth as Evidence for Isarelite Legal Practice," Vetus
Testamentum, 1974.
- Reviews:
- Sermons:
- "The Word We Don't Mention," Samuel Wells, Faith and Leadership, 2009.
- "The Story of Ruth: Moments of Loss and Faith," Sr. Joan Chittister, 30 Good Minutes, Chicago Sunday Evening Club, 2001.
- "Loyalty, Lovingkindness, Mercy and Redemption," the Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada.
- With Children:
-
"Ruth," Illustrating the Story (lessons, children's sermons),
coloring pages, activity sheets, crafts, children's songs. MSSS Crafts.
-
"Ruth," Illustrating the Story (lessons, children's sermons),
coloring pages, activity sheets, crafts, children's songs. MSSS Crafts.
- Drama:
- Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
- Images for this week's readings, Pitts Theology Library Digital Image Archive.
- Clip Art: Ruth, Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld woodcuts, World Mission Collection, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
- Hymns and Music:
- Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
- Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
- Study Links and Resources for the Book of Ruth
