Vtus Testamentum X X X V I I I , 3 (1988)

R U T H IV 17: A N E W S O L U T I O N 1 by ROBERT L. HUBBARD

Denver, Colorado

T h e problems which confront the interpreter in the report concerning the naming of Obed (Ruth iv 17) are well known. Unlike other biblical examples, there Naomi's neighbors bestow the child's name instead of his natural parents. 2 Further, the two-fold occurrence of the phrase qP sm ("to call a n a m e " ) creates the odd impression that the women actually name the newborn twiceand with a different name in each instance. In fact, the first " n a m e " sounds more like an exclamation than a proper name ( " A son is born to Naomi!"). Finally, contrary to what one would expect, there is no apparent relationship of either sound or sense between that first " n a m e " and the second (Obed). In response, this article proposes a previously unnoticed solution to the problems which focuses on the first " n a m e " (yullad-bn lenocm). The weaknesses of alternative explanations favorably commends its serious consideration. For example, most scholars have sought to solve the verse's difficulties through the delicate surgery of textual emendation. 3 Though suggestive in itself, that approach faces formidable contrary evidence. The ancient versions themselves fail to offer the suggested emendations substantial support. 4 Thus,

1 T h e author gratefully acknowledges his debt to M r Paul Wegner, Ph D candidate of King's College, London, for comments concerning an earlier draft of this article 2 T h e only biblical parallel is the foiled attempt of neighbors to n a m e J o h n the Baptist (Luke 59-63), cf G e n iv 25-6, xxxv 18, J u d g xin 24, etc 3 For details, see J o u o n , Ruth (Rome, 1953), 95, W Rudolph, Das Buch Ruth Das Hohe Lied Die Klagelieder (Gtersloh, 1962), pp 69-70, E W u r t h w e m , Die fnf Megilloth (Tubingen, 1969 2 ), 20, G Gerleman, Ruth Das Hohelied (Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1965), pp 35-6 4 Note that the BHS editor lists no textual variants for the verse But for the phrase wattiqre^n sm in 17a, cf Synac ( " s a i d " ) , Vulgate ( " w e r e offering con gratulations"), Old Latin ("were rejoicing t o g e t h e r " )

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there is no external evidence that the text was ever read along the lines proposed. Indeed, the lack of significant versional variants suggests that the M T apparently posed no problem for ancient translators. That the present text needs no emendation for clarity is an implication of the solution to be argued below. The proposal of O. Eissfeldt has proved to be more influential. 5 By comparing the form of v. 17 with other Old Testament examples of namegiving, he argued that 17a narrated the actual naming but that the word sm had somehow replaced the newborn son's original name in the M T . He thus theorized that the original name was Ben-no c am, a name easily related to the statement which follows ( " A son is born to Naomi!"). As for the second naming (v 17b), Eissfeldt assumed it to be redundant since one such naming would suffice to complete the narrative. He concluded that the entire half verse was a later addition appended artificially to link David with the story's noble events. In his view, therefore, the entire narrative originally had nothing at all to do with David. Though Eissfeldt later retracted his proposal, 6 others still cite its original form as a starting point for their own work. 7 Recent research has confirmed the rightness of Eissfeldt's retraction by setting aside some of the problems which motivated his original view. First, a recent consensus favors a literary explanation for the fact that the women neighbors name the child. Correspondences between this scene (iv 14-17) and that of Naomi's arrival (i 19-21) suggest that the former thematically resolves the issues raised by the latter. Hence, the lack of known cultural precedent notwithstanding, for the women to give the name is now seen to be literarily appropriate: as they greeted Naomi's bitter return (i 19b), so they celebrate her remarkable reversal of fortune (iv 14). 8

Einleitung in das Alte Testament (Tubingen, 1964 3 ), pp 648-9, E tr The Old Testament An Introduction (Oxford, 1965), pp 479-80 6 Wahrheit und Dichtung in der Ruth-Erzhlung (Berlin, 1965), pp 24-6 7 Wurthwein, 2, J Gray, Joshua, Judges, Ruth (2nd edn, G r a n d Rapids and London, 1986), pp 374-5, 403 Without citing Eissfeldt, the same view is followed by A Phillips, " T h e Book of R u t h D e c e p t i o n and S h a m e " , JJS 37 (1986), 2 8 S Bertman, "Symmetrical Design in the Book of R u t h " , y J 5 L 84 (1965), 166, D F R a u b e r , " L i t e r a r y Values in the Bible T h e Book of Ruth", JBL 89 (1970), p p 34-5, E F Campbell, Ruth (Garden City, 1975), pp 1668 (cf 166 "like a Greek c h o r u s " ) , T n b l e , God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality (Philadelphia, 1978), pp 193-5, A Berlin, Poetics and the Interpretation of Biblical Narrative (Sheffield, 1983), 86

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Further, recent form critical research has shown that the typical naming formula is qra* sm (with attached suffix) + proper name. 9 Thus, against Eissfeldt's still popular view, it is 17b, not 17a, which reports the child's naming. Hence, to resolve the verse's dif ficulties by the deletion of 17b would totally deprive the narrative of any instance of name-givingsomething entirely out of keeping with Hebrew birth narratives (cf. Gen. xxi 3, xxix 32-5; 1 Sam. i 10 20; etc.). Further, if 17a does not report the giving of a name per se, its precise rendering and interpretative significance still await explanation. In sum, of the original problems noted by scholars, only the puzzles of 17a remain to be solved. It is here that the phrase yullad-bn lenocmt suggests a solution. It occurs here in direct address and bears striking linguistic resemblance to two other texts which also appear in the context of direct address: n Ruth iv 17 J e r xx 15 Isa. ix 5 yullad yullad yullad ben feno^m lek lnu

bn zkr

yeled

As a core, all have yullad Ie + a suffix or proper name -- bn or yeled Though all three consist of spoken statements, only the first two have l^mr as an introduction. In Isa. ix, the prophet's desire for an emphatic play on the word yullad probably explains the use of yeled instead o bn in the emphatic initial position. 12 That the latter occurs in the parallel line confirms that yeled is the semantic equivalent of bn in this context. The addition of zkr in J e r . xx
9 H Witzenrath, Das Buch Rut (Munich, 1975), pp 21-6, C J Labuschagne, ''qry', THAT\\ col 671, J M Sasson, Ruth A New Translation with Philological Commentary and a Formalist-Folklorist Interpretation (Baltimore and London, 1979), pp 164-5, 176 10 For the formal differences between the typical naming formula and qr^ l sm l^mr, see Eissfeldt, Einleitung, pp 648-9, E tr 479 11 In normal narrative discourse (but not direct address), cf Ie + proper n a m e yullad hnlhanm (Gen iv 26, 25, 1 C h r 19), subject yullad Ie + proper n a m e (Gen vi 1, 2 Sam xxi 20) 12 Wildberger, Jesaja 1-12 (Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1972), 364 Linguistically, yullad is a qal internal passive, so F I Andersen, "Passive and Ergative in H e b r e w " , in H Goedicke (ed ), Near Eastern Studies in Honor of W F Albright (Baltimore, 1971), pp 8-12 For the U g a n t i c equivalent, see D T s u m u r a , " T h e Verba Primae Waw, W L D , in U g a n t i c " , UF 11 (1979), pp 779-82

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probably serves a similar rhetorical purpose 13 As a preliminary conclusion, one may suggest that the phrase in question is formulaic. Examination of the three contexts both supports that conclusion and provides further illumination The verse in Jeremiah is particularly instructive The setting is the prophet's cursing of the day of his birth. At length he curses the unknown man who notified Jeremiah's father that a son had just been born to him (Jer. xx 1517). 14 The text assumes that the father waited nearby at an unspecified location to receive the joyous news Jeremiah quotes the phrase under discussion as the very words which the man used Given the phrase's surrounding context, the suggestion that it constitutes a common birth announcement formula seems likely (Holladay, p. 564). If so, it provides a glimpse of an ancient Israelite custom, the notification of a father concerning a birth. (The phrase hra gber in J o b in 3 may also reflect this practice ) Apparently, fathers awaited word while the mothers gave birth to the children elsewhere, presumably nearby. It was the custom for someone formally to inform the waiting father of the child's birth. There is reason to believe that the practice was, in fact, widespread in the ancient Near East. The notification of an expectant father was a common constituent of ancient tales narrating births. 15 Presumably, such stories reflect the cultural practices of the societies in which they arose. By contrast, the verse in Isaiah teems with thorny interpretative problems which lie outside the scope of this article. Interpreters disagree whether the phrase under discussion announces (whether contemporary or future) the birth or enthronement of a great Davidic king-to-be. 16 While the issue cannot be debated here, in
Assuming the standard formula to end with bn, W L Holladay reads zkr as head of the next line, Jeremiah 1 (Philadelphia, 1986), 564 14 For the function of the lament withm the book, see R Carroll, Jeremiah (London, 1986), pp 402-3 Its relationship to J o b ' s similar curse (Job in) is thoroughly assessed by W M c K a n e , Jeremiah I (Edinburgh, 1986), pp 482-6 15 See the chart of traditional motifs provided at the end of D Irvm, Mythanon The Comparison of Tales from the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East (NeukirchenVluyn, 1978) For a U g a n t i c example, see CTA 17 n 14 in J C L Gibson, Canaanite Myths and Legends (Edinburgh, 1977), 105 I am indebted to my friend, D r David T s u m u r a , for this reference 16 A m o n g those who understand the phrase as a birth announcement are Wildberger, 379, S Mowmckel, He That Cometh (E tr , Oxford and New York, 1956), 108, J Coppens, " L e roi idal d'Is , I X , 5-6 et X I , 1-5, est-il une figure
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my view several observations undermine the suggested connection with enthronement. First, unlike enthronement texts (2 Sam. vii 14; Ps. ii 7), the speaker here is not Yahweh himself but someone else. 17 For present purposes, the question of the person's identity (e.g. Isaiah, a royal messenger, etc.) may rightly be left out of consideration. The point is that Isa. ix 5a is not an oracle of Yahweh in the first person as are the texts usually cited for comparison. 18 Second, the audience is not the king himself as in 2 Sam. vii and Ps. ii 7 but the larger community (lnu, " u s " ) . Again, for present purposes it matters not whether the audience is the northern kingdom, J u d a h , or a united Israel. Also it is of no importance here whether a present or future community is meant. The point is that the addressee is a corporate body not an individual king. Third, as Wildberger has noted, the language of sonship here differs significantly from that of the adoption passages: "Gewiss kann der Knig als Sohn Jahwes, aber nicht als Sohn schlechthin bezeichnet werden. Nie wird er yeled 'Kind' oder gar 'Kind Jahwes' genannt." 1 9 In sum, it is doubtful that the phrase in Isa. ix 5a derives from the language of enthronement. Thus, one may accept the language
messianique'*", in A la Rencontre de Dieu Mmorial A Gelin (Le Puy, 1961), pp 99101, J Oswalt, Isaiah Chapters 1-39 (Grand Rapids, 1986), pp 241-7, H Barth, Die Jesaja-Worte in der Josiazeit Israel und Assur als Thema einer produktiven Neuinterpretation der Jesajauberlieferung (Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1977), 168 (with additional bibliography) Those who read it as a reference to enthronement include A Alt, "Jesaja 8, 23-9, 6 Befreiungsnacht u n d K r o n u n g s t a g " , Kleine Schriften zur Geschichte des Volkes Israel II (Munich, 1953), pp 216-18, O Kaiser, Das Buch des Propheten Jesaja Kapitel 1-12 (Gottingen, 1981 5 ), E tr Isaiah 1-12 (London and Philadelphia, 1983 2 ), pp 210-12, R E Clements, Isaiah 1 -39 (Grand Rapids and London, 1980), 107, J Vermeylen, Du Prophte Isaie a l'apocalyptique Isaie IXXXV, miroir d'un demi-millnaire d'exprience religieuse en Israel I ( P a n s , 1977), pp 234-6 (with additional bibliography) 17 T w o other passages often cited in this connection may rightly remain out of consideration T h e text of Ps ex 3 is uncertain and, hence, of uncertain value Its similarity to Ps n 7 may have influenced the L X X reading yHidtik, so L C Allen, Psalms 101-150 (Waco, 1983), 8 1 , against - J Kraus, Psalmen II (Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1978 5 ), pp 927, 933 Ps exxxn 11-12, 17-18 not only lacks the birth motif but also treats the continuation and glory of the Davidic dynasty not its enthronement 18 E g " I will be his father, and he shall be my s o n " (2 Sam vu 14), " Y o u are my son, today I have begotten y o u " (Ps n 7) 19 377 For additional arguments, see Barth, pp 167-8, contrast Vermeylen, p p 234-6 Despite the appeal to 1 Kgs x m 2, I a m unconvinced that here bn means " d y n a s t y " and yeled "offspring", against Lescow, " D a s Geburtsmotiv in den messiamschen Weissagungen", AW 19 (1967), pp 184-5

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at face value as the announcement of a birth. T h e fact that the child's naming immediately follows the announcement (v 5b) lends further credence to this assumption, for in Hebrew custom the 20 bestowal of a child's name typically happened just after its birth. This point remains valid however one views the origin and nature of the list of names which follows. T h e announcement conveys joyful news meant to encourage its recipients. If so, the function of the phrase in Isa. ix 5a compares favorably with that of J e r . xx: it announces the birth of a son to an expectant party waiting nearby, in this case the larger community. Similarities of language and function strongly suggest that the phrase under discussion is a birth announcement formula. Since the recipient of news in Isa. ix is not the child's father but the larger populace, however, that text may represent the extension of the private custom into the public realm. T h e implications for Ruth iv 17a may now be drawn. As with J e r . xx and Isa. ix, the formula's use in Ruth iv immediately follows a birth whose advent is a cause for great joy. Further, from indirect evidence one infers that the setting is a locale separate from the site of the birth. 2 1 O n the other hand, Ruth iv differs from the two parallel texts in two significant respects. First, the formula is not directly addressed to the recipient of the news, in this case Naomi. Instead, it is a general remark actually not directed at anyone in particular. Second, the function of the announcement formula here is not to notify the party awaiting the news. In this case, Naomi first learned of the birth from the joyous exclamation of praise with which the women open the scene (v 14) The for mula, by contrast, comes at the conclusion of the episode just after the narrator has explained Naomi's relationship to Obed (v 16). 2 2 It offers the last words uttered by the story's characters I suggest that its function is a literary one, namely, climactically to
G e n xxix 31-5, xxx 6-24, J u d g xin 24, 1 Sam 20 It is also possible that the n a m i n g refers to the act of enthronement subsequent to the birth, so Wildberger, pp 376-7, Barth, 168 In their view, 5aoc refers to a birth announcement, 5ab to enthronement 21 R u t h lived with Naomi after their arrival from M o a b (Ruth n 23, m 18) R u t h iv 11 ( " t h e woman coming to your h o u s e " ) and iv 13 ("Boaz took R u t h " ) imply, however, that R u t h moved to Boaz's house when they married (cf Gen ii 24) Presumably, the child was born there Note, further, that the two parents are noticeably absent from the closing scene (vv 14-17) 22 For a discussion of this relationship and its implications for understanding the entire scene, see R L H u b b a r d , The Book of Ruth (Grand Rapids, forthcoming), ad loc
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underscore the significance of the scene just reported, especially v. 16: the childless Naomi indeed has a son! It, thus, forms a thematic inclusio around Naomi's bitter period of childlessness in Bethlehem. As the women's sad question inaugurated it (i 19b), so their joyous statement concluded it. The woman who despaired of ever having a son now has one. The key theme of Naomi's lack of an heir has come to an end. Once shunted aside as mockery in favor of M a r a ("Bitter"), the name Naomi ("Pleasant") now has regained its appropriateness as a description of her fate (cf. i 20-1). In sum, here the author placed a typical birth announcement formula as a climactic editorial comment on the story's closing scene. Finally, consideration may now shift to the rendering of the prefatory formula qr* lesm. As noted above, recent research has shown it not to be a formula of naming. Here it introduces the declaration which, it was argued above, is a birth announcement formula. Since the Old Testament offers no comparable example of qr Ie + suffix sm le*mr, the phrase may in fact be the author's own coinage. 23 Hence, the best approach is to derive its meaning from its usage in the present context and from comparable expressions used by the author elsewhere in the book. In fact, apart from v. 17b, the author has used qr* sm once in the immediate context and once in the preceding context. Among the crowd's good wishes (v. 11), they hope that Boaz may "be/become famous" in Bethlehem through the children that Ruth may bear him. 2 4 With the same phrase stated passively (v. 14), Naomi's friends wish the same future for the newborn child: " M a y your name be famous in Israel." 2 5 In both instances, qr*sm has the sense " t o be/become famous" (cf. sm as "fame, renown" in Gen. xii 2; 2 Sam. vii 9; Ezek. xvi 14, 15). Consequently, one might expect the phrase in question in v. 17a to bear a similar meaning. Unfortunately, that sense does not quite suit the context, for a rendering " t h e women
23 2 Sam. iv 21 offers the closest formal parallel. However, it clearly reports an actual naming (e.g., it has the proper name Ichabod where R u t h iv 17a simply has sm). 24 Wrthwein, p. 20; M . Haller, Die fnf Megillot (Tbingen, 1940), p. 16; K B L , p . 983; cf. Gerleman, p . 34 ( " h a v e a good r e p u t a t i o n " ) ; Sasson, p . 103; contrast C. J . Labuschagne, " T h e C r u x in R u t h 4 , 1 1 , " AW 19 (1967), p. 366 ( " a c t as name-giver"). 25 Gerleman, p . 34; Labuschagne, THAT I I , col. 671. For a critique of the rendering " b e celebrated" (so Rudolph, p . 69; Campbell, pp. 163-4), see Sasson, p. 176.

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became famous to him saying" hardly serves as an appropriate introduction to their declaration about the child. Thus, one must conclude that the phrase does not have exactly the same sense here as in vv 11 and 14. Accordingly, its significance must be suggested from consideration of the immediate context itself. Several observations point the way. As noted already, the expression wattiqre^n l sm introduces the climactic declaration of the women, a statement using a birth announcement formula. Since a verbal statement follows, the possibility presents itself that qr* here has its well-attested sense " t o call out, declare, proclaim" (Exod. xxxiii 19, xxxiv 6; Lev. xxiii 21, 1 Kgs xxi 12, 2 Kgs xxiii 16; Esth. vi 9). Further, if sm refers to the content spoken, the statement which follows ("A son is born to Naomi!") must encapsulate it. Now it is the son who is the subject, both grammatical and thematic, of the declaration. It is the son who not only redeems Naomi's destiny as "Pleasant" rather than " B i t t e r " (i 20-1) but also preserves the name of the dead (iv 5, 10), the problem with which the story has concerned itself. The statement thus articulates the significance of the child as the solution to the story's main problem. Hence, sm would seem to mean something like "importance, significance". Granted, such a rendering lacks attestation elsewhere in the O T and semantically stretches the word beyond the range of meaning normally attributed to it. On the other hand, in my view the distance between the nuance "reputation, renown" already found in the context and "significance, importance" is not so great as to exclude it from consideration. In sum, while certainty eludes us, I propose that the phrase qr* Ie sm in iv 17a be rendered " t o proclaim his significance" 26 As an introduction to the women's closing comment, the expression implicitly anticipates the following declaration. What made this newborn child important was that, under God's providential hand, the old widow Naomi, the one who bitterly despaired of having an heir at all (i 20-1), now held one in her own hands

Tentatively, Gray, 402, cf Sasson, 158 ("establish his r e p u t a t i o n " ) , Bnchto, " K m , Cult, Land, and AfterlifeA Biblical C o m p l e x " , HUCA 44 (1973), pp 21-2 ( " h a v e a designation"), A Cundall and L Morris, Judges and Ruth (Downers Grove, 1968), 314 ( " p r o c l a i m " ) , Campbell, 165 ("rejoice"), A Ehrlich, Randglossen zur hebrischen Bibel 1 (Leipzig, 1914, reprinted Hildesheim, 1968), 29 ("speak after their fashion")

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T h e unusual sentence structure which employs the indirect object lo in effect as the possessive suffix o sm requires an explanation. O n e might object that, were the view proposed here true, the writer probably would have coined qr * sem l*mr. A glance at the naming formula in v. 17b (qr* sem), however, suggests a likely solution. Through the circumlocution of v. 17a, the writer probably aimed subtly to distinguish it from a typical naming formula so as not to confuse the reader. The writer presumed that his audience would understand the subtlety particularly when the rhetorical effect of the birth announcement formula hit home. In sum, of the problems observed in Ruth iv 17, only those of v. 17a remain unsolved. This article has argued that Ruth iv 17a consists of an unattested yet linguistically feasible expression of the author's own coinage qr* sm ("to proclaim significance") and a birth announcement formula used as a climactic comment on the book's closing scene.

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