Book of Ruth The Book of Ruth (Hebrew: , Ashkenazi pronunciation: [mls rus], Megilath Ruth, "the Scroll of Ruth",

, one of the Five Megillot) is a book of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. In the Jewish canon it is included in the third division, or the Writings (Ketuvim); in the Christian canon it is treated as a history book and placed between Judges and 1 Samuel.[1] It is named after its central figure, Ruth the Moabitess, the great-grandmother of David, and, according to the Gospel of Matthew, an ancestress of Jesus. The book tells of Ruth's accepting the God of the Israelites as her God and the Israelite people as her own. In Ruth 1:16 and 17 Ruth tells Naomi, her Israelite mother in law, "Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me." The book is held in esteem by Jews who fall under the category ofJews-by-choice, as is evidenced by the considerable presence of Boaz in rabbinic literature. As well, the "Book of Ruth" functions liturgically, being read during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot("Weeks").[2] The book is traditionally ascribed to the prophet Samuel, but does not name its author.[3] A date during the monarchy is suggested by the book's interest in the ancestry of David, but Ruth's identity as a non-Israelite and the stress on the need for an inclusive attitude towards foreigners suggests an origin in the fifth century BCE, when intermarriage had become controversial (as seen in Ezra 9:1 andNehemiah 13:1).[4] Structure[edit] The book is structured in four chapters:[5] Act 1: Prologue and Problem: Death and Emptiness (1:122) Act 3: Naomi Sends Ruth to Boaz on the Threshing Floor (3:118) Scene 1: Setting the scene (1:15) Scene 1: Naomi Reveals Her Plan (3:15) Scene 2: Naomi returns home (1:618) Scene 2: Ruth at the threshing-floor of Boaz (3:615) Scene 3: Arrival of Naomi and Ruth in Bethlehem (1:1922) Scene 3: Ruth reports to Naomi (3:1618) Act 2: Ruth Meets Boaz, Naomi's Relative, on the Harvest Field Act 4: Resolution and Epilogue: Life and Fullness (4:1 22) (2:123) Scene 1: Boaz with the men at the gate (4:112) Scene 1: Ruth in the field of Boaz (2:117) Scene 2: A son is born to Naomi (4:1317) Genealogical appendix (4:1822) Scene 2: Ruth reports to Naomi (2:1823) Summary[edit] During the time of the Judges when there was a famine, an Israelite family fromBethlehem Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their sons Mahlon and Chilion emigrated to the nearby country of Moab. Elimelech died, and the sons married two Moabite women: Mahlon married Ruth and Chilion married Orpah. The two sons of Naomi then died also. After about ten years (1:4) in Moab, Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem. She told her daughters-in-law to return to their own mothers, and remarry. Orpah reluctantly left; however, Ruth said, "Intreat me not to leave thee, [or] to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people [shall be] my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, [if ought] but death part thee and me." (Ruth 1:1617 KJV) The two women returned to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest, and in order to support her mother-in-law and herself, Ruth went to the fields toglean. As it happened, the field she went to belonged to a man named Boaz, who was kind to her because he had heard of her loyalty to her mother-in-law. Ruth told Naomi of Boaz's kindness, and she gleaned in his field through the remainder of barley and wheat harvest. Boaz was a close relative of Naomi's husband's family. He was therefore obliged by the Levirate law to marry Mahlon's widow, Ruth, in order to carry on his family's inheritance. Naomi sent Ruth to the threshing floor at night and told her to go where he slept, and "uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do." (3:4) Ruth did so. At midnight Boaz was afraid and turned to see that a woman lay at his feet. When asked who she was, she replied: "I [am] Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou [art] a near kinsman." (3:9) Boaz blessed her and agreed to do all that is required, and he noted that, "all the city of my people doth know that thou [art] a virtuous woman." (3:11) He then acknowledged that he was a close relative, but that there was one who was closer, so he deferred to spread his cloak over her at that time, and she remained in submission at his feet until she returned into the city in the morning. Early that day, Boaz discussed the issue with the other male relative, Ploni Almoni ("so-and-so"), before the town elders. The other male relative was unwilling to jeopardize the inheritance of his own estate by marrying Ruth, and so relinquished his right of redemption, thus allowing Boaz to marry Ruth. They transferred the property and redeemed it by the nearer kinsman taking off his shoe and handing it over to Boaz. (Ruth 4:7 18) Boaz and Ruth were married and had a son named Obed: who is "the father of Jesse, the father of David." (4:13 17) Composition[edit] The book is traditionally ascribed to the prophet Samuel, but that "cannot be correct" in Allen's view,[6] and Rowell notes there is some consensus that it began as an oral tale[7] there has even been speculation that the author might have been a woman. [8] It has been placed anywhere between the age of the Judges to the Hellenistic period, but a substantial number of scholars date it to the Persian period (6th 4th centuries BC).[8] The final genealogy linking Ruth to David is believed to be a post-exilic Priestly addition, that adds nothing to the plot; nevertheless, it is carefully crafted and integrates the book into the history of Israel that runs from Genesis to Kings. [9]

Hebrew literature, the body of written works produced in the Hebrew language and distinct from Jewish literature, which also exists in other languages. Literature in Hebrew has been produced uninterruptedly from the early 12th century bc, and certain excavated tablets may indicate a literature of even greater antiquity. From 1200 bc to c.ad 200, Hebrew was a spoken language in Palestine, first as biblical Hebrew, then as Mishnaic Hebrew, a later dialect that does not derive directly from the biblical dialect and one that gained literary status as the Pharisees began to employ it in their teaching in the 2nd centurybc. It was not revived as a spoken language until the late 19th century, and in the 20th century it was adopted as the official language of the new State of Israel. The latter event gave impetus to a growing movement in Hebrew literature centred in Israel. Hebrew literature is not synonymous with Jewish literature. Some Hebrew writing was produced by the Samaritans and in the 17th century by Protestant enthusiasts. Jews also produced important literatures in Greek, Aramaic, Arabic, Judeo-Spanish (Ladino), Yiddish, and a number of other languages. Apart from the Aramaic writings, however, such ... (200 of 5,514 words