Nguyen 1 Paul M.

Nguyen Intro to Sacred Scripture, Grover May 12, 2012 Ruth: Hessed and Salvation The Book of Ruth depicts the pre-Davidic story of a family of four from Bethlehem: Elimelech and his wife Naomi, with their sons Mahlon and Chilion. They move to Moab following a famine in their own country, and, though the sons marry there, the three men of the family die, leaving three widows, two of whom, Naomi and her daughter Ruth, return to Bethlehem seeking kinsmen of Elimelech to remarry and sustain the family. The book tells the story of how Ruth eventually marries a distant kinsman and becomes the great-grandmother of King David. According to Nielsen, Ruth's four chapters are divided into three sub-sections each, and the chapters embody a chiastic structure overall (though the connected themes within each chapter are not in strict inversion). 1 Based on the Davidic references and the knowledge of Rachel and Leah (wives of Jacob), scholars place the writing of this story between Solomon and Micah (961701 BC).2 For this analysis, we focus on the bulk of the third chapter: Ruth's execution of Naomi's plan for Ruth's re-marriage (3:615), stressing the elements of covenant loyalty (hessed) and the illustration of the growing recognition of Ruth as a fully-identified and validated person. It is important to keep in mind one further overarching theme of the book: that of the transition from the opening deaths of the husbands and famine, to the birth of Ruth's son, conceived at harvest time, who becomes the grandfather of David. This theme is both made possible by hessed and evidenced in Ruth's rising dignity. Much modern scholarship is entangled in debates concerning how much of Ruth's narrative actually consists of euphemisms for sexual intercourse and a

1 Kirsten Nielsen, Ruth (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1997), pp. 23. 2 Michael W. Duggan, The Consuming Fire (Huntington: Our Sunday Visitor, 2010), p. 520.

Nguyen 2 covert seduction that secures the posterity of Elimelech's name; we will point out consensus where it may be established, but otherwise avoid the inconclusive debate. Here is our text, taken from the NRSV:
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So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had

instructed her. 7 When Boaz had eaten and drunk, and he was in a contented mood, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came stealthily and uncovered his feet, and lay down. 8 At midnight the man was startled, and turned over, and there, lying at his feet, was a woman! 9 He said, Who are you? And she answered, I am Ruth, your servant; spread your cloak over your servant, for you are next-of-kin. 10 He said, May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter; this last instance of your loyalty is better than the first; you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not be afraid, I will do for you all that you ask, for all the assembly of my people know that you are a worthy woman. But now, though it is true that I am a near kinsman, there is another kinsman more closely related than I. 13 Remain this night, and in the morning, if he will act as nextof-kin for you, good; let him do it. If he is not willing to act as next-of-kin for you, then, as the LORD lives, I will act as next-of-kin for you. Lie down until the morning. 14 So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before one person could recognize another; for he said, It must not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor. 15 Then he said, Bring the cloak you are wearing and hold it out. So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley, and put it on her back; then he went into the city. Let us first turn to the theme of hessed, or covenant loyalty, which Ruth exhibits consistent with the prophets and the historical books. Ruth's conviction to remain with Naomi is praised by Boaz, especially when there was no real obligation to her mother-in-law and she could easily have returned, as her sister did, to her own family, but chose to honor her marriage. 3 Hubbard notes that the Hebrew expressions that open this portion of the narrative indicate a very
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3 Duggan, The Consuming Fire, pp. 52122

Nguyen 3 full compliance with the plan of Naomi, and that this is a sure expression of hessed.4 Boaz also recognizes that rather than court the young men working in his fields, she sought a marriage within her husband's family, again honoring the terms of the covenant and the Levirate marriage custom.5 Hubbard adds that Ruth's actions show herself worthy of full membership in Israel. 6 This loyalty also leads to Ruth's rise in stature to a worthy woman, as Boaz acknowledges at the threshing floor (3:11).7 This theme of the progressive acknowledgment of Ruth's dignity is the second point we explore. Ruth is referred to by Naomi (1:11; 2:2, 22; 3:1, 16, 18) and Boaz (2:8; 3:10) as my daughter, but by those in Bethlehem only as the young woman (2:5, 4:12). It would seem customary that the family would refer to her with the specific familial relation and those outside with the simple observation that she (woman) was young. However, the spectrum from young woman to my daughter to Boaz's climactic appraisal of Ruth as worthy woman does become significant. Hubbard points out that Boaz's initial inquiry (2:5) was of ownership, and his inquiry at the threshing floor is one of personal identity: Who are you? (3:9).8 Ruth then reciprocates by answering both without her ethnic designation (Moabitess) and in familiar form, which are employed earlier in the book. This progression is further evidence of the increasing acknowledgement of Ruth's dignity. Finally, adds Hubbard, Ruth's divulsion of her name as well as her use of maidservant both give him power over her and assert her worthiness for marriage, which are then acknowledged by Boaz as he spreads the corner of his garment over her, a symbol both of protection and intimacy. 9 Following upon Ruth's rise to full stature is the reality of the redemption to follow. The phrase next-of-kin (3:9) may also be translated or understood as kinsman-redeemer,
4 5 6 7 8 9 Robert L. Hubbard, Jr., The Book of Ruth (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1988), p. 206. John Craghan, Old Testament Message (Delaware: Michael Glazier, 1982), p. 219. Hubbard, The Book of Ruth, p. 213. Duggan, The Consuming Fire, p. 522. Hubbard, The Book of Ruth, p. 211. Ibid., p. 21112.

Nguyen 4 expressing the eligibility of that man to take his brother's widow and property and raise children as heirs for his brother, sacrificing his own posterity and thus redeeming his brother. 10 The theme of redemption is magnified as we read of Ruth's descendents giving way to the Davidic line (4:17), into which, ultimately, Jesus will be born (Mt 1:516). The themes of death giving way to birth and the personal dignity of Ruth, taken together, offer grounds for understanding the redemption of God's people that will come in the millennium to follow. We can see that keeping the command of the LORD and the terms of His covenant (Dt 5:1) finds favor with the LORD, regardless of the difficulty of the circumstances (e.g. famine in the land and the death of husbands: Ruth 1:1, 5). We also see that through Ruth's loyalty, her dignity was affirmed and new life arose from the fertility of her righteousness; eventually, eternal life for all the world! So too, for we who are called to be faithful to God's call to holiness and the new covenant in Christ's blood, our death to sin can give way by grace to eternal life for us and those who are inspired by our example.

10 Hubbard, The Book of Ruth, p. 212.

Nguyen 5 Bibliography Craghan, John. Old Testament Message: a Biblical-Theological Commentary. Delaware: Michael Glazier, 1982. Duggan, Michael W. The Consuming Fire: A Christian Guide to the Old Testament. Huntington: Our Sunday Visitor, 2010. Hubbard, Robert L, Jr. The Book of Ruth. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1988. Nielsen, Kirsten. Ruth, The Old Testament Library. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1997.