Ruth and Naomi: Foremothers of David
2007; Volume: 35; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0792-3910
Autores Tópico(s)Biblical Studies and Interpretation
ResumoNo Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted into the congregation of the Lord; none of their descendants, even in the tenth generation, shall ever be admitted into the congregation of the Lord ... (Deut. 23:4). God is a vivid though shadowy presence in this theologically-oriented love story (Ruth 1:6,17; 4:13). Ruth's story is a reversal of those of Esther, Joseph and Daniel; they were Israelites who succeeded in a foreign land; Ruth was a foreigner who succeeded in the land of Israel. Moreover, she was a Moabite, upon whom the ban in Deuteronomy 23:4 should have fallen. Indeed, in the first chapters of the Book of Ruth, the author emphasizes Ruth the Moabitess (1:22, 2:2) And yet, Yose ben Kosma and Eliezer ben Yosef declare that the major purpose of the Book of Ruth is to delineate the ancestral line of King David (Zohar Hadash). How, then, did it happen that her success reached so far into the future of the Israelites to King David? The Torah specifically requires equality for the stranger who dwells among the Israelites, as is noted 18 times in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Ruth, a foreigner and a Moabite, has the right to glean in the fields of Judah. When she comes to Bethlehem with Naomi, the two lone women are apparently in need, for Ruth finds it necessary to go into other peoples' fields to gather produce set aside for the poor. She tells Naomi: 'I am going into the field to glean among ears of corn behind someone who may show me kindness' (2:2). Though she refers only to gleaning, she may have had in mind finding a husband who would provide for them. By providential chance, she goes to a field belonging to Boaz, not yet knowing that he is a kinsman of her late Israelite father-in-law. Boaz, aware of Ruth's relationship and warmth to Naomi, extends hesed to her, giving her hospitality and protection (2:2-16). Only thereafter does Naomi tell Ruth that Boaz is a kinsman and the go'el [redeemer] of the family land. That Ruth came to the field of Boaz rather than to any other man's property can be attributed to Divine strategy--as though He Who promulgated the law of Deuteronomy 23:4 would make an exception to it. Naomi, intent on securing a happy future for Ruth, devises her own strategy to make the match with Boaz, an older man but apparently without a wife. The scene now is set at the end of the barley harvest, when master and workers spend the night on the threshing-floor. Her instructions, woman to woman, are quite detailed: 'Wash and anoint yourself, put on your finest clothes, and go down to the threshing floor. Do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he lies down and go over and uncover his feet and lie down and [perhaps with a slight touch of prophecy, she adds] he will tell you what to do' (3:3-4). (1) When Boaz awakes in the dark of the night and finds her there, he asks, 'Who are you? She replies, 'I am Ruth your servant.' Then, without waiting for him to tell her what to do, she adds, 'Spread your cloak over your servant for you are a redeemer' (v. 9). Boaz, refraining from taking advantage of her, recognizes her as an eshet hayil [virtuous woman] (v. 11), the very term her descendant Solomon was to use in Proverbs 31:10. Boaz is ready to take on the role of go'el, but he must first deal with another man who is closer kin to Naomi's husband Elimelech. This unnamed individual had a prior right both to redeem the property and perhaps to marry the widow. The very next morning, Boaz waits in the plaza by the city gate for him to come by, and in the presence of witnesses asks if he is willing to purchase Elimelech's land and thereby keep it in the family line (see Lev. 25:27). The man agrees to purchase the property. Then Boaz raises the separate issue of levirate marriage to the widow as part of the obligation of the go'el (see Deut. …
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