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The Expositor's Bible: Judges and Ruth
This book has been considered important throughout the human history, and so that this work is never forgotten we have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format for present and future generations. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed. These books are not made of scanned copies and hence the text is clear and readable.
- GenresNonfiction
252 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1900
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April 8, 2015
Where you will go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
Ruth is perhaps the sweetest story of the Bible, not merely because it’s short and to the point, but because it offers an authenticity unclouded by political agenda. Well, mostly. The story’s composition was during the second temple period (~500-70 BCE) where there was a heavy debate around the question if Jews could marry Gentiles. The story of Ruth was composed to argue in favor of ‘yes they can, if they’re good people,’ and was inserted after Judges but before Samuel. Ironically the Hebrew Bible does not place it there, as the cannon was then nearing crystallization, but those supple Christians did. Thus we have a pleasant narrative break before the more pedestrian monarchy problem continues.
Anyway, Ruth is a good Moabite girl who marries a Hebrew man. Unfortunately he dies, as does her father-in-law AND brother-in-law. So she’s back at square one, but without a child or her virginity. Not a good place to be. Her mother in law, Naomi, sends her packing back to her family, but Ruth pledges to stay with her through thick and thin. They head to Bethlehem where a rich distant relative, Boaz, finds favor with Ruth and marries her. They live happily ever after, and she becomes the great-great-grandmother of King David or something.
I like this story because of its unpretentiousness. There’s no villain, or miracles, or didactic morals. It’s simply someone being a good person through hard times, particularly as an oppressed woman. And wouldn’t you know it, things work out for them in the end. It doesn’t carry the profundity of Job or the wisdom of Proverbs, but it’s a simple fable for simple folk that had a relevant political message for the Jews. And this is one message I can rally behind, “clear and unambiguous: hesed, kindness and loyalty, are more important than ethnicity.”
Ruth is perhaps the sweetest story of the Bible, not merely because it’s short and to the point, but because it offers an authenticity unclouded by political agenda. Well, mostly. The story’s composition was during the second temple period (~500-70 BCE) where there was a heavy debate around the question if Jews could marry Gentiles. The story of Ruth was composed to argue in favor of ‘yes they can, if they’re good people,’ and was inserted after Judges but before Samuel. Ironically the Hebrew Bible does not place it there, as the cannon was then nearing crystallization, but those supple Christians did. Thus we have a pleasant narrative break before the more pedestrian monarchy problem continues.
Anyway, Ruth is a good Moabite girl who marries a Hebrew man. Unfortunately he dies, as does her father-in-law AND brother-in-law. So she’s back at square one, but without a child or her virginity. Not a good place to be. Her mother in law, Naomi, sends her packing back to her family, but Ruth pledges to stay with her through thick and thin. They head to Bethlehem where a rich distant relative, Boaz, finds favor with Ruth and marries her. They live happily ever after, and she becomes the great-great-grandmother of King David or something.
I like this story because of its unpretentiousness. There’s no villain, or miracles, or didactic morals. It’s simply someone being a good person through hard times, particularly as an oppressed woman. And wouldn’t you know it, things work out for them in the end. It doesn’t carry the profundity of Job or the wisdom of Proverbs, but it’s a simple fable for simple folk that had a relevant political message for the Jews. And this is one message I can rally behind, “clear and unambiguous: hesed, kindness and loyalty, are more important than ethnicity.”
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review