The three women set out on the road to Judah (Ruth 1:7). They probably have not gone very far—perhaps they have not even left Moabite territory—when Naomi speaks up. Since in the ancient joint-family household,46 there was a type of authority residing in a mother-in-law,47 it may be that the two daughters-in-law are returning initially because they feel compelled socially to do so. The book of Ruth demonstrates the complexity of power dynamics between women in this cultural context.48 In fact, the book demonstrates, perhaps better than any other book, that society in the Old Testament was a
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