Ruth (biblical figure)

Portrait of a woman as Ruth (c. 1853) by Francesco

Hayez

Ruth (/ruːθ/; Hebrew: ‫רוּת‬, Modern: Rut,

Tiberian: Rūθ), is the title character of the
Book of Ruth. In the narrative, she is not an
Israelite but rather is from Moab; she
marries an Israelite. Both her husband and
her father-in-law die, and she helps her
mother-in-law, Naomi, find protection. The
two of them travel to Bethlehem together,
where Ruth wins the love of Boaz through
her kindness.[1]

She is one of five women mentioned in the

genealogy of Jesus found in the Gospel of
Matthew, alongside Tamar, Rahab, the
"wife of Uriah" (Bathsheba), and Mary.[2]

Book of Ruth
Ruth in Boaz's Field by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld

Boaz and Ruth by Rembrandt

Elimelech, a man of Bethlehem-Judah,

with his wife, Naomi, and his two sons,
Mahlon and Chilion, went in time of famine
and sojourned in the land of Moab.[1]
There Elimelech died, and the two sons
married, Mahlon taking Ruth as his wife,
and Chilion taking Orpah—both women of
Moab, where both sons likewise died.[1]
Naomi heard that the famine in Judah had
passed, and determined to return home.[1]
Ruth, in spite of the dissuasion of Naomi,
accompanied her mother-in-law to
Bethlehem.[1] The two women arrived in
Bethlehem at the beginning of barley
harvest in a state of dire poverty.[1]
Elimelech had had an inheritance of land
among his brethren, but, unless a Goel
could be found, Naomi would be
compelled to sell it.[1]

Elimelech had a prosperous relative in

Bethlehem whose name was Boaz, and
who, like others, was engaged in the
harvest.[1] Naomi sent Ruth to glean in his
fields, and, after he had spoken kindly to
her and shown her some favors, she, still
acting upon the advice of her mother-in-
law, approached Boaz at night and put
herself in his power.[1] Boaz was attracted
to her, but informed her that there was a
kinsman nearer than he who had the first
right to redeem the estate of Elimelech
and that it would be necessary for this
kinsman to renounce his right before Boaz
could proceed in the matter.[1] Accordingly
he called this kinsman to the gate of the
city before the elders, and told him of
Ruth's situation and his right to redeem the
estate and to marry Ruth.[1] The kinsman
declared that he did not desire to do so,
and drew off his shoe in token that he had
renounced his rights in favor of Boaz.[1]
Boaz bought the estate from Naomi and
married Ruth.[1] Ruth and Boaz became the
parents of Obed, who became the father of
Jesse, the father of David.[1]
Ruth and Naomi by William Blake

Religious interpretations
Jewish perspectives

Boaz of Judah blessed Ruth for her

extraordinary kindness both to Naomi of
Judah and to the Judean People (Ruth
3:10). "And he [Boaz] said, 'May you be
blessed of the Lord, my daughter; your
latest act of kindness is greater than the
first, not to follow the young men, whether
poor or rich.'" Commentary of Rashi (c.
1040-1105 CE) regarding the first act of
kindness: "that you did with your mother-
in-law".

Ruth's kindness as noted in the Book of

Ruth by Boaz is seen in the Jewish
Tradition as in rare contradistinction to the
peoples of Moab (where Ruth comes
from) and Amon in general, who were
noted by the Torah for their distinct lack of
kindness. Deut. 23:5: "Because they [the
peoples of Amon and Moab] did not greet
you with bread and water on the way when
you left Egypt, and because he [the people
of Moab] hired Balaam the son of Beor
from Pethor in Aram Naharaim against
you, to curse you." Rashi notes regarding
Israel's travels on the way: "when you were
in [a state of] extreme exhaustion."

According to the Ruth Rabbah, Ruth was

Orpah's sister and the two were daughters
of Eglon, the king of Moab; according to
the same text, Eglon was the son of
Balak.[3] Tamar Meir of the Jewish
Women's Archive writes that Ruth and
David being descended from these two
men is seen as a "reward" for them.[3] For
Balak, it is his reward for building altars
and for Eglon, it is his reward for "arising
upon hearing the name of God from Ehud
son of Gera".[3] The same text says that
Ruth did not convert during her marriage
to Mahlon, contradicting other rabbinic
literature, which says that Ruth formally
converted to Judaism for the sake of
marrying Mahlon but did not fully accept
the faith until later.[3]

Josephus viewed the Book of Ruth as

historical and referenced it in his
Antiquities of the Jews.[4] Yitzhak Berger
suggests that Naomi's plan was that Ruth
seduce Boaz, just as Tamar and Lot's
daughters all seduced "an older family
member in order to become the mother of
his offspring." At the crucial moment,
however, "Ruth abandons the attempt at
seduction and instead requests a
permanent, legal union with Boaz."[5]

Christian perspectives

Ruth is one of five women mentioned in

the genealogy of Jesus found in the
Gospel of Matthew, alongside Tamar,
Rahab, the "wife of Uriah" (Bathsheba), and
Mary.[2] Katharine Doob Sakenfeld argues
that Ruth is a model of loving-kindness
(hesed): she acts in ways that promote the
well-being of others.[6] In Ruth 1:8–18 , she
demonstrated hesed by not going back to
Moab but accompanying her mother-in-
law to a foreign land.[6] She chose to glean,
despite the danger she faced in the field
(Ruth 2:15 ) and the lower social status of
the job. Finally, Ruth agrees with Naomi’s
plan to marry Boaz, even though she was
free of family obligations, once again
demonstrating her loyalty and obedience
(Ruth 3:10 ).[6]

Barry Webb argues that in the book, Ruth

plays a key role in Naomi's rehabilitation.[7]

Ruth is commemorated as a matriarch in

the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran
Church–Missouri Synod on July 16.
Tomb of Ruth

Tomb of Jesse and Ruth in Hebron

Francesco Quaresmi in the early 17th

century reported that Turks and Orientals
generally believed that the structure
contained the tombs of Jesse and
Ruth.[8][9] According to Moshe Sharon, the
association of the site with Ruth is very
late, starting in the 19th century.[10] It
receives numerous visitors every year,
especially on the Jewish holiday of
Shavuot, when the Book of Ruth is read.[11]
Haim Horwitz in his 1835 book on Israeli
holy sites Love of Jerusalem[12] discusses
the oral tradition that the tomb houses the
grave of Ruth as well as that of Jesse, who
is mentioned in earlier writings.
Menachem Mendel of Kamenitz[13] wrote
in 1839, "Also in the vineyard was a shelter
with 2 graves: one of Jesse, father of
David, and one of Ruth, the Moabite."[14]

Cultural influence
Ruth is one of the Five Heroines of the
Order of the Eastern Star.
Ruth was played by Elana Eden in Henry
Koster's The Story of Ruth (1960); the film
depicts Ruth as a pagan priestess prior to
her religious conversion.[15] Sherry Morris
portrayed her in The Book of Ruth: Journey
of Faith (2009).[16]

Genealogy: the descent of

David from Ruth
                  
 

                 

                   

                   

Boaz      

Ruth
       

                   

     

Obed      

                   

     

Jesse      

                   

     

David      

See also
 List of artifacts significant to the Bible
List of mausolea
Lives of the Prophets
Ohel (grave)

References
1. Barton, George A. (1936). "Ruth, Book
of" . Jewish Encyclopedia. New York:
Funk & Wagnalls Co.
2. Weren, Wim J. C. (1997). "The Five
Women in Matthew's Genealogy". The
Catholic Biblical Quarterly. 59 (2): 288–
305. JSTOR 43722942 .
3. Meir, Tamar. "Ruth" . Jewish Women's
Archive. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
4. "Book of Ruth" . Catholic Encyclopedia.
Retrieved November 9, 2017.
5. Berger, Yitzhak (2009). "Ruth and Inner-
Biblical Allusion: The Case of 1 Samuel
25". JBL. 128 (2): 268. Emphasis original.
6. Katherine D. Sakenfeld, Ruth (Louisville:
John Knox Press, 1999), 11–12.
7. Barry G. Webb, Five Festal Garments
(Leicester: Apollos, 2000), 43.
8. Claude Reignier Conder, Herbert
Kitchener,The Survey of Western
Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography,
Orography, Hydrography, and
Archaeology, Committee of the Palestine
 Exploration Fund, London, 1883, Vol 3
pp.327-8.
9. Franciscus Quaresmius, Historica
theologica et moralis Terrae Sanctae,
1639, vol 2 p.782.
10. Moshe Sharon, Corpus Inscriptionum
Arabicarum Palaestinae, Vol 5, H-I BRILL,
2013 pp. 45–52.
11. "Converts pay homage to Ruth at her
Hebron tomb" . The Jerusalem Post |
JPost.com. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
12. "HebrewBooks.org Sefer Detail: ‫חבת‬
‫ חיים בן דבריש‬,‫ "ירושלים – הורביץ‬.
www.hebrewbooks.org. Retrieved
2016-01-28.page needed
13. "The first Holy Land hotelier" . The
Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved
2016-01-28.
14. Cook, David G.; Cohen, Sol P. Book of the
Occurrences o f the Times to Jeshurun in
the Land of Israel . repository.upenn.edu.
Retrieved 2016-01-28.
15. Crowther, Bosley (December 22, 1960).
"Screen: 'Story of Ruth':Biblical Tale
Opens at Two Theatres" . The New York
Times. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
16. "The Book of Ruth: Journey of Faith
(2009)" . Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved
November 9, 2017.

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Ruth.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to

Tombs and graves of saintly people in
Judaism.

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