Ruth wrap up

The book of Ruth has no known author and no definitely known date. It must have been written after the establishment of the Davidic monarchy because one of its purposes seems to be to establish David's lineage from Judah. Another purpose could be to show that Yahweh can approve of marriages with women from other nations, and even bless them and the Israelites through them, in spite of his previous adamant commands against them. Plus, descendants of Moabites are not supposed to be allowed to enter the assembly of  Yahweh for 10 generations. (Deuteronomy 23:3) Jewish commentaries get around that by saying the nationality of the father is what mattered, not the mother.

 The book does not claim to be the word of Yahweh or to be inspired by Yahweh or his Holy Spirit. There is no mention of angels, demons, or other supernatural beings besides Yahweh. There is no heaven, hell, or messaiah mentioned. There are no descriptions of religious rituals or commands, in spite of the fact that the story must have taken place from the time of passover to Pentecost, because those dates are tied to the harvesting of grain. The only hint of religion is the kinsman-redeemer tradition depicted, and that is more cultural. There is no mention of the ark of the covenant, Shiloh, priests, or sacrifices.

There is a conspicuous lack of violence and  prejudice against other people groups. Ruth, a Moabite, is given the highest praise. She is said to be better than seven sons to Naomi, high praise indeed. Everyone else behaves admirably as well. I have an atheist friend who says this is her favorite story in the bible.

A hint that the story may have been fabricated is found in the names of people in the story. Naomi means "pleasant" but she asks to be called Mara which means "bitter." Ruth means "friendship." Ruth's dead husband Mahlon's name means "weakling" and Boaz's name means "strength." Coincidence?

Job will be our next book, because its events also seem to take place before there was a monarchy. Then we will continue on to 1 Samuel.