Editing Book of Ruth (section)

==Themes and background==
[[File:Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld- Ruth im Feld des Boaz.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld]]: ''Ruth in Boaz's Field'', 1828]]

===Levirate marriage and the "redeemers"===
The Book of Ruth illustrates the difficulty of trying to use laws given in books such as [[Deuteronomy]] as evidence of actual practice.{{sfn|Grabbe|2004|p=105}} Naomi plans to provide security for herself and Ruth by arranging a [[levirate marriage]] with Boaz. She instructs Ruth to uncover Boaz's feet after he had gone to sleep and to lie down. When Boaz wakes up, surprised to see a woman at his feet, Ruth explains that she wants him to redeem (marry) her. The usual interpretation is to see sexual allusions in this part of the story, with 'feet' as a [[euphemism]] for [[genitals]].{{sfn|West|2003|p=210}}{{sfn|Coogan|2010|p=13}}{{sfn|Wright Knust|2011|p=32}}<ref group="Note" name="Genitals">For "feet" as a euphemism for genitals see, for example, Amy-Jill Levine, "Ruth," in Newsom and Ringe (eds.), ''The Women's Bible Commentary'', pp. 78-84. The usual interpretation, as given here, is that Ruth is told to uncover Boaz's genitals, but see Kirsten Nielsen, "Other Writings," in McKenzie and Graham (eds.), ''The Hebrew Bible Today'', pp.175-176, where it is argued that Ruth is to uncover herself.</ref>

Since there is no heir to inherit Elimelech's land, custom required a close relative (usually the dead man's brother) to marry the widow of the deceased in order to continue his family line ([[Deuteronomy]] 25:5–10). This relative was called the ''[[Goel (Judaism)|goel]]'', the "kinsman-redeemer". As Boaz was not Elimelech's brother, nor Ruth his widow, scholars refer to the arrangement here as "Levirate-like".{{sfn|Allen|1996|p=521-522}} A complication arises in the story when it is revealed that another man is a closer relative to Elimelech than Boaz and therefore has first claim on Ruth.{{sfn|Allen|1996|p=521-522}}

This conflict is resolved through the custom that required land to stay in the family: a family could mortgage land to ward off poverty, but the law required a kinsman to purchase it back into the family (Leviticus 25:25ff). When Boaz meets the near kinsman at the city gate, the place where contracts were settled, the kinsman initially agrees to purchase Elimelech's (now Naomi's) land; but upon hearing he must also take Ruth as his wife, he withdraws his offer. Boaz thus becomes "kinsman-redeemer" to Naomi and Ruth.{{sfn|Allen|1996|p=521-522}}

===Mixed marriage===
The book can be read as a political parable relating to issues around the time of [[Ezra]] and [[Nehemiah]] (the 5th century BCE):{{sfn|West|2003|p=209}} unlike the story of [[Ezra–Nehemiah]], where marriages between Jewish men and non-Jewish women were broken up, Ruth teaches that foreigners who convert to Judaism can become good Jews, foreign wives can become exemplary followers of Jewish law, and there is no reason to exclude them or their offspring from the community.{{sfn|Grabbe|2004|p=312}} Some believe the names of the participants suggest a fictional nature of the story: the husband and father was Elimelech, meaning "My God is King", and his wife was Naomi, "Pleasing", but after the deaths of her sons Mahlon, "Sickness", and Chilion, "Wasting", she asked to be called Mara, "Bitter".{{sfn|West|2003|p=209}}

The reference to [[Moab]] raises questions, since in the rest of the biblical literature it is associated with hostility to Israel, sexual perversity, and [[idolatry]], and {{bibleverse|Deut.|23:3–6|9|Deuteronomy 23:3–6}} excluded an Ammonite or a Moabite from "the congregation of the {{LORD}}; even to their tenth generation".{{sfn|West|2003|p=209}} Despite this, Ruth the Moabite married a Judahite and even after his death still regarded herself a member of his family; she then married another Judahite and bore him a son who became an ancestor of [[David]].{{sfn|Grabbe|2004|p=312}} Concerning this, the [[Mishnah]] says that only male Moabites are banned from the congregation.{{sfn|Mihăilă|2011|p=32-33}}

===Contemporary interpretations===
[[File:Levenspoort.jpg|thumb|"Levenspoort" (Arch of Life), with a quote from Ruth 4:10 at its base; a bronze memorial sculpture by Yetty Elzas. In remembrance of the [[List of Jews deported from Wageningen (1942–43)|71 Jewish citizens]] of Wageningen and surroundings, deported and murdered during the years 1940-1945]]
Scholars have increasingly explored Ruth in ways which allow it to address contemporary issues. [[feminism|Feminists]], for example, have recast the story as one of the [[dignity of labour]] and female self-sufficiency,{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} and as a model for [[lesbianism|lesbian]] relations,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/30070674|title=Reading Ruth : contemporary women reclaim a sacred story|date=1994|publisher=Ballantine Books|others=Judith A. Kates, Gail Twersky Reimer|isbn=0-345-38033-9|edition=1st|location=New York|oclc=30070674}}</ref> while others have seen in it a celebration of the relationship between strong and resourceful women.<ref>{{Cite web|last=A. A.|first=English|title=The Old Testament Story of Ruth: a Biblical Heroine for Everyone|url=https://www.learnreligions.com/the-book-of-ruth-117383|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Learn Religions|language=en|archive-date=June 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612083851/https://www.learnreligions.com/the-book-of-ruth-117383|url-status=live}}</ref> Others have seen it as a book that champions outcast and oppressed peoples.{{sfn|Irwin|2008|p=699}}

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