Ruth
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The Book of Ruth is an all-time Bible favorite. In four chapters, it builds a clear plot with narrative tension heightened with sexual innuendos; and it ends well. Since the 1990s at least, studies produced an array of portrayals of the heroes of the tale beyond the traditional idyllic readings. Gaps and fissures have been explored to cover its ideological premises. Feminist readings denounce the way patriarchalism used the figures of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz to bolster its social hegemony. Ruth has been presented as a coquette, Naomi as a pimp or a scold, Ruth and Naomi as lesbians, Boaz as exploiter of the proletariat, unstraight, sugar Daddy or impotent.
The growing types of LGBTQ+ orientations might offer more characterizations still; and Veganism has yet to grind Ruth’s gleanings and Boaz’s bridal gift.
Yet, time is ripe to steer a course between idyllic readings and critical ones. There is more to gender asymmetries and patriarchy than the devaluation of women. Women always have power. Neither Naomi or Ruth are powerless victims.
This volume maps an uncompromising way forward between patriarchy and advocacy.
This volume will be first published online and then as a print book. Chapters 2-6 published 2023. Chapters 7-11 published 2024.
Published: Oct 1, 2025
Series
| Section | Chapter | Authors |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter 2 | ||
| One Plus One Equals Three: The Economics of Land Shares According to Boaz | Philippe Guillaume | |
| Chapter 3 | ||
| The Torah in Ruth? | Philippe Guillaume | |
| Chapter 4 | ||
| Reading Ruth Canonically as the Central Panel in a Literary Triptych | William Krisel | |
| Chapter 5 | ||
| After the Idyll Ends: Ruth and the Uses of Disappointment | Rhiannon Graybill | |
| Chapter 6 | ||
| Obed, Son of Boaz, an Israelite: Should Ruth be Read through the Lens of Deuteronomy’s Laws about Moabites? | Jonathan Thambyrajah | |
| Chapter 7 | ||
| Naomi and Ruth: A Tale of Two Wives? | William Krisel | |
| Chapter 8 | ||
| It’s a Charming Story of Faithful Living, but …: Interpretive Tensions in the Book of Ruth | Rebecca Lindsay | |
| Chapter 9 | ||
| Wisdom in a Time of Prose: Form, Function, and the Book of Ruth | Laura Quick | |
| Chapter 10 | ||
| Ruth and Moab: Abjection and Intimacy | Peter Sabo, Francis Landy | |
| Chapter 11 | ||
| The Moral Content of Caring for Oneself (First) | Jennifer Johnson Williams | |