The Book Of Ruth Essay

463 Words1 Page

The Book of Ruth is one of the most fascinating short stories that anyone has ever written.

According to Daniel I Block, while Naomi is the main character in the plot, Boaz is the main

character in the dialogue, Obed is the main character in the purpose of the book and Ruth

the connector that brings these characters together. Etymologically the name Ruth, appears

to be Moabite and not Hebrew and may mean "friendship," "comfort," or "refreshment”. It

is generally believed that the events of this book occurred during the period when the

judges governed Israel. During the Gideon’s judgeship, there is reference to lack of food (

Judg 6:3-4) and this lead some scholars to infer that Ruth was a contemporary of Gideon.

The book of …show more content…

Even though Ruth was not an Israelite, God uses her to accomplish His purpose. She

becomes an instrument of blessing and a source of rest for Naomi.

Ruth's plan to secure favour (Ruth 2: 2) was a plan to obtain food but Boaz's kindness

toward Ruth simply reciprocated hers toward Naomi. As Boaz mentions in Ruth 2:12, Ruth

has taken refuge under the God of Israel.

While food has been taken care, Naomi goes ahead to plan for Ruth’s security also. Ruth

follows Naomi's instructions exactly, demonstrating her love to her mother-in-law, and

encouraged Boaz to pursue the possibility of marriage (Ruth 3: 6-9).

Through the provision in Mosaic Law, a kinsman-redeemer could buy back a property that

had passed out of the control of a family. Ruth, who put her faith in the God of Naomi, could

escape from her condition by remarrying Boaz. This reveals God's grace in providing a

redeemer. He provided Boaz to redeem Ruth and Naomi. Through Ruth, God provided David

to set Israel free and through David He provided Jesus Christ to set the world free.

Conclusion –

Three important insights gathered from the book of Ruth are

Show More
Related

  • The Struggle In Ruth Mcbride's The Color Of Water

    976 Words  | 2 Pages

    Growing up, Ruth had a rough childhood growing up in a very strict jewish household. Her family was poor, her mother was physically handicapped, her father was verbally and physically abusive, and she faced prejudice and discrimination from her neighbors and classmates because she

    Read More

  • The Color of Water by James McBride

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin with, the dual narratives of the text here present a unique mixture of chronology and perspective. Moreover, noteworthy is also McBride’s usage of the rhetorical strategy of alternate chapters and parallelism. This can be seen when McBride remarkably places related chapters together to juxtapose the life of his mother and that of himself. This allows one to observe the parallelism in the two lives; and perhaps more importantly, understand the significance Ruth’s life has had on McBride. For example, McBride places the chapters “Shul” and “School” next to each other. Here, both Ruth and James are struggling and are trying to fit in but are rejected due to racial and social conflicts. Another example is, “The New Testament” and “The Old Testament.” Both of these chapters revolve around the embarrassment Ruth and James feel for their circumstances. In “The Ne...

    Read More

  • Analysis: The Liars's Club

    3020 Words  | 7 Pages

    In Ruth’s narrative she tells of how her family emigrated from Poland when she was a young girl, her abusive father disguised as righteous a Rabbi, her interracial relationships, teen pregnancy, and her eventual marriage to Andrew Dennis McBride, a black man from North Carolina, until he passed away and she remarried Hunter Jordan. What made Ruth so extraordinary was her resilience, strength of character and her freethinking mind. Despite having been raised in an ultraorthodox Jewish family, with a father who molested her, committed adultery, abused her mother, and later disowned her, Ruth was able to develop her own value system. Her ethics not only condemned this behavior, but also went against the societal norm of the 1960’s: racism. After becoming pregnant with her black boyfriend, as a teenager, Ruth confided in her aunt who helped her get an abortion. Following this incident, Ruth realized that she no longer desired to live at home with her family. Spending time away from home enabled Ruth to see how radically different her values and priorities were from those of her

    Read More

  • Abandonment Of Women In Toni Morrison's Song Of Solomon

    811 Words  | 2 Pages

    Rather, she discusses the thought that women are too dependent on men. One can argue that Ryna’s and Hagar’s reactions to their partners abandoning them are too extreme. When Hagar dies, Pilate exclaims “she was loved,” expressing that Hagar’s depression revolving around Milkman was needless, since she had a whole support system in Pilate and Reba. Another example of this is Macon’s abandonment of Ruth and Ruth’s dependency. Ruth, throughout the novel, is dependent on men for love. She forms a too intimate relationship with her father, but eventually he dies and she is left without his love. She does have a husband, but he denies physical affection and emotional support to her, and she becomes desperate without those presences. When she has her child, Milkman, she has almost a possessive relationship with him, not wanting him to leave her because she is afraid of losing another man, though Milkman does not really love his mother, much like he does not really love Hagar due to his blindness to other people’s emotions and wants. Morrison writes Ruth as obsessed with having a mutual sense of affection with a man after they emotionally abandon her, even though it is not really a necessity for her. Pilate helps clarify this, exclaiming that Ruth treats Milkman like a “house,” and says that if he does not have him, then that is

    Read More

  • The Sign Of Orpah Analysis

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    She connects stories of different multicultural relationships between a man and a woman, and then continues on to compare the women and men from each story to each other. Social class is also mentioned in the story of Ruth and Boaz. Boaz was very wealthy and Ruth was found in his fields taking food for Naomi and herself. Traditionally, an individual that is born into a family of wealthiness is able to take care of their loved one- which is what Boaz does for Ruth after

    Read More

  • The Color of Water, by James McBride

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin with, the dual narratives of the text here present a unique mixture of chronology and perspective. Moreover, noteworthy is also McBride’s usage of the rhetorical strategy of alternate chapters and parallelism. This can be seen when McBride remarkably places related chapters together to juxtapose the life of his mother and that of himself. This allows one to observe the parallelism in the two lives and to understand the significance Rachel's life had on McBride. For example, McBride places the chapter titled “Shul” and “School” next to each other with each giving a view of the problems they faced in school. Here both Ruth and James are struggling and are trying to fit in but are rejected due to racial and social conflicts. Another example is “The New Testament” and “The Old Testament.” Both of these chapters revolve around the embarrassm...

    Read More

  • A Raisin In The Sun Ruth Character Analysis

    1134 Words  | 3 Pages

    At present Ruth is the most reliable and emotionally stable one in the family and her family depends on her to keep them going. Throughout the play, as Walter and Lena go through their emotional battles, she’s the only one who’s opinions and emotions don’t change. Ruth brings a calm to the household, yet seems to the one always interfering in conversations and telling these two characters fighting and find a solution peacefully. Ruth is the mediator in the family. She doesn’t want to deal with Walter, even though she doesn’t mind speaking up when things are said she doesn’t like. Ruth doesn’t go out of her way to get what she wants. She’s the type of person who makes the best of whatever life hands her, peace and this is when we see her speak up for herself if that's what it takes. “Mama, something is happening between Walter and me. I don’t know what it is- but he needs something-something I can’t give him anymore. He needs this chance, Lena.” (111) This shows her attempt to make others happy, even in hindsight of her own morals and

    Read More

  • Does Torvald Have Any Redeeming Qualities?

    627 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the play we never get to know who the real Nora is and what her true personality consists of. Nora also realizes that she does not know who she is, and decides to leave her life. She comments that she needs to discover who she is separate from her husband, children and more importantly society. Nora feels she is not respected, and she is a “doll” to her husband.

    Read More

  • Exploring Women’s Role in the Bible

    2412 Words  | 5 Pages

    Ostriker A. (2002). The book of ruth and the love of the land. Biblical Interpretation, 10 (4),

    Read More

  • The Color Of Water By Ruth Mcbride Jordan

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, the fact that Ruth lived through so much trauma from her father most likely brought out the strength in her heart, and caused her to realize that she wants a good life for her children instead of the trauamtic life that she lived through in her own childhood. Ruth’s overall identity could be explicity explained as a mother who is strong, has a lot of faith in God, and a woman with a lot of value and love for all of her twelve children. Ruth Mcbride’s strength and confidence helps herself through the hardships of her childhood, her relationships with Dennis and Hunter, as well as James Mcbride and the rest of her children. She developed the identity of a strong-willed mother, lover, and a woman of God.

    Read More

  • The Debate Between Ruth Benedict And James Rachels

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    Today's topic is on whether morality is completely relative or whether there are any moral absolutes. We as individuals and as a culture have certain sets of morals and ideals that we stand by. Whether or not certain morals carry over to various cultures or if morals are unique to that culture is left up to debate between Ruth Benedict and James Rachels. Today I will try to show that James Rachels argument is logically stronger than Ruth Benedict's argument

    Read More

  • Imprisonment in A Doll's House

    825 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the entire play, Nora is in fact THE one and only real one imprisoned. She has no rights to do anything; she is “a bird in a cage';. Kristine gives the exact figure of Nora by saying: “ A wife cannot borrow without her husband’ s consent';. She is also imprisoned by law because of her forged signature and is therefore “aggressed'; by Krogstad, the man who lent her the money in the first place. She has been convinced that males are kings of the society she lives in. She even tells Kristine about this idea: “ A man can straighten out these things so much better than a woman';. She cannot afford or obtain anything herself, she has to ask her husband and get his permission to buy everything: “ Your squirrel will scamper about and do all her tricks, if you’ ll be nice and do what she asks.'; Her liberty is non-existent, Helmer is comparable to a prison guard, he thinks that he owns her: “… all the beauty that belongs to no one but me, that’ s my very own';. Helmer is the “prison guard'; and “the prison'; is the apartment she lives in.

    Read More

  • A Judgement In Stone Illiteracy Quotes

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    As human beings, our personalities determine our actions. In the novel, “A Judgment in Stone” by Ruth Rendell, Eunice Parchman and Joan Smith both possess two distinct personalities that fuel their hatred of the Coverdale family. Because of Eunice’s illiteracy and Joan’s insanity, they develop a mutual friendship that proves to be fatal for the Coverdale family.

    Read More

  • Virtuous Women In The Bible

    2462 Words  | 5 Pages

    Naomi has lost everything a woman holds value to and still manages to keep her faith and hold patience as her world is being shaken around her. Her daughter-in-law, Ruth, presents faithfulness, patience and utmost loyalty to her mother-in-law, as she cannot desolate her to start her life again. Redemption came after a long journey back

    Read More

  • Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go

    1026 Words  | 3 Pages

    Even before Ruth and Kathy become friends, Ruth is the center of attention. Ruth relishes her position of power and control, and does whatever she can to make others her loyal followers. She enjoys it so much that when Kathy threatens this power and control by demonstrating to Ruth she knows that Ruth had lied earlier about her pencil case, Ruth is “at a complete loss for words...on the verge of tears.” Ruth manages to control her subjects by creating a system by which she is the judge, jury, and executioner. This system is the “secret guard,” a group created to watch over one of Hailsham’s guardians, Ms. Geraldine. This guard is ruled by Ruth as their Ceasar. When one of the members does something that jeopardizes her position as the group leader or insults her, Ruth does not hesitate to dismiss him or her and ruthlessly attack the outcast afterwards. Oftentimes this would be done by ...

    Read More

More about The Book Of Ruth Essay

Open Document