Naomi her mother-in-law said to Ruth, “My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.” She said to her, “All that you tell me I will do.”
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse. The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Sometimes reading the Lectionary exacerbates my frustrations with Christian organization and intent with the Old Testament. Combine this reading with the Psalm reading and the point of the book of Ruth, or at least this week’s reading, is that God’s benevolent, ineffable plan has overcome the chances the great line of David becomes extinct, and risk Jesus never existing. Though this reading is certainly valuable, it contributes to the misunderstanding that the whole point of the Old Testament is to prepare for the New Testament. This can easily compromise the integrity of the Old Testament, flattening the characters it includes and the understanding of God these characters explore. This concern to turn readers’ attention to the New Testament as soon as possible results in this weeks’ reading completely missing the best part of the story. I would like to draw our attention to it.
Though it is among the shortest narrative units in the Hebrew Bible, the book of Ruth uses its reticence to say much more than is written. The author does this through subtle textual allusions to significant events/people in Israel’s history, often replaying these events but with very different conclusions. The introduction, as a granular example, alludes directly to the Abraham narrative, especially the episode where he takes his family to Egypt. However, the author here quickly dispenses with the male-centric and nationalistic apologetic by undramatically killing off Naomi’s husband and sons, who had married Moabite women (they are not supposed to do so). Ruth further reverses the Abrahamic narrative by taking place within Israel - in Abraham (and much of the Old Testament), the story describes an escape from from foreign lands to find refuge and identity in the Promised Land; Ruth, using typical structures of Israelite narrative, tells a story of how an Israelite woman returns to her land with a foreigner in tow, and struggles to find safety and identity where it is often assumed. On a larger scale, the entire book makes allusions to a common Old Testament type-scene - the betrothal at the well. This scene occurs with Isaac, Jacob, Joseph (though for Joseph it is the moment of betrayal), Moses and Saul. The scene follows a particular pattern that can be manipulated by the author depending on the characters who occupy the scene. Typically with a betrothal scene, the man journeys to a foreign land to seek a wife; he arrives at a well and watches for his future beloved; when she arrives, they exchange words/gestures of intent; the woman then runs to tell her family, and a party is held celebrating the union. The book of Ruth is a protracted betrothal where the author places a foreign woman, a Moabite no less, to play the part of the man. It is Ruth who travels to a foreign land, finds a man (not at a well, but at a place of sustenance nonetheless), shows him her tenacity and beauty, and takes herself a husband.
This week’s reading begins telling how Ruth seduces Boaz, but does not go into the actual seduction. The scene draws in the reader in two ways: it is blushingly seductive and it replays the conception of Moab from Genesis 19. Here is the omitted scene from Ruth:
So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down. And it happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and [c]bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. So he said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your slave. Now spread your garment over your slave, for you are a redeemer.” Then he said, “May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first, by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. So now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you say, for all [d]my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence. But now, although it is true that I am a redeemer, yet there is also a redeemer more closely related than I. Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will [e]redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to [f]redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning.”
We should not expect the Old Testament to share our own sexual morality, the Old Testament is certainly not chaste. Earlier scenes make Boaz’s desire for Ruth difficult to deny - he inquires after her and gives her special treatment, singling her out from among all the women who glean his fields. This night, Ruth is sure to make herself irresistible. She washes herself, annoints herself with scented oil, and puts on her best night clothes. She stealthily glides to her intended after he has been satisfied with food and drink, and uncovers Boaz’s feet. Some commentators suggest that “feet” is used in Hebrew as a euphemism for penis, but this may go too far. Either way, Boaz appreciates this midnight liazon; he breathily encourages Ruth to remain the night, but makes clear that he has business to attend to before they can return to this moment.
The connection to Genesis 19 makes the seduction even more compelling. In that scene, Lot’s daughters do not have husbands, nor do they have options. They, like Ruth, are in a desperate situation - homeless, husbandless, childless and living in a foreign land. They take matters into their own hands: they get their father drunk and sleep with him in two successive nights. The oldest conceives and bears the son Moab (I think I said last week and in my sermon that the youngest daughter bore Moab, sorry about that). Like mother, like daughter, Ruth replays the conception of her primeval ancestor. This time feels different, however. Genesis 19 feels unfortunate, gross, violating. It gives the sons of these women negative perceptions that affect the tribe’s relationship with others around them. These are people to be avoided, born of desperation and ignominy, cursed of God. Ruth’s story is basically the same, only she is identified as the redeemer of her people. She too is faced with generational extinction, she too takes a relative with whom to bear a child. But she is the mother of kings.
The Old Testament has more to say than “Jesus.” The book of Ruth provides a surprising morality - that people can take matters into their own hands and can make good come out of protesting the accepted system of patriarchy and sexual and gender roles. It can be understood as a feminist manifesto of sorts - socially powerless women use their sexuality to subvert systems of patriarchy, not seeking permission from anyone, and making life as a result. There is still resistance to taking the Old Testament for itself; though Jesus has as his own ancestor Ruth, he must be born to a virgin. I wonder what Mary thought of Ruth.