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Dichotomy In The Book Of Ruth

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The book of Ruth is an interesting glimpse into the everyday life of Bethlehem. With its defined scenes, inner-story parallels, and circular patterns, it reads more like a play then a historical narration. The various dichotomies displayed, such as the private/public, female/male, emptiness/fullness, and foreigner/native, add to the story’s richness and entertainment. A deep theme of loyalty and faithfulness, hesed, progresses throughout this short story. Its many characters display various forms of hesed and provide a cast that most of my context in northern, rural Minnesota can identify with on one level or another. The story begins with a narrative about the family of Elimelech (1:1-5). Per the patriarchal social structure of the time, …show more content…

Ruth obeys Naomi exactly and makes her way to the threshing floor in the cover of darkness (vv. 5-8) . Boaz, in typical fashion, awakes from his “exposed” state and offers Ruth praise for her loyalty, this time to him, as she avoids the younger men and shows herself to be a “worthy woman” (vv. 8-11). The story takes an unexpected twist when Boaz reveals another kinsman to have first rights in the matter of kinship, making the women’s futures ambiguous once again (vv. …show more content…

Naomi invokes the hesed of Yahweh twice: once as she entreats her daughters-in-law to leave for their mother’s houses (1:9) and again when she is given sustenance from her kin’s field ( 2:20). Yahweh is being called out as these brave women search for a better way, becoming models of hesed for Yahweh. Yahweh answers the call to be the go’el for the women proven by the various blessings that other story characters relay to them along their precarious journey (2:12, 3:10, 4:11-12, 14). Even though Yahweh’s part is silent, Yahweh never leaves the women as they seek out inventive ways to navigate the patriarchal structures of their day. Yahweh’s hesed is

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