IN THE DAYS WHEN THE JUDGES RULED - “Judged.” This note of time, like that in Ruth 4:7; Judges 18:1; Judges 17:6, indicates that this Book was written after the rule of the judges had ceased. The genealogy Ruth 4:17 points to the time of David as the earliest when the Book of Ruth could have been wr... [ Continue Reading ]
Marriages of Israelites with women of Ammon or Moab are nowhere in the Law expressly forbidden, as were marriages with the women of Canaan Deuteronomy 7:1. In the days of Nehemiah the special law Deuteronomy 23:3 was interpreted as forbidding them, and as excluding the children of such marriages fro... [ Continue Reading ]
Accompanying their mother-in-law to the borders of their own land would probably be an act of Oriental courtesy. Naomi with no less courtesy presses them to return. The mention of the mother’s house, which the separation of the women’s house or tent from that of the men facilitates, is natural in he... [ Continue Reading ]
See marginal references and notes. The Levirate law probably existed among the Moabites, and in Israel extended beyond the brother in the strict sense, and applied to the nearest relations, since Boaz was only the kinsman of Elimelech Ruth 3:12.... [ Continue Reading ]
The kiss at parting as well as at meeting is the customary friendly and respectful salutation in the East. The difference between mere kindness of manner and self-sacrificing love is most vividly depicted in the words and conduct of the two women. Ruth’s determination is stedfast to cast in her lot... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THEY SAID - i. e. the women of Bethlehem said. “They” in the Hebrew is feminine.... [ Continue Reading ]
See the margin. Similar allusions to the meaning of names are seen in Genesis 27:36; Jeremiah 20:3. THE ALMIGHTY - שׁדי _shadday_ (see the Genesis 17:1 note). The name “Almighty” is almost unique to the Pentateuch and to the Book of Job. It occurs twice in the Psalms, and four times in the Prophets... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD HATH TESTIFIED AGAINST ME - The phrase is very commonly applied to a man who gives witness concerning (usually against) another in a court of justice Exodus 20:16; 2 Samuel 1:16; Isaiah 3:9. Naomi in the bitterness of her spirit complains that the Lord Himself turned against her, and was br... [ Continue Reading ]