The third episode of the second season of the Retelling the Bible Podcast is posted today (May 9, 2018). You can listen to the episode and subscribe to the podcast by following one of these links or by searching for the podcast on your favourite platform:

Please note that this is what I am calling an after-dark edition of the podcast. The story that I am telling actually contains a fair bit of sexual content and references to sexual misconduct. These things are all present in the original biblical story but are often masked in our approach to it. I have removed the masks. Listener discretion is advised.

Show Notes

This episode is a retelling of the story that is told The Book of Ruth in the Old Testament of the Bible with a particular focus on the story told in chapters 2 and 3. (Click the reference to read the original story). Any direct biblical quotations in the episode are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

Here are a few of my thoughts on the episode.

The History Behind this Story

The story is set during the time of the Judges and ends with the birth of Obed, grandfather of David, the second king of Israel. Many scholars believe that the story was written in the post-exilic era many centuries later and that it may have been written as a counterpoint to policies banning marriage between Jews and foreign women.

This makes it very hard to know how much literal history is contained within it. It does not seem too far-fetched to presume that the genealogical information about David’s origins, and the seemingly embarrassing fact that his great-grandmother was a Moabite, is correct and prompted the author to tell the story.

Property Ownership and Inheritance

Though it is often read as a romance, the main concern of the story of the Book of Ruth is property and the inheritance of property. A central teaching of the Bible (most particularly in the Book of Deuteronomy and in literature related to that book) is the idea that every family should have enough land to live on. For this reason, every male head of every family was supposed to have a piece of land that had to be kept within that family down through the centuries.

At the same time, only men were permitted to own property. This stipulation created all kinds of problems when a family could not produce a male heir to claim the property as happens in the Book of Ruth. In this case, the only way that the property could be retained was if the widow of the property owner or heir married a close relative. That is why, in this story, Naomi is so set on making sure that Ruth marries her husband’s relative, Boaz. Her primary concern is to secure economic security for herself and her daughter-in-law.

Not Really a Love Story

Since these are the central concerns, Ruth’s seduction of Boaz takes on a different flavour, she is clearly acting out of desperation rather than desire.

In many ways, what Naomi asks Ruth to do, is shocking and somewhat disturbing. She is told to go to Boaz while he sleeps, uncover his genitals (more about that at the moment) and do whatever he asks of her. I’m sorry, that doesn’t seem very romantic to me.

The Euphemisms

Some scholars believe that the reference to feet is, in fact, a euphemism. There are several passages in the Bible that refer to feet, legs and thighs that are clearly meant to refer to genitals. Presumably, the ancient Israelites were squeamish about openly saying the names of certain body parts and resorted to this sort of euphemistic speech.

Of course, Moabites, as close neighbours to the Israelites, likely had the same taboo against these certain words. But in my retelling, I created a cultural difference between Moabites and Israelites as a way to explain the euphemism.

Despite this use of euphemisms, the Book of Ruth seems to indicate that the Ancient Israelites did not hesitate to speak fairly explicitly about sexual activity. I attempted to illustrate that by using a passage from the Song of Solomon that is, once you understand the euphemisms at play, pretty dirty! I presume that, in this passage, words like head, locks, feet and opening should all be understood as euphemisms.

We don’t really know what the origins of the Song of Solomon are. Few scholars today believe that it was actually penned by the king whose name it bears. I operate under an assumption that at least parts of it were popular songs and poems that people used to celebrate sexuality.

Reading this Story Today

I grew up assuming that Ruth was primarily a love story and that Boaz was a hero. Reading this story today, especially in the #MeToo era has forced me to read it differently.

The book does make reference to what we would consider sexual harassment. Boaz says to Ruth, “I have ordered the young men not to bother you.” But the word that is translated as “bother” is literally a reference to unwanted touching and can even include striking or beating. And, while it is nice that Boaz doesn’t want anyone to “bother” Ruth, the implication is that his concern doesn’t extend to any of the other women who are on the scene. The assumption is, in fact, that sexual harassment and violence are common during the harvest and that Boaz is not doing anything to stop it.

The power differential between Boaz and Ruth is also extremely problematic. He has all the power and she has none. For her to go to him and do for him whatever he might like is not a free choice made on her part. She has no choice. Boaz is the only one who can save her and Naomi from their marginal existence. Either she goes to him or she continues to starve.

What this Retelling Teaches me

We cannot impost modern morality or assumptions on ancient stories like that of Ruth. The story takes place within the ethical landscape of its own time. I’m not sure how hard we should be on Boaz for living according to what was acceptable in his own day, but I think that a modern reading can and should elevate Ruth as the heroine. She is dealt a woefully inadequate hand in life. She is powerless and hopeless and yet she does remarkably well. I can’t help but admire her for taking control of her own life.

Please do tell people about this podcast. If you can write a review and give a rating on iTunes or on any other platform, that will help other people to find the podcast. I welcome your comments and questions here or on twitter (@retellingbible) or Facebook (Facebook.com/RetellingtheBible).

See you next week when we will finally just to the New Testament and retell a story that has always fascinated me. Next week’s episode will be, “A Suicidal Herd of Pigs.”