Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Liz Fried" <lizfried AT umich.edu>]

> >
> > The brilliant artist that created the Esther story, for the purposes of
> > his/her agenda, leaves God out altogether. Not so in Ruth . Although, He
> > neither speaks or acts, (cp. Chap. I)  His presence is palpable. More
> > than benign, He is benevolent.  He is gentle, accepting  and kindly
> > (JPS), like Naomi, Ruth and Orpah.  This is the Good News of the Gospel
> > of Ruth. God has changed, a lot.
>
I, for one, fail to see what is so benign or benevolent about a society
that forces a woman to find a man so that she can obtain rights to
property that is rightfully hers.  Naomi cannot inherit her husband's
property. She has to find his (male) next of kin, then use some kind of
strategy so that he will marry her daughter-in-law. That is the only way
to prevent Naomi and her daughter-in-law from falling onto the public dole,
even with all the property Naomi's husband owned.

Liz Fried
Ann Arbor, MI