Historical Books of the Old Testament: Ruth

The narrative of the book of Ruth is a drama of ordinary human life, but the drama unfolds against a background of the providence and purposes of God. Katharine Doob Sakenfeld has written a commentary that makes very clear why the book of Ruth has such great importance as literature and as scripture. The commentary gives evenhanded treatment of both the human and divine dimensions of the text; Sakenfeld's interpretation is sociological as well as theological. She assesses all the significant questions about the origin and purpose of the book, and asserts that the organizing center of a proper reading must be found in the narrative itself rather than in tentative answers to historical questions.

Hubbard's study on the Book of Ruth is part of The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, a series that devotes considerable care to achieving a balance between technical information and homiletic-devotional interpretation.

Contents: A Guide to Using This Commentary -- Introduction to Joshua Through 2 Samuel -- Commentary on Joshua -- Commentary on Judges -- Commentary on Ruth -- Commentary on 1 Samuel -- Commentary on 2 Samuel -- Early Christian Writers and the Documents Cited -- Timeline of Writers of the Patristic Period

The book of Ruth is one of the Bible's most enduring and beloved stories. At first glance, the story appears to be a simple tale of hardship and good fortune, but a close reading of the short book yields wonderful new insights. Kirsten Nielsen's comments on the book of Ruth paint a rich and subtle portrait of the characters involved in the story. She carefully traces the many connections between this biblical book and the wider context of other biblical passages, including earlier stories such as the story of Judah and Tamar, and later adaptations such as the Targum to Ruth. Nielsen provides the reader an entry to this nuanced intertextual world.

Contents: Introduction -- Overview -- Textual Criticism -- Style -- Literary Criticism -- Canonicity -- Date -- Social Environment -- Theology -- Chapter 1 -- Exile and Death in Moab (1:1-5) -- The Return to Judah (1:6-15) -- Ruth's Great Return/Reversal (1:16-18) -- Chapter 2 -- Gleaning in the Field of Boaz (2:1-17) -- Ruth Reports to Naomi (2:18-23) -- Chapter 3 -- Naomi's Strategy (3:1-5) -- The Seduction Scene (3:6-15) -- Ruth Reports to Naomi (3:16-18) -- Chapter 4 -- The Court Session (4:1-4) -- Boaz's Dangerous Gambit (4:5-12) -- Marriage and Birth (4:13-17) -- Genealogy (4:18-22) -- Conclusion

A Michael Glazier Book from the Berit Olam series

A collection of thirty short essays by women on the book of Ruth. the book opens with the text of Ruth itself and follows with a range of essays grouped around topics in Ruth. these essays very widely in method and quality, some being academic .

Text of original work given in Judeo-Arabic and English translation. Commentary chiefly in English.

Previously published as A translator's handbook on the book of Ruth. 2nd ed. ©1992.

From the Bible Speaks Today series. Revised edition of: The wings of refuge. c1983.

In concert with Swanson's art, Chittister's prose explores, through the biblical story of Ruth, a series of twelve life-defining moments in every woman's life

A Moabite priestess renounces her Gods for the God of Israel. Since she is a foreigner, her dedication is not readily accepted by the villagers. All the spectacle of heathen idolatry and human sacrifice. One of the Bible's timeless love stories.