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Women of the Bible in Context: Her God, Her Story, Her Voice
Rediscovering women of the Bible at the intersection of trauma, ancient historical context, and Biblical languages with Jessica LM Jenkins of We Who Thirst.
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Women of the Bible in Context: Her God, Her Story, Her Voice
027 Naomi & Ruth: Sexual Tension, Providence, and Choice (Ruth 3)
Sexual tension crackles through the midnight air as Ruth uncovers Boaz's feet at the threshing floor. This pivotal chapter marks the moment when human agency takes center stage in what has thus far been a story of divine providence working mysteriously behind the scenes.
After watching from the sidelines, Naomi awakens to her responsibility. The formerly bitter widow crafts a bold, risky plan that sends Ruth into a potentially compromising situation. The midnight encounter is deliberately cloaked in ambiguity, with Hebrew words laden with possible sexual connotations. Yet beneath this tension lies something profound – a testament to honor, covenant faithfulness, and moral integrity.
Ruth's approach to Boaz brilliantly weaves together personal need with communal responsibility. Her request "spread your wing over me" simultaneously proposes marriage and invokes his duty as kinsman-redeemer. It echoes Boaz's earlier blessing that Ruth find refuge under God's wings, suggesting Boaz himself can become an instrument of divine protection. When she adds "for you are a kinsman-redeemer," Ruth ensures Naomi remains part of the equation, demonstrating her extraordinary loyalty.
Boaz's response reveals his exceptional character. Unlike his ancestors who fell to sexual temptation, he maintains absolute integrity. He acknowledges Ruth as "a woman of valor" – the same phrase used for the ideal woman in Proverbs 31 – and pledges to resolve her situation legally, respecting both her virtue and the rights of a nearer kinsman. Through these complex interactions, we discover God's providence often works not through miraculous intervention, but through righteous people acting justly within established systems to protect the vulnerable.
What might appear scandalous on the surface actually reveals profound theological truth: God doesn't want passive followers waiting for divine intervention – He wants people who actively reflect His character by caring for those in need. How are you using your position and resources to act as God's hands today?
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Chapter 3 of the Book of Ruth is full of sexual tension and innuendo. It leaves the listener to this passage wondering exactly what is going on and what will be going. There's a large shift in this chapter from Naomi's apathy and inability to act for herself in chapters 1 and 2 to now she is taking incredible action forward. Whereas in chapter two God's providence was exceptionally evident as he worked things out for Ruth to get where she needed to be at the right time, now God's providence seems to take a step back, while the main actors of the story choose to do things that forward God's plan, but rather than God's behind the scenes providence being in the front. Now we see people's decision and free will acting in accordance to the way God would have them be what moves the story forward. Remember, as we're looking at the book of Ruth, that the book of Ruth is ultimately about God more than the characters we are seeing, and it is showing how he showcases his care for the weak and the vulnerable through righteous people functioning justly in the societal systems and structures that God set up for all of their flourishing. Before I start walking through the text of chapter 3, I am, like every other episode, going to review my translation of the Hebrew, using the name meanings, to help us get into the feel and flow of the text Ruth, chapter 3.
Jessica LM Jenkins:And then, pleasant, her mother-in-law said to her my daughter, shall I not seek for you rest? What will I do for you? And now is not strength our kindred? You were with his young women. Behold, he is winnowing the threshing floor of barley tonight and you will bathe and you will anoint and you will place your cloak on you and go down to the threshing floor. Do not make yourself known to the man until he finishes eating and drinking. And it will be when he lays down that you note the place where he lays and you will come and you will uncover his. He lays down that you know the place where he lays and you will come and you will uncover his feet and lie down and he himself will tell you what to do. And then she said to her all that you say I will do, and she went down to the threshing floor and she did according to all which her mother-in-law had commanded. And then strength ate and he drank and his heart was happy. And then he lay down at the end of the heap and she came in secrecy and she uncovered his feet and she laid down.
Jessica LM Jenkins:And then it happened in the middle of the night that the man trembled and he turned and behold, a woman was lying at his feet and he said who are you? And she said I am Ruth, your maid. Spread out your wing on your maid, for you are a kinsman redeemer. And he said Blessed are you to the Lord. My daughter, you have made good your covenant, faithfulness, your kindness. From the first, you were not going after the young men, whether poor or rich. Now, my daughter, do not fear all which you say. I will do for you. For all the gate of my people know that you are a virtuous woman. And now for sure I am a kinsman redeemer. And there is also a kinsman redeemer nearer than me, lodge tonight, and it shall be good. And if it is good, he will redeem you in the morning. And it shall be good if he redeem you in the morning and he could redeem, and if he does not delight to redeem you, I myself will redeem you, as the Lord lives. Keep lying until morning. Then she laid at his feet until morning. Then she rose up before a man could recognize his breath and then he said Do not let it be made known that a woman came to the threshing floor and then he said Present the cloak which is upon you and take hold of it. And she took hold of it and measured six of barley and he put it on her and he came to the city and then she returned to her mother-in-law and then she said who are you, my daughter? And then she told her all which the man had done for her and she said these six of barley he gave me, for, he said, you shall not go emptily to your mother-in-law. And then she said sit, my daughter, until you know how the thing has fallen, for the man will not be quiet until he accomplishes the thing today.
Jessica LM Jenkins:So in chapter three Naomi wakes up. We saw this happening at the beginning of chapter two and now she seems to fully coming back into herself as the head of their small household. It's Naomi's job to care for Ruth. She needs to find a way to get Ruth the rest she was praying for in chapter one. If you remember, in chapter one Naomi said that she hoped her daughters-in-law would find rest. For anyone in the ancient world they needed to be part of a household, to have security and rest. Even men needed to be part of a household. A single person functioning solo by themselves was an anomaly at best and just a horrible situation at worst in the ancient world. And so a condition of rest means a settledness, a wholeness, a being in the place you need to be. Therefore, you can just relax because you are where you need to be, with the people you need to be with, to be taken care of.
Jessica LM Jenkins:So Naomi is looking for this for Ruth and she says shall I not seek for you a condition of rest? Which is an interesting language, because Naomi, besides giving instructions to Ruth in the first part of this chapter, doesn't do much. She's not out there, she doesn't go to see Boaz, she doesn't go intercede on Ruth's behalf. She comes up with a plan, she comes up with an idea which some commentators have discussed. Why would this be? And it could be because Naomi and Ruth are very low status in the Bethlehem community.
Jessica LM Jenkins:Boaz is very high status. In order for a low status person to ask for patronage, to ask for help from a high status person, they might need an emissary, they might need someone to go in between them and whereas Ruth has been with Boaz's servants, they may not have built other relationships and social capital needed in the city to approach Boaz directly. They would need someone to kind of bridge that gap Because though Ruth and Boaz had a conversation at the beginning of chapter two, they weren't in daily communication. That was kind of a one-off conversation. They're not like besties now. He is still an extremely high status man and they are still poor, destitute widows. They are worlds apart. He has all the honor. They have all the shame. They can't just go directly approach him.
Jessica LM Jenkins:So Naomi's trying to find a way to get around this. She knows Boaz's character, she knows that he is a good man, she trusts him, but she's working within honor-shame culture and she is working within a culture that has very clear status for certain members of the culture and you kind of have to approach each other according to the status. In America our status is much more flat. Other, according to the status. In America our status is much more flat. We call the offices of our representatives, we email them, we let our voice and our opinion be known and we feel like we should in town hall meetings or protests, that we should have that access even to the powers that be in our country, not so. In the ancient world, if you wanted to talk to somebody, you have to have an emissary or someone to kind of bridge the gap between you. And so Naomi here is trying to think about how to work this situation. They don't have an emissary, they don't have those social connections in Bethlehem, so they're trying to figure it out, and their women's network that they may have isn't providing that for them.
Jessica LM Jenkins:So Naomi comes up with a plan. She turns from being someone dissociated in grief to someone who is active and looking on behalf of another Naomi. For the first chapter and a half, though, she is concerned for her daughters-in-law, cannot summon up within herself activity to benefit them from herself. She says go back to your mothers. She allows Ruth to go glean, but she is not an active participant in their lives, in their fate. Now she wakes up and she says I'm going to be, I'm going to come up with an idea, I'm going to come up with a plan. I'm going to use my knowledge of the law of Bethlehem, of the customs of men and women, my age and experience, and I'm going to craft a situation that I think will result in you, ruth, being put in a position of rest where you can get what I was praying for in chapter one. So here's Naomi's plan, and this plan is fraught with innuendo and fraught with risk and it's incredibly important that it's pulled off meticulously. So Naomi says is not Boaz our kindred? Is he not a family member? You were with his young women. Behold, he is winnowing tonight on the threshing floor. Now, ruth, I need you. I need you to bathe, anoint yourself and place a cloak or a garment on yourself and go down to the threshing floor. So what Naomi is instructing Ruth to do?
Jessica LM Jenkins:Some commentators this says this is like preparing herself to be a bride. That might be part of it. Some say this is leaving off the signs of mourning. When someone in the Old Testament moves from a state of mourning or widowhood to not, this is the steps that they take, whether they're man or woman. When David stopped mourning, he bathed, anointed and put cloak on him.
Jessica LM Jenkins:So some people say Ruth is being a bride. Some say she's putting off her mourning clothes. That could be both, and my questions, as I'm coming to this, is we're dealing with fairly poor, destitute widows. We do not know what kind of physical goods they have. So I want us to remember that in the ancient world people did not have a closet full of clothes like we do. So put on your cloak does not necessarily mean she has a second change of clothes to put into, to put on. She may have two garments a tunic and then a cloak to go over it. So Naomi's saying put that cloak on your second layer, which she wouldn't have had out in the fields gleaning, because who's going to cart that around when it's 95 degrees and you're doing manual labor. That's going to stay with Naomi.
Jessica LM Jenkins:But she's saying wear all your appropriate garments, dress yourself appropriately, anoint yourself. Maybe they had some perfumed oil, maybe they just had basic olive oil. A lot of people said she would have perfumed herself. I'm like, if they're poor destitute widows, I mean that's probably one of the first things I would sell to try to buy food. So maybe she had some left that she was holding on to. Maybe she didn't, maybe she's just using regular olive oil. But she's cleaning herself up.
Jessica LM Jenkins:She's doing the best she can with her limited means, putting on all the appropriate garments to be as best dressed as possible within her limited means, which Boaz is fully aware of. So he's not expecting her to like pull out a ball gown or anything. So Naomi instructs her make yourself as good as you can prepare as for a bridal. Lay off your signs of mourning, do the best you can, bathe, anoint and place your cloak on you, go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he finishes eating and drinking, and it will be that he'll lie down somewhere. Naomi seems to be intimately aware. I mean she grew up in Bethlehem, or nearby, most likely, and lived there with Elimelech by, most likely, and lived there with Elimelech. Naomi seems to be aware of how Bethlehem does the harvest and how they do the threshing. She's aware of the customs of the city. So she knows that Boaz, as a wealthy landowner, is probably going to sleep on the threshing floor. Whether that is to protect his grain or whether he has some religious or ceremonial duties around the threshing, we don't know. The text does not tell us, but Naomi knows and that's what matters. So she says he's going to lay down, notice where he lays down and then, after everybody goes to sleep she doesn't say that, but that's implied then you will come and you're going to uncover his feet and lay down and then he himself will tell you what to do.
Jessica LM Jenkins:Naomi's instructions here are full of subtle sexual innuendo or maybe not subtle, they're pretty overt sexual innuendo. In scripture, words like known lie, come uncover. Those are all words that can not always but can be used in sexual context to deal with sexual acts, and here every single sentence of Naomi's almost has one of those words in there. Now, the Hebrew grammar, the specifics of the Hebrew grammar, are shaded in such a way that the innuendo is there. It's giving you these sexual overtones of the scene, but it's not committing that Naomi is telling Ruth to do a sexual act. You have innuendo, you have setting up of a scene that's very tenuous. That's a little scary, that there's a lot of risk, but it is not an instruction to commit a sexual act.
Jessica LM Jenkins:The phrase you will uncover his feet is often discussed. There's lots of opinions on that, especially on TikTok, instagram, twitter, the interwebs. I've heard people talk about how this indicates a sexual act, or that feet is euphemistic for male genitalia, that perhaps this text was kind of whitewashed to save Ruth's reputation. She went and did do a sexual act and then the editors of the text tried to like clean it up to make it not seem as overt as it was, so let's talk about it. First. Let's talk about uncover. Uncover is a word that can be used for a sexual act, always, though, there's lots of other things that are uncovered as well. So it's one of those can, but doesn't necessarily equal. But the it hints towards it, but it is not stating it directly here. Normally, um, there's specific hebrew constructions that indicate a sexual act, and those are missing in this passage. So it says you will uncover his feet, now feet.
Jessica LM Jenkins:There's a lot of claims that the Hebrew word feet, regal indicates genitalia, that it's used euphemistically for genitalia, and even most of the commentators I read have a statement that says this word can be used euphemistically for genitalia. And that is true to a point, and I really want to talk about this, because understanding that saying something is used euphemistically for genitalia, you automatically think sexual. Understanding how a word is used not just what it's euphemistically used for, but how it is used in that context is important to understanding that usage. So I sat down and I looked over all 251 uses of the Hebrew word regal in 232 verses in the Old Testament. I looked them all over and I found that there was only a handful that were not implying some sort of literal usage of physical feet. That's very obvious. Or using feet to imply movement, which makes a lot of sense because that's how you get places, is you walk on your feet. So there are.
Jessica LM Jenkins:There is a case where Feet regal is used euphemistically for male genitalia, but it is never used for male genitalia in a sexual context. That is confirmed. Exodus 4, where Zipporah puts the foreskin on Moses' feet. Some people question whether that's a euphemism for male genitalia or whether that is Moses's literal feet, but kind of like Ruth 3, it's. We don't know. Now there are four passages where it is very much obviously being used. Regal is very much obviously being used as a euphemism for the penis and it is not used sexually in any of these four places.
Jessica LM Jenkins:It is used euphemistically for going to the bathroom and it is used in shame contexts In Judges 3.24 and 1 Samuel 24. 3, you have the literal Hebrew phrase cover his feet, which basically means going to the bathroom. You have a character who needs to follow nature's call and they take themselves off and they cover their feet. One is Ehud in Judges 3 and then Saul relieving himself in a cave and for Samuel 24. So those aren't that's not a shameful context that, although there was a little bit of shame around human elimination, but that is people doing what they have to do and just showcasing. You know, when I was in Israel, one of the guys I was in Israel with would say I need to go water a tree. You know that was his euphemism for needing to go relieve himself on a hike. So we have lots of these phrases in Hebrew. Cover his feet is one of them. The second place it is used, the literal Hebrew is drink water of their feet, which obviously our literal feet don't produce water but male genitalia does. When talking about going to the bathroom and in those passages 2 Kings 18, 27 and Isaiah 36, 12, king Sennacherib is mocking the people of God, saying that they are going to drink the water of their feet. They are going to eat their feces and drink their urine. It's a shaming context.
Jessica LM Jenkins:But regal is not used for male genitalia in a sexual context. The only place regal is used in a sexual context that I could find in the Hebrew Bible is Ezekiel 1625, that I could find in the Hebrew Bible is Ezekiel 1625, where it's used of women, a woman, an immoral woman, and this is what the verse says from the NIV At every street corner. You built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, spreading your legs with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by. So that usage the spreading of your legs or the spreading of your feet in Hebrew, hand and foot could indicate like the like. You could say hand, but indicate the whole arm, foot, you can indicate the whole leg. And so in Ezekiel 16, 25, it's basically using spreading your legs, the same way doing Egypt. She just can't keep her legs close, she spreads her legs to everybody. It's using the same. It's not necessarily talking about the actual female genitalia, it is talking about openness to sexuality and could be just literally talking about the feet and the legs. And so that is the only place where regal is used in a sexual context and it makes perfect sense that you could also interpret that completely literally, not euphemistically, for genitalia.
Jessica LM Jenkins:So back to Ruth 3, since I've given you an overview of the usage of chfot, regal in the Old Testament. Out of 251 verses, there are the verses in Ruth and then the one in Exodus 4 that are we're like maybe, the verses in Ruth and then the one in Exodus 4 that are we're like maybe, but we see that regal is used of male genitalia either in shameful contexts either elimination going to the bathroom or being mocked about elimination going to the bathroom and when it's used sexually, it's not necessarily euphemistically, but just what is involved with a woman having sex and spreading her legs. So I, on basis of usage study and considering how the Hebrew culture used the word regal throughout the entire Old Testament, do not think feet here in Ruth 3 means anything other than literal feet. I do not think this is an implication that she is uncovering him up to the waist or doing anything to his private parts. It seems like the instruction is, and Ruth's actions are, to go note where he lies down, uncover his feet, lie yourself down, and then he himself will tell you what to do. Now, the fact that redle does not mean private parts does not take away the sexual innuendo and risk of this scene. You have a woman going to the threshing floor at night. At certain periods in Israel's history we don't know how widespread it was, but at certain periods there was prostitution that happened on the threshing floor at night I believe Hosea references that and so she's sending her daughter-in-law by herself to the threshing floor where someone could potentially think she's a prostitute where someone could find her and assault her. It's highly risky and she's risking her reputation for this encounter. She is also basing this encounter on what she knows of Boaz's character, because Naomi tells Ruth lay down at his feet and do what he tells you to do. So you have a man who, big feast, big happy event, he's eaten, he's drunk, we don't know how much. He might be a little buzzed, a little tipsy, we're not sure. And then he's going to go sleep. He's going to be in a great mood, he's going to go sleep and when he wakes up from his sleep, you're going to do whatever he says. There's a very big implication that what he says could be all sorts of things, all sorts of things. And Ruth replies in complete opposite of how she has acted.
Jessica LM Jenkins:The rest of the book, the rest of the book for chapters one and two, naomi has given Ruth instruction and Ruth has said no, I'm not going to do that. You told me to go home to my parents. I'm going to stay with you. They get to Bethlehem and Naomi's not even talking to her anymore and Ruth says I am going to go do gleaning to take care of us, and Naomi's like sure, fine, whatever.
Jessica LM Jenkins:Now Naomi has this big plan that seems a little off and very risky and a lot of sexual. Oh, what's going to happen? And Ruth submits she says everything you said to do, I will do, you said to do, I will do. This is especially risky as a Moabite because, if you remember from our first episode of the Ruth podcast, the Moabite people have a sexually fraught history, especially in relationship to the Jewish Israelite people. The Moabite people, if you recall, came to be because Lot's daughters basically raped him when he was drunk to get pregnant and then have Moab and Ammon. Then Balaam couldn't curse Israel, so he told the Moabite people to have their daughters seduce Israelite men. So now Naomi is telling Ruth to do this seemingly sexually dubious plan in the middle of the night and Ruth says all right, I trust you, I trust Boaz, I'll do it. Whatever you say I will do. And so Ruth goes down to the threshing floor. You say I will do, and so Ruth goes down to the threshing floor and she did according to all which her mother-in-law commanded Boaz ate, he drank, his heart was happy and he came to lie down at the end of the heap. So let's set the scene.
Jessica LM Jenkins:Okay, the threshing floor seems to be a little bit maybe down the hill from Bethlehem, so Bethlehem's kind of up on a hill for fortification purposes. Everybody lives in Bethlehem, if you recall. Their fields are outside, surrounding the city, but they live inside Bethlehem. So everybody goes in and out of the city day and night and so some of the men, the reapers, especially the landowners. There's probably been big multi-gender parties going on because this is the harvest season. This is a big deal this time of year, but it's gotten late. The women probably went back home. Some of the men stayed, likely to guard the grain or just be there to keep working in the morning.
Jessica LM Jenkins:The importance of guarding the grain is probably important because this would be the perfect time for one of the neighboring groups to come in and steal all your grain, as has been happening all throughout the judges period. That was why Gideon was I think he was trying to thresh grain in a wine press at one point in the book of Judges. So try to hide and protect your yield from your fields is a very real concern. So, but you also need to have your threshing floor somewhere where the wind can get to it, because the process of threshing is you drive wagons or you beat it, whatever they would have to do to get the kernels of grain to separate from the hull, kind of like when you have a popcorn and you have that little hole on the outside and there's the seed, and so they separate that and then they throw it up in the air and a nice breeze takes all the really light, chaff those holes and blows it away and then the seeds fall down and they can put the seeds in piles to then put in bags or pots or baskets or whatever they store it in. And so it seems like Boaz has a big heap of the seeds that may not be put in all the baskets and everything yet, and he's going to come lay down by his.
Jessica LM Jenkins:But the threshing floor is going to be large enough where here is Boaz's grain, here and other men might have their grain piles. Or, alternatively, the men in the town have organized which families are going to get to do the threshing on which nights. Monday night is Boaz, Tuesday night is Matthews or whoever's I'm just making names up. But they're going to organize who gets to use the threshing floor when if it's not big enough to accommodate everybody which may be why Naomi said Boaz is winnowing tonight because it's been the talk of the town. Boaz is tonight, he's tomorrow, and so people are aware of the sharing schedule of these public spaces. In the ancient Israelite towns they would have certain public amenities that everybody shared. You didn't own your own wine press, you didn't own your own threshing floor. Even ovens for cooking might be shared by several households not the whole town, but you know two or three households, and so sharing these public amenities is going to be public knowledge.
Jessica LM Jenkins:Naomi knows tonight is Boaz's night. There may be a couple guys who it's. You know these three guys. It's their night. We don't know exactly how it works. Naomi does. That's what's important. So he's laying at the end of the heap and it seems like this also might be towards the edge of the threshing floor, which would make it a little bit easier for Ruth to like sneak up through the bushes, because it's kind of going to be on the side of a hill and she could kind of sneak up. So he lays down, she comes in secretly, uncovers his and she just lays down. And then it happened in the middle of the night. The Hebrew wants us to emphasize that Also in the Hebrew Old Testament.
Jessica LM Jenkins:The middle of the night is when mysterious and pivotal things happen to move stories forward. So the original audience to this is going to be noticing all of the sexual innuendo. They're going to remember all of the stigma that the Moabite people carry. And you have Ruth. Remember all of the stigma that the Moabite people carry. And you have Ruth. She's there as a lone woman at the threshing floor in the middle of the night. His feet are uncovered. She's not supposed to be there. There's been a lot of sexual innuendo. What is going to happen? Is she going to seduce him? Because this harkens back to Tamar. Definitely check out that episode. This harkens back to Tamar. This harkens back to Tamar. Definitely check out that episode. This harkens back to Tamar. This harkens back to Lot and his daughters. What is going to happen? So it's the middle of the night, everybody else is asleep. Maybe Ruth is dozing. She's probably can't sleep super well with anticipation because she doesn't know what's going to happen. So she's just laying there as quiet as can be, and suddenly the man trembles and wakes up.
Jessica LM Jenkins:The Hebrew here has stopped using names after verse seven and it's the man and the woman. It's giving you this idea If you think of Ruth as a play. All the stage lights are off, boaz and Ruth are in the middle with just a single spotlight on them. Everything is dark. They're the only ones that exist in the world. Darkness shrouds everything else. It is the man and the woman alone in the middle of the night.
Jessica LM Jenkins:At this pivotal moment, the key moment of the narrative, he trembles, he wakes up. This Hebrew word is often used for fear. There's no indication of fear here, but maybe the breeze caught his feet and he's like whoa shivers and he wakes up and he turned. We don't know if he's just rolling over, if he's looking for his blanket why are my feet uncovered? I kept off my blanket. I need to fix that. And behold, while he's tossing and turning, there's a woman laying at his feet, immediate, like whoa. That's new. There wasn't a woman when I fell asleep, and if he had something to drink, he's going to be wondering who is she here? What is she here? What have I done? What has she done? What is going on? So now Boaz is instantly awake and he says who are you? And she says I am Ruth, your maid.
Jessica LM Jenkins:This is the first time she gets to introduce herself. All throughout the book she's been Ruth the Moabitess, or Naomi's daughter-in-law, or the Moabitess Continually. Her Moabitess ancestry has been fronted. When people introduce her or talk about her, this is when she gets to introduce herself and she just uses the simplest version I am Ruth, your maidservant. The Hebrew word for maidservant is different than the one she used in chapter 2, where she said she was his maidservant. That was the lowest form of maidservant in the house. She was debasing herself, humbling herself before him. Now this is a step up on the rung. This is a maidservant or a woman who's marriageable, who's open. And so she says I am Ruth.
Jessica LM Jenkins:She just stands there or sits there as who she is, her identity, not her ancestors. She's not carrying that into this's just saying I am ruth, I am here, I am your maidservant. And then, contrary to what naomi said, naomi said he'll tell you what to do, but when the moment came, boaz asks you Because, remember, identity has been crucial all throughout this book who are you, who are you, who are you, who are you? And we're going to see it again at the end of the chapter. Identity is crucial and she presents herself simply as Ruth, his maidservant, a humble person coming before him. But then she doesn't wait for him to tell her what to do, and she doesn't wait for him to tell her what to do. She acts.
Jessica LM Jenkins:Ruth is an actor, she's going to take initiative. She says spread your wing over your mate. This wing here is the corner of the garment, most likely if we take it literally, which in some contexts indicates marriage. This is a marriage proposal Put your wing over me to marry me. But it's also reminding Boaz of his prayer, of his blessing on her in the previous chapter, where he said may you find refuge under the wings of the Lord. And so she is in effect telling Boaz I need you to act as the wing of the Lord on my behalf. Spread your wing over me as God spreads his wing over me. Because in chapter 3, god's providence, his mysterious behind-the-scenes working, is not fronted. Now it is people working, people using their free will to echo the character of God to care for other people. And Ruth says you wanted God to bless me by giving me refuge under his wings. You can do that for me. Marry me, spread your wing over me, for you are a kinsman redeemer, for you are a kinsman redeemer. What Ruth does here is she blends a marriage proposal with his duty as the Goel.
Jessica LM Jenkins:Last episode we talked about the duties of the Goel. The Goel had several duties in the ancient world. They would in the Israelite community. They would repurchase property from those who had to sell it because they were just destitute and they were like we need any money we can get. So they'd sell their property to go away. I would buy it back to keep it in the clan. He would redeem relatives who had to sell themselves into slavery because of poverty. He would avenge murder in the family. He would take restitution money and make sure it got to the appropriate parties. He would assist clan members in lawsuits. He had lots of responsibilities.
Jessica LM Jenkins:In the community, marrying widows isn't stated as one of the clear duties of a go-whale, but in an honor-shame culture, one way you gain honor is by going above and beyond what is expected. By being magnanimous and generous you're going to increase your honor and that is in many ways what she is asking here. She is saying there is a female, there is a familial responsibility to care for widows, and I'm asking you to do that and uphold that, which gives you potentially if it's not too shameful to marry a Moabite a chance to earn more honor. Bringing in the Goel also and we'll talk about this more in our next episode for Chapter 4, bringing in the Goel and bringing together the marriage and the kinsman redeemer is also going to be a key legal loophole that can finally fully integrate Ruth into the community, and we'll talk about that in the next episode. But, as we talked about in the first episode, part of what's going on in the book of Ruth is, I believe, legitimizing David's reign Because, if you recall we talked about it in the first episode, there's Old Testament laws that say a Moabite cannot enter the assembly, the worship community of Israel for 10 generations.
Jessica LM Jenkins:David is only two or three generations away from a Moabite. Solomon is one more generation away from a Moabite, yet they are the ones who lead God's people and Solomon builds the temple. So how could this work? This is a question that could be out there that Ruth solves If she just gets married straight out, solves If she just gets married straight out. It may not solve that question, but when she evokes you are a go-ale, you have kinsmen, redeemer, responsibilities towards me and Naomi, that changes the picture from just a marriage to a family-wide statement of significance that gives Ruth identity and a particular place in the family. Also, bringing in that he is a kinsman redeemer, keeps Naomi on the forefront.
Jessica LM Jenkins:Ruth isn't just seeking marriage for herself so that she alone can have rest, which is what Naomi sent her out to do. She's bringing in the kinsman redeemer on Naomi's behalf and Boaz recognizes that and we see that in his reply. He says blessed are you to the Lord, my daughter, you have made good your chesed, your covenant loyalty, your kindness from the first. He recognizes that she is acting not out of her own benefit but for the good of the family, for the good of the clan, for the good of Naomi. He says you did not go after the young men, the young marriageable men, whether poor or rich. He's basically saying you could have married for love or you could have married for wealth. Young men, poor, she would have been marrying a poor man for love and a rich man she would have been marrying potentially for wealth. And he says you didn't marry for love or wealth. Instead, you came to me out of an understanding of covenant loyalty for Naomi and your family, honoring your husband, your father-in-law, your mother-in-law, the customs of the people and thereby your new God.
Jessica LM Jenkins:Boaz sees her in a communal culture where identity is caught up in who you know and who you're a part of. Ruth identifying herself simply as her own self and Boaz recognizing her unique personal character is part of what this story hinges on. The personal character of the individual matters even in communal cultures. And he looks at her and he says and now, my daughter, do not fear For all you say I will do for you. Boaz says, hey, I'll marry you Absolutely, for everybody at the gate of my people and we'll talk about gate next time in that episode.
Jessica LM Jenkins:But everyone at the gate of my people know that you are a virtuous woman. You are an eshet ha'il. You are a woman of valor. You are a woman of substance. You are a woman of character. You are a Proverbs 31 woman. Everybody knows that in the whole city. So of course I will marry you. You want me to spread my wing over you? Absolutely, I have no problem doing that. You are a high character woman, even though this entire situation is set up with the pregnant question in the hearer's mind is this going to result in a sexual liaison, especially because she is a Moabite woman?
Jessica LM Jenkins:Boaz recognizes her character and I do not believe there is anything sexual outside of the implications of the verbiage happening in this situation, and part of the reason for that comes next. He says I will absolutely marry you, but whereas I am a kinsman redeemer, there's a kinsman redeemer nearer than me and he gets the right to try to redeem you first. If you had just asked a marriage proposal, maybe I could have just up and married you. But as soon as you bring in the go whale and you make this about the clan and the family, we have to go through proper channels. Boaz slows things down and this is part of the reason I don't think there actually was a sexual liaison. There are some commentators and articles written that think she actually got pregnant this night. I don't think that's the case because Boaz has a plan to make sure he's the one who's going to marry her in chapter four.
Jessica LM Jenkins:But even the best laid plans failed and getting a woman pregnant before you try to marry her off to a different man is just a bad idea. Like that could go sideways in all sorts of ways. So I think the accusation that the text is just trying to whitewash this and make Ruth seem cleaner than she was the Bible has no problem. I mean, go listen to or read the story of Tamar. Obviously the Bible can say it like it is. I mean Lot's daughters. The Bible lets you know when sexual stuff happens. They don't sugarcoat it and here they don't mention it. And it doesn't make logical sense that if Boaz is going to offer another man an opportunity to marry Ruth, even though he's going to shade it so that the guy doesn't want to but if he's going to offer having intercourse with her, potentially getting her pregnant beforehand, is a way to tank your standing in the community. Bad idea. But it also goes to show Ruth's character and Boaz's character.
Jessica LM Jenkins:Because unlike the Israelites who got seduced by the Moabitess women, unlike Lot, unlike Judah, moaz's forefather, boaz can be in the dark alone with a woman and not touch her even after he's had something to drink. Like Lot, even when he could use the excuse of being the go-whale as well. I'm your redeemer, you know I might as well. I have that familial right. Like Judah, he doesn't do it. He takes a step back and he says everyone knows you're a virtuous woman, I'm going to guard your virtue and I'm going to do what is right. Lodge tonight, stay with me tonight and if it's good, the man will redeem you in the morning and he can redeem you. But if he does not delight to redeem you, I love that it's not if he won't begrudgingly demean you.
Jessica LM Jenkins:Boaz wants like enthusiastic consent from this guy Like I'm going to make sure that he delights to redeem you and if it's not, like you also marry Ruth, then I'm going to make sure the guy doesn't get to do it. If he does not delight to redeem you, I myself will redeem you as the Lord lives. He promises her on the name of the Lord that he will take care of her. Keep lying here until morning, he says. So she laid at his feet until morning and she got up before a man could recognize a friend.
Jessica LM Jenkins:It's still pretty dark out, starting to get a little bit light, time for her to scamper back home. And he said we don't know to whom, whether it was to her or a servant. Do not let it be made known that the woman came to the threshing floor. Hush, hush, moans the word. We're not going to say anything.
Jessica LM Jenkins:He says to Ruth present your cloak, which is on you, take hold of it. She took hold of it, held it out to him and he measured. The Hebrew literally just says six of barley. We're taking handfuls, scoops, buckets, we're not sure, but six of some sort of measurement, not six kernels of barley, because that would be pointless, but six of barley. And he wraps that up and he hands that to her. So he puts that on her and that it says and then he came to the city, and that is a masculine verb, so maybe he even walks her back to the city so that she is safe and she returns to the mother-in-law. So he kind of heads home, maybe he goes back to the threshing floor but he is watching over her physical safety. He's not just sending her out, he's physically providing for her. And then he is returning her home to her mother-in-law.
Jessica LM Jenkins:Naomi greets her. I don't even know if Naomi slept that night, I know I wouldn't her. I don't even know if Naomi slept that night, I know I wouldn't. Naomi greets her and says who are you, my daughter? Again, this is a question of identity. Are you, mrs Boaz? Have you found a new family? Who are you connected to? What household do you belong to? Who are you? And so Ruth tells her all that the man had done for her, which partly includes my identity, is not sure. Yet I am still a Moabitess. I am still a widow, but these six barley he gave to me, for he said you shall not go emptily to your mother, which is a beautiful turn of phrase.
Jessica LM Jenkins:Naomi, at the end of chapter one told the women of the town, and remember, word's going to get around to everybody. Boaz probably heard it. Naomi says do not call me pleasant, call me bitter, for I went away full and the Lord brought me back empty. So now Boaz I can see the twinkle in his eye says do not go empty. To your mother-in-law he says I see you and your character, I see her and her need and I will watch out for both of you. I have both of your good heart.
Jessica LM Jenkins:So then naomi, naomi tells Ruth. She says sit my daughter, which, if you know anything about Ruth from the book of Ruth, sitting is not Ruth's strong suit. Ruth is a mover, ruth is a goer. She's going to do. She's going to get up and make things happen. She's going to propose to the man when she was told to let the man tell her what to do. She's going to glean. She's going to make audacious requests over and over. And now she has to sit. Naomi says sit my daughter, till you know how this thing has fallen.
Jessica LM Jenkins:There is a hint of the providence language again, but it is not providence just blowing out in the wind, where it may take it. This is providence in the hands of those who act as agents of God. Boaz is acting on their behalf, boaz is working for them and Naomi says, for the man will not be quiet until he accomplishes the thing. Today, sit, ruth, you've done everything you can. Now is your time to let the man step up and do his duty. There's questions that could be flying, like why didn't Boaz do something sooner? What is going on? If there's a nearer kinsman, redeemer, maybe he's not, he's trying not to step on that guy's toes, but why didn't he like, be like, hey, you could do something? We don't know. But now Boaz is going to act and now Ruth has not to.
Jessica LM Jenkins:Naomi is the one who is helping Ruth know how to navigate this situation. Naomi is the woman she's the theologian of the text, remember who understands the community dynamics, who understands all the actors involved in the community dynamics. She knows Boaz. She may have grown up with Boaz. She understands how this works and she is coaching Ruth through how to handle it. And so, as chapter three, the curtain falls.
Jessica LM Jenkins:We have hope for tomorrow, where Boaz will accomplish the thing he will accomplish rest for Ruth. In whose household this rest will be, we don't know yet, but there will be finality. There will be rest for Ruth at the end of the day. There will be rest for Ruth at the end of the day. That is full of hope for both Ruth and Naomi, and it brings us back to the book of Ruth being not just about individual good people doing individual good things, but individual people working within the systems and structures that God set up in the Mosaic law for the good of his people, and people using those systems and structures to benefit the poor and the needy and to be actors, not just to sit there and be like, oh well, god will take care of it. Oh, people are dying. Oh, people are hungry. Oh, there's trouble and I'm care of it. Oh, people are dying. Oh, people are hungry. Oh, there's trouble, and I'm just going to sit here in thoughts and prayers. I hope something gets better.
Jessica LM Jenkins:No, god's people stand up to do something on behalf of those who need it Sometimes that's on behalf of their self and they make clear requests and they do what they need to do clear requests and they do what they need to do.
Jessica LM Jenkins:Sometimes they act on behalf of others, but in Ruth we see God's people acting out his character on behalf of the poor and the needy.
Jessica LM Jenkins:I cannot wait to finish the book of Ruth with you next time as we look in chapter four at the legal wranglings and the nuances and bring it back to David and what is going on with David. But remember this week as we close, god does not ask his people to be passive in order to accomplish his will. God is looking for his people to reflect his character and to do good where they can see it. The book of James tells us that those of us who know what good to do and don't do it are in sin. Here we see Naomi and Boaz and Ruth all acting to do good for those that need it in their situation. Find me on social media. Let's talk about this more. I want to hear your thoughts about Ruth and Naomi activity versus passivity in doing good for those in our families and lives and communities that need us to reflect God's character in tangible, practical, pro-life ways for the good of those around us.
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