Ruth

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Ruth

==Summary: Elimelech and Naomi fled Bethlehem because of a famine. The traveled to the country of [|Moab] and had two sons, Mahlon and Kilion. Soon after they arrived, the men started dying. First it was Elimelech. Before the two sons died, they were married to Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. Naomi got word that the famine in Bethlehem was over so her and her two daughters-in-law set off for Naomis home. On the way, however, Naomi changes her mind and thinks that the two girl should not follow her back because the Lord has gone against her. Orpah returns to Moab while Ruth continues to follow Naomi.media type="custom" key="13386454" width="30" height="30" When the two reached Bethlehem, Naomi changes her name to Mara to forget how the Lord has done her no good in life so far. Ruth needed to work so she started to glean in the fields belonging to a man named Boaz who came from the same clan as Naomis husband. Instead of treating her as a slave, Boaz cares for Ruth, making sure the men leave her alone, she has plenty to drink and work to always do. Ruth is not sure at first why Boaz acts like this and asks him. His reason for this is because everyone has heard what Ruth did for her mother-in-law and how she came to the land of the Lord to take refuge. She is grateful for everyone's welcoming and continues to work. Naomi knows this will only get them so far. To continue living like this, Ruth must marry Boaz. By Naomis command, Ruth puts on her best clothes, perfume and goes to Boaz' home. She assures him that she is worthy by lying at his feet after he has eaten a nice meal. When he wakes and finds her, he knows that she is a noble women and they agree to do whatever the other asks for. She leaves him with a bag full of grain to give to Naomi. Boaz goes to the gate and states his case. He is allowed to marry Ruth and endangers her estate. The two had a child, in the end, named Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.==

Discussion Questions:
Why do you think Orpah went back home? Why do you think Ruth followed Naomi? What do you think about the laws that are based off of death and marriage of relatives? What are some of the more prominent themes? How can the lesson of this story apply to your life?

Laws:

 * 1) An unmarried man must wed his dead brother's widow if she is childless, to preserve his line of descent.
 * 2) For redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party must take offf his sandal and give it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel. Boaz did this at the gate.
 * 3) When you glean, you are picking up fallen grain that is forced to be left for peasants to gather.

Concepts:

 * 1) Endangering estate is taking responsibility for your soon to be wife and her future children that may take away inheritance from your own children.
 * 2) Since Ruth's husband left no brother to marry her, the law required his nearest unmarried relative to wed her. Naomi is advising Ruth to make her claim to Boaz in the unusual and symbolic way.

==Outside Material: No one really knows who wrote the book of Ruth. It could have been a man but it is the only book with prominent female characters. However, it is told from a womans point of view. The author could have been a man but the narrator may be a women.==

Study Guide/Quiz Questions:
Why was gleaning so important to Ruth and Naomi? What drove them out of Bethlehem in the first place?

= Women =

==Summary: Louise Bogan describes women using words like,[| provident] and benevolent. Bogan describes the way womens hearts are locked up, they cannot do the work of men and are very careful in decisions. Also, how women exaggerate every word that is said to them.==

Discussion Questions:
Is it fair, taking into account the time this was written, to describe women this way? Do any of the women who have been in previous biblical stories fit this description? In what way? What are some poetic devices used? ==

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Supplementary Material:
Phrases in the passage:

"They stiffen, when they should bend." By my interpretation, means women stay up tight when it's okay to let loose. It could also mean women take time in their decisions, inevitably leading to the wrong one anyway.

"They cannot think of so many crops to a field/ Or of clean wood [|cleft]by an ax." Meaning women can't make enough crops from the land nor do they know how to grow or take care of crops based on what they are. ==

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Study Guide/Quiz Questions:
What are some metaphors in the passage? Similies?