Ruth the Moabite: Was She Truly Accepted?

The book of Ruth is often seen as a story of how Ruth is embraced fully within Judah as the great-grandmother of king David (Ruth 4:17–21).^[1] However, a closer look highlights how Ruth is at times ignored, dismissed, and/or rejected by Naomi, the Jewish community in Bethlehem, the “Priority Redeemer,” and, most significantly, the narrator.^[2]

Naomi Blames Her Daughters-in-Law

Leaving Moab, Ruth and Orpah join their mother-in-law Naomi to go back to Judah. Naomi encourages them to return, even when they cry and plead with her:

^{רות א:ח} וַתֹּאמֶר נׇעֳמִי לִשְׁתֵּי כַלֹּתֶיהָ לֵכְנָה שֹּׁבְנָה אִשָּׁה לְבֵית אִמָּהּ (יעשה) [יַעַשׂ] יְ־הֹוָה עִמָּכֶם חֶסֶד כַּאֲשֶׁר עֲשִׂיתֶם עִם־הַמֵּתִים וְעִמָּדִי. ^א:ט יִתֵּן יְ־הֹוָה לָכֶם וּמְצֶאןָ מְנוּחָה אִשָּׁה בֵּית אִישָׁהּ וַתִּשַּׁק לָהֶן וַתִּשֶּׂאנָה קוֹלָן וַתִּבְכֶּינָה. ^א:י וַתֹּאמַרְנָה־לָּהּ כִּי־אִתָּךְ נָשׁוּב לְעַמֵּךְ.

^{Ruth 1:8} But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Turn back, each of you to her mother’s house. May YHWH deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me! ^1:9 May YHWH grant that each of you find security in the house of a husband!” And she kissed them farewell. They broke into weeping ^1:10 and said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.”^[3]

As Yael Ziegler writes:

Naomi assumes self-interest on the part of her daughters-in-law. Similar to the Torah’s laws of yibbum, ancient societies made legal provisions for a childless widow to marry a member of her dead husband’s family. Evidently, the vulnerability of these women, left adrift without anyone to provide for them, necessitated these provisions. It is likely that Orpah and Ruth naturally (and justifiably) assumed that they would accompany Naomi back to her hometown, where she would provide each of them with a husband from her family:^[4]

^{רות א:יא} וַתֹּאמֶר נׇעֳמִי שֹׁבְנָה בְנֹתַי לָמָּה תֵלַכְנָה עִמִּי הַעוֹד־לִי בָנִים בְּמֵעַי וְהָיוּ לָכֶם לַאֲנָשִׁים. ^א:יב שֹׁבְנָה בְנֹתַי לֵכְןָ כִּי זָקַנְתִּי מִהְיוֹת לְאִישׁ כִּי אָמַרְתִּי יֶשׁ־לִי תִקְוָה גַּם הָיִיתִי הַלַּיְלָה לְאִישׁ וְגַם יָלַדְתִּי בָנִים. ^א:יג הֲלָהֵן  תְּשַׂבֵּרְנָה עַד אֲשֶׁר יִגְדָּלוּ הֲלָהֵן תֵּעָגֵנָה לְבִלְתִּי הֱיוֹת לְאִישׁ אַל בְּנֹתַי כִּי־מַר־לִי מְאֹד מִכֶּם כִּי־יָצְאָה בִי יַד־יְ־הֹוָה.

^{Ruth 1:11} But Naomi replied, “Turn back, my daughters! Why should you go with me? Have I any more sons in my body who might be husbands for you? ^1:12 Turn back, my daughters, for I am too old to be married. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I were married tonight and I also bore sons, ^1:13 should you wait for them to grow up? Should you on their account debar yourselves from marriage? Oh no, my daughters! My lot is far more bitter than yours, for YHWH’s hand has struck out against me.”

Most translations understand מִכֶּם (mikem) in Naomi’s statement כִּי־מַר־לִי מְאֹד מִכֶּם (ki mar li m’od mikem, literally “for it is bitter to me much from you”) in a comparative sense. However, מִכֶּם can have a causative sense,^[5] in which case the translation would be “for it is very bitter to me on account of you.”

The Peshitta (a second-century Syriac translation of the Bible) acknowledges this ambiguity in the way it renders this phrase:

ܡܛܠ ܕܡ݁ܪܬ ܠܝ ܛܒ ܥܠܝܟܝܢ. ܘܠܝ ܡܪܝܪܐ݂ ܝܬܝܪ ܡܢܟܝܢ. [מטל דמרת לי טב עליכין, ולי מרירא יתיר מנכין.]

For it has been very bitter for me on account of you, and for me it is more bitter than for you.^[6]

The Zohar Chadash, a medieval (1100-1400) kabalistic text, explicitly has Naomi blaming her daughters-in-law for the death of her sons:

^{זוהר חדש, מדרש רות שי} כי מר לי מאד מכם. עליכם מבעי ליה, כמה דאת אמר, (שמואל ב א) צר לי עליך, מאי מכם. אמר רבי קרוניא אמר רב כהנא, עאקו בלבאי מכם, דאתון גרמתון לבניי דימותו.

^{Zohar Chadash, Midrash Ruth 310} For it is very bitter for me because of you. It should have said “for you,” just as it says (2 Samuel 1): 'I am distressed for you.' What does 'because of you' mean? Rabbi Keronya said, Rabbi Kahana said: 'They are heavy upon my heart because of you, for you caused my sons to die.'^[7]

Midrash Ruth Zuta (13^th century) provides another explanation for why Naomi is so insistent that her daughters-in-law not accompany her to Judah, suggesting that Naomi wants to disassociate herself from them because she will be embarrassed by how they dress:

^{מדרש רות זוטא א:ח} מפני מה היתה מחזרת אותן כדי שלא תתבייש בהן שכן מצינו עשרה שווקים היו בירושלים. ולא היו מערבין אלו עם אלו שוק של מלכים, שוק של נביאים, שוק של כהנים, שוק של לוים, שוק של ישראל, ניכרים בלבושיהם בשווקים, מה שאלו לובשין לא היו אלו לובשין.

^{Midrash Ruth Zuta 1:8} Why did she send them back? In order not to be embarrassed by them. For so did we find that in Jerusalem there were several marketplaces and they did not mix with one another: The marketplace of the kings; the marketplace of the prophets; the marketplace of the priests; the marketplace of the Levites; the marketplace of the Israelites. The foreigners were [dressed] in their clothes and were in their [own] marketplaces. What these wore, the others did not wear.^[8]

Naomi’s Detachment

Naomi’s ambivalence towards her daughters-in-law is further reflected in how unresponsive she is to their crying and Orpah’s parting kiss (1:14):

^{רות א:יד} וַתִּשֶּׂנָה קוֹלָן וַתִּבְכֶּינָה עוֹד וַתִּשַּׁק עׇרְפָּה לַחֲמוֹתָהּ וְרוּת דָּבְקָה בָּהּ.

^{Ruth 1:14} They broke into weeping again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law farewell. But Ruth clung to her.

Despite Ruth’s insistence on coming with Naomi, Naomi continues to rebuff her.

^{רות א:טו} וַתֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה שָׁבָה יְבִמְתֵּךְ אֶל־עַמָּהּ וְאֶל־אֱלֹהֶיהָ שׁוּבִי אַחֲרֵי יְבִמְתֵּךְ.

^{Ruth 1:15} So she said, “See, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and her gods. Go follow your sister-in-law.”

But Ruth begs Naomi not to abandon her:

^{רות א:טז} וַתֹּאמֶר רוּת אַל־תִּפְגְּעִי־בִי לְעׇזְבֵךְ לָשׁוּב מֵאַחֲרָיִךְ כִּי אֶל־אֲשֶׁר תֵּלְכִי אֵלֵךְ וּבַאֲשֶׁר תָּלִינִי אָלִין עַמֵּךְ עַמִּי וֵאלֹהַיִךְ אֱלֹהָי. ^א:יז בַּאֲשֶׁר תָּמוּתִי אָמוּת וְשָׁם אֶקָּבֵר כֹּה יַעֲשֶׂה יְ־הֹוָה לִי וְכֹה יוֹסִיף כִּי הַמָּוֶת יַפְרִיד בֵּינִי וּבֵינֵךְ.

^{Ruth 1:16} But Ruth replied, do not press me to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. ¹⁷ Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus and more may YHWH do to me if anything but death parts me from you.”

Most translations render אַל־תִּפְגְּעִי־בִי (’l-tpg‘y-by) ‘as “Do not urge me.”^[9] The term פָּגַע (pg‘) with the object marker ב (b) means to urge or entreat someone (see, e.g., Jer 7:16; 27:18; Job 21:15). However, it could also mean to attack or encounter with hostility (see, e.g., Jos 2:16, attack; Jud 8:21, striking to kill).^[10] In Ruth 2:22, the verb has the meaning of accost or harass^[11]:

^{רות ב:כב} וַתֹּאמֶר נׇעֳמִי אֶל־רוּת כַּלָּתָהּ טוֹב בִּתִּי כִּי תֵצְאִי עִם־נַעֲרוֹתָיו וְלֹא יִפְגְּעוּ־בָךְ בְּשָׂדֶה אַחֵר.

^{Ruth 2:22} And Naomi answered her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is best, daughter, that you go out with his maidservants, and not be accosted in some other field.”

Naomi responds to Ruth’s refusal to leave her and insistence on leaving her home and her people to accompany Naomi to Bethlehem by giving Ruth the silent treatment (1:18):

^{רות א:יח} וַתֵּרֶא כִּי־מִתְאַמֶּצֶת הִיא לָלֶכֶת אִתָּהּ וַתֶּחְדַּל לְדַבֵּר אֵלֶיהָ.

^{Ruth 1:18} When [Naomi] saw how determined she was to go with her, she ceased talking to her.

While NJPS, for example, renders לְדַבֵּר (ldbr) as “argue,” the meaning of .ד.ב.ר (d-b-r) is “to speak, talk, converse.” Naomi simply refused to talk any more to Ruth.^[12]

Together but Separate

Although Ruth continues the journey with Naomi, they are not described as going together, unlike Abraham and Isaac on the way to Isaac’s binding:

^{רות א:יט} וַתֵּלַכְנָה שְׁתֵּיהֶם עַד־בּוֹאָנָה בֵּית לָחֶם.

^{Ruth 1:19} and the two went on until they reached Bethlehem.

^{בראשית כב:ו} וַיִּקַּח אַבְרָהָם אֶת־עֲצֵי הָעֹלָה וַיָּשֶׂם עַל־יִצְחָק בְּנוֹ וַיִּקַּח בְּיָדוֹ אֶת־הָאֵשׁ וְאֶת־הַמַּאֲכֶלֶת וַיֵּלְכוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם יַחְדָּו.

^{Genesis 22:6} Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. He himself took the firestone and the knife; and the two walked off together.

In fact, the Midrash Ruth Rabbah imagines that the road narrows and forces them to walk separately:

^{רות רבא ב} ותלכנה בדרך – הוצרה עליהם דרך, והלכו בייחוד (נפרד).

^{Ruth Rabbah 2} “And they walk on the road” The road narrowed for them and they walked separately.”^[13]

In Bethlehem

Naomi continues to ignore Ruth after arriving in Bethlehem, and, in fact, she tells the women who greet her how she has lost everything. She does not even acknowledge her daughter-in-law Ruth:

^{רות א:יט} וַיְהִי כְּבוֹאָנָה בֵּית לֶחֶם וַתֵּהֹם כׇּל־הָעִיר עֲלֵיהֶן וַתֹּאמַרְנָה הֲזֹאת נׇעֳמִי. ^א:כ וַתֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶן אַל־תִּקְרֶאנָה לִי נׇעֳמִי קְרֶאןָ לִי מָרָא כִּי־הֵמַר שַׁדַּי לִי מְאֹד. ^א:כא אֲנִי מְלֵאָה הָלַכְתִּי וְרֵיקָם הֱשִׁיבַנִי יְ־הֹוָה לָמָּה תִקְרֶאנָה לִי נׇעֳמִי וַיְ־הֹוָה עָנָה בִי וְשַׁדַּי הֵרַע לִי.

^{Ruth 1:19} When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole city buzzed with excitement over them. The women said, “Can this be Naomi?” ^1:20 “Do not call me Naomi,” she replied. “Call me Mara,^[14] for Shaddai has made my lot very bitter.^1:21 I went away full, and YHWH has brought me back empty. How can you call me Naomi, when YHWH has dealt harshly with me, when Shaddai has brought misfortune upon me!”^[15]

After Naomi’s bitter speech, the narrator informs us that Ruth also arrived (apparently unacknowledged not only by Naomi, but by the crowd, as well):

^{רות א:כב} וַתָּשׇׁב נׇעֳמִי וְרוּת הַמּוֹאֲבִיָּה כַלָּתָהּ עִמָּהּ הַשָּׁבָה מִשְּׂדֵי מוֹאָב וְהֵמָּה בָּאוּ בֵּית לֶחֶם בִּתְחִלַּת קְצִיר שְׂעֹרִים.

^{Ruth 1:22} Thus Naomi returned from the country of Moab; she returned with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabite. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

Although Ruth is now in Bethlehem, the narrator continues to refer to her as “Ruth the Moabite” (see also Ruth 2:2; 2:21), suggesting that she was viewed not only as an outsider, but a Moabite one, at that.^[16]

Once they settle in, Naomi is no longer able to ignore Ruth and addresses her as “my daughter,” yet she still encourages Ruth to go to the fields and gather grain without her, even though her later comments make it clear that she is aware of the unwelcome attention a young foreign woman gleaning on her own might attract (doubtful if she would have sent her own daughter alone).^[17] It is also noteworthy that Naomi does not bother to tell Ruth to glean in a field of a relative, who may be kinder to her.

Boaz is More Accepting of Ruth

The relationship between Ruth and Boaz begins when he sees her gleaning in the field and takes an immediate interest in her, showing concern for her welfare by advising her to stay close to his women while reaping so she will be safe. Surprised by the interest Boaz has taken in her, Ruth pointedly asks him why he has shown her such kindness when she is a foreigner:

^{רות ב:י} וַתִּפֹּל עַל־פָּנֶיהָ וַתִּשְׁתַּחוּ אָרְצָה וַתֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו מַדּוּעַ מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ לְהַכִּירֵנִי וְאָנֹכִי נׇכְרִיָּה.

^{Ruth 2:10} She prostrated herself with her face to the ground, and said to him, “Why are you so kind as to single me out, when I am a foreigner?”

Boaz is the only one who acknowledges that she has left her homeland and has committed to YHWH, the God of Israel (cf. the description of Abraham in Gen 12:1):

^{רות ב:יא} וַיַּעַן בֹּעַז וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ הֻגֵּד הֻגַּד לִי כֹּל אֲשֶׁר־עָשִׂית אֶת־חֲמוֹתֵךְ אַחֲרֵי מוֹת אִישֵׁךְ וַתַּעַזְבִי אָבִיךְ וְאִמֵּךְ וְאֶרֶץ מוֹלַדְתֵּךְ וַתֵּלְכִי אֶל־עַם אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יָדַעַתְּ תְּמוֹל שִׁלְשׁוֹם. ^ב:יב יְשַׁלֵּם יְ־הֹוָה פׇּעֳלֵךְ וּתְהִי מַשְׂכֻּרְתֵּךְ שְׁלֵמָה מֵעִם יְ־הֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר־בָּאת לַחֲסוֹת תַּחַת־כְּנָפָיו.

^{Ruth 2:11} Boaz said in reply, “I have been told of all that you did for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband, how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth and came to a people you had not known before. ^2:12 May YHWH reward your deeds. May you have a full recompense from YHWH, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have sought refuge!”

In the episodes that follow, Boaz continues to favor Ruth, showing her kindness and making sure she has plenty to glean in his fields and that she is not molested by his male workers (2:8; 2:9, 2:15, 2:16).^[18]

In all interactions with Boaz she is simply “Ruth”, not “Ruth the Moabite.” That said, as Maya Shmueli points out, Boaz speaks to her in the third person:

לעומת זאת בועז שואל על רות שלא בנוכחותה ומתוך עמדה של אמפתיה, המצטיירת מהמשך העלילה. עם זאת בשתי התמונות המילה המֹורה, הּזֹאת, מנכיחה את הישות לז במשנתו של בובר. בועז בפגישתו עם רות מדבר אליה במישרין (בגוף שני), אך לא נרקמים ביניהם יחסי אני־אתה. הריחוק המילולי והפיזי נשמר, ונותרת תחושה של ניכור.

In contrast, Boaz inquires about Ruth in her absence and from a position of empathy, as illustrated by the unfolding story. However, in both scenes, the word "this" evokes the presence of a relationship with an “it” in Buber's philosophy. Boaz, in his meeting with Ruth, speaks to her directly (in the second person), but an I-Thou relationship does not develop between them. The verbal and physical distance is maintained, leaving a sense of alienation.^[19]

Only after Naomi advises a dangerous, stealthy nighttime visit to seduce Boaz on the threshing floor does he commit to marrying her.^[20]

Ploni Almoni the Unnamed “Priority Redeemer” Rejects Her

Boaz would not have had the opportunity to marry Ruth if the unnamed priority redeemer had not rejected her.

^{רות ד:ו} וַיֹּאמֶר הַגֹּאֵל לֹא אוּכַל (לגאול) [לִגְאׇל־]לִי פֶּן־אַשְׁחִית אֶת־נַחֲלָתִי גְּאַל־לְךָ אַתָּה אֶת־גְּאֻלָּתִי כִּי לֹא־אוּכַל לִגְאֹל.

^{Ruth 4:6} The redeemer replied, “Then I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own estate. You take over my right of redemption, for I am unable to exercise it.”

The Midrash elaborates on the priority redeemer’s thought process in rejecting Ruth:

^{רות רבה (לרנר) ז:י} אמר הראשונים לא מתו אלא על ידי שנטלו אותן ואני הולך לטלה, חס לי לטלה, לית אנא מערבב זרעייתי איני מערב פסלת בבני, ולא היה יודע שכבר נתחדשה הלכה עמוני ולא עמונית מואבי ולא מואבית.

^{Ruth Rabbah 7:10} He [the unnamed redeemer] said: ‘The first ones only died because they took them, and I am going to take her? Heaven forbid, I will not mix my seed. I will not mix waste with my children.’ But he did not know that the law had already been renewed: “An Ammonite,” but not an Ammonite woman, “a Moabite,” but not a Moabite woman.^[21]

Ruth Marries Boaz and Disappears

After Boaz marries Ruth and she has a son, the women of the town note that Ruth loves and is devoted to Naomi. Yet there is no indication that Naomi reciprocated.

^{רות ד:יד} וַתֹּאמַרְנָה הַנָּשִׁים אֶל־נׇעֳמִי בָּרוּךְ יְ־הֹוָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא הִשְׁבִּית לָךְ גֹּאֵל הַיּוֹם וְיִקָּרֵא שְׁמוֹ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל. ^ד:טו וְהָיָה לָךְ לְמֵשִׁיב נֶפֶשׁ וּלְכַלְכֵּל אֶת־שֵׂיבָתֵךְ כִּי כַלָּתֵךְ אֲשֶׁר־אֲהֵבַתֶךְ יְלָדַתּוּ אֲשֶׁר־הִיא טוֹבָה לָךְ מִשִּׁבְעָה בָּנִים.

^{Ruth 4:14} And the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be YHWH, who has not withheld a redeemer from you today! May his name be perpetuated in Israel! ^4:15 He will renew your life and sustain your old age; for he is born of your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons.”

In fact, after Ruth has the baby, her name is never mentioned again.

The Baby is Considered Naomi’s, Not Ruth’s

Naomi takes the baby into her care, without any explicit consent from Ruth:

^{רות ד:טז} וַתִּקַּח נׇעֳמִי אֶת־הַיֶּלֶד וַתְּשִׁתֵהוּ בְחֵיקָהּ וַתְּהִי־לוֹ לְאֹמֶנֶת.

^{Ruth 4:16} Naomi took the child and held it to her bosom. She became its foster mother.^[22]

The baby is not considered Ruth’s but Naomi’s.^[23] The Malbim (R. Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Wisser, 1809 – 1879), seemingly troubled by Naomi appropriating the child, uses the levirate laws to justify why the baby is hers:

^{מלבי"ם על רות ד:טז} עפ"ז היתה לו לאומנת כי הוא בנה ממש ותשא אותו כאם האומנת את בנה, והשכנות אמרו שיולד בן לנעמי כי כן הוא האמת שהוא בן נעמי מצד היבום וכן קראו שמו שהוא בן נעמי.

^{Malbim Ruth 4:16} She was to him as a foster mother because he was literally her son and she raised him like a mother who nurses her son, the neighbors said that a son was born to Naomi because this is the truth, that he is the son of Naomi by virtue of yibbum (levirate marriage) and so they named him as the son of Naomi.^[24]

Although Ruth gave birth to the baby, townsfolk say “A baby is born to Naomi”:

^{רות ד:יז} וַתִּקְרֶאנָה לוֹ הַשְּׁכֵנוֹת שֵׁם לֵאמֹר יֻלַּד־בֵּן לְנׇעֳמִי וַתִּקְרֶאנָה שְׁמוֹ עוֹבֵד הוּא אֲבִי־יִשַׁי אֲבִי דָוִד.

^{Ruth 4:17} and the women neighbors gave him a name, saying, “A son is born to Naomi!” They named him Obed; he was the father of Jesse, father of David.

This appropriation serves to “purify” David’s ancestry.^[25]

When was Ruth Finally Given Her Due Recognition?

King David’s lineage at the end of the book of Ruth lists only the fathers.^[26] Ruth herself disappears. It is only in later texts that she begins to be reclaimed. In the Christian Bible, Ruth (not Naomi) and three other women^[27] are mentioned in Jesus’ lineage through his adoptive father Joseph:

^{Matt 1:3} and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, 1:4 and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 1:5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 1:6 and Jesse the father of King David. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah. (NRSV translation)

In the Talmud, Ruth is vindicated by the explanation that her name foreshadows king David’s praise of God:

^{ברכות ז:ב} רוּת, מַאי ״רוּת״? אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: שֶׁזָּכְתָה וְיָצָא מִמֶּנָּה דָּוִד שֶׁרִיוָּהוּ לְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּשִׁירוֹת וְתִשְׁבָּחוֹ

^{b. Berakhot 7:b} What is the meaning of the name Ruth? Rabbi Yoḥanan said: That she had the privilege that David, who inundated the Holy One, Blessed be He, with songs and praises, would descend from her. (The name Ruth, רוּת, is etymologically similar in Hebrew to the word inundate,רִוָּה ).^[28]

The Talmud even imagines Ruth living to see her great-grandson Solomon crowned king, honored as a queen mother with a throne by his side:

^{בבלי בבא בתרא צא ב} ״עם המלך במלאכתו ישבו שם״ – זו רות המואביה, שראתה במלכות שלמה בן בנו של בן בנה – שנאמר: ״וישם כסא לאם המלך״, ואמר רבי אלעזר: לאמה של מלכות.

^{Bava Batra 91b} “There they dwelt occupied in the king’s work (1 Chr 4:23),” this is referring to Ruth the Moabite, who saw the kingship of Solomon, the grandson of her grandson. As it is stated ]about Solomon[: “And he caused a throne to be set for the king’s mother” (I Kings 2:19),^[29] and Rabbi Elazar says: ]This means[ for the mother of ]the dynasty of[ kingship [i.e., Ruth[.^[30]

This midrashic reclaiming of Ruth and reimagining of her connection to David and his line underscores just how much she was originally marginalized. Perhaps similarly the Peshitta is reflecting this later, more accepting view of Ruth by renaming her as רעות, “reuth” which means companionship or friendship.

Postscript

For a contemporary portrayal of the alienation of Ruth see the poem of Naava Semel in her Hebrew poem “The Stranger.” I offer here the first stanza:

גֵרָה

She-Stranger

אַל תֵּלְכִי אִתִּי, רוּת, עַכְשָׁו נַעֲצֹר

Don’t walk with me, Ruth, now we will stop

אֶת הַגְּבוּל הַזֶּה לְבַדִּי אֶעֱבֹר

I will cross this border alone

וְאַתְּ עוֹדֵךְ בִּנְקֻדַּת הֶחָזוֹר

You are still in the point of return

עַל עִקְבוֹתָיִךְ שוּבִי אָחוֹר

Follow your footprints turn back

אַל תֵּלְכִי אִתִּי, רוּת, נִפָּרֵד יְקָרָה

Don’t walk with me, Ruth, we will separate my Dear,

מִן הָעֵבֶר הַהוּא זוֹ לֹא אֶרֶץ בְּחִירָה

Beyond there, it’s not a chosen land

שָם יַצְבִּיעוּ עָלַיִךְ, יְדַבְּרוּ בָּךְ סָרָה

There, they will point at you, talk despondently at you.

לְעוֹלָם תִּהְיִי בִּשְבִילָם "הַזָּרָה “

You will be forever an alien

נָכְרִיָּה כָּאן בֵּינֵינוּ, אֵשֶת צָרָה

Foreigner between us, a Tragedy’s Wife,

עַל מַשְקוֹף יֵרָשֵם "פֹּה גָּרָה גֵּרָה."

It will be written on your doorpost “here is living the foreigner.”