Is that stuff about Ruth really in the Bible?

[Todd Austin]

Most scholars that I’ve read on this acknowledge the Hebrew supports this understanding of Ruth, but it does not require it. In other words, you can read it either way. It seems people often come down on one side of this issue or the other based on what they want to believe about Ruth. If they believe she is a heroine of righteousness, then that is the translation they choose.

The best analysis of this passage I’ve seen so far comes from the New Interpreter’s Study Bible. Kathleen R. Farmer wrote the study notes for Ruth, and she makes what I think is a convincing argument for the view I present in Episode 1. If you want to study more, I suggest starting with her Excursus: Puns and Innuendo in Ruth 3, on page 387 of the NISB.

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