(Re)reading Ruth

by William A Tooman, Marian Kelsey (Contributor)

The book of Ruth seems simple. It is the tale of a poor Moabite widow who relocates to Bethlehem and finds security there when she marries Boaz, a wealthy Israelite man. Although the plot is simple, the book’s message is elusive. Re( reading Ruth) demonstrates how careful attention to the book’s structure, allusions, wordplay, and location in the canon can reveal the dynamic ways that it engages with other biblical stories and how that engagement shapes its message.

Genres: Theology

200 pages, Paperback

Published March 3, 2022

Reviews

[Livy Fern · Rating 5 out of 5]

pretty swag - a little too much of a focus on literary analysis which I just don’t get

[Fred Christopherson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond being a helpful commentary on the book named, (Re)reading Ruth has helpful guidance for reading the Hebrew Bible in general. (The author uses the term “Hebrew bible” rather than “Old Testament” apparently out of consideration for Jewish readers). Dr. Tooman describes differences between Biblical and modern literature, including the density of the text, and greater use of allusion and poetic devices. In this way the book may be considered almost as much a primer on Biblical reading as a commentary on Ruth, although Ruth is clearly the focus.

The book takes a literary approach to Ruth. That is, the attention is on the story itself rather than such issues as speculations as to authorship and the date of composition.
For the benefit of those who do not read Hebrew, he explains the wordplay which would be missed by those of us who read the Bible in translation. He also discusses many of the key words, especially those with uncertain meanings.

Dr. Tooman is quick to credit other scholars and identifies the sources of ideas which are not his own. Readers should thus be able to readily find sources for additional study. These sources are identified in the footnotes (or technically, “endnotes”).

The book is well organized and easy to follow. The author anticipates that some of the readers may have little interest in some of the side topics, and treats these discussions in “excursuses”, which he encourages those who are not interested in them to skip. For example, one of these is an excursus on levirate law, which may not be of interest to some of the readers. Side topics are also treated in the extensive footnotes.

The book was published in 2022 and is written in a modern style. The author freely uses the word “gift” as a verb. He also uses the feminine pronouns “she” or “her” when referring to an anonymous reader, as if men do not also read the Bible. The value of Dr. Tooman’s book however offsets these minor distractions.

[Andy Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I just finished this book, and there is a lot more to Ruth than meets the eye.

Ruth seems to be a simplistic story where the poor immigrant Ruth marries the rich man Boaz and solves all her and her mother-in-law's problems. That's just reading it linearly, from front to back, in its four short chapters. It's a rags-to-riches story, almost like Cinderella.

The author, William Tooman, teaches Hebrew and explains that you must read it vertically as well as linearly. That requires seeing all the allusions in the book to the rest of the Bible, particularly Genesis, Judges, and 1 Samuel.

Each allusion adds detail to the otherwise bare story. One allusion is between Boaz and Ruth, and Lot and his daughters. Where Lot's daughters got him drunk to get pregnant by him and carry on his line, Boaz and Ruth act differently. Ruth, rather than seducing Boaz, proposes to him, which he gratefully accepts.

There is also a parallel between Judah and Tamar and Boaz and Ruth. In both cases, the woman wants to continue the family line. But Tamar tricks Judah by posing as a prostitute. But Ruth reveals who she is to Boaz, who, rather than taking advantage of her, agrees to marry her honorably.

These are just two of the dozens of links between Ruth and the rest of the Bible. I highly recommend the book.

[Samuel Draper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a joy to read for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it is quite fun to read a book by someone that you have gotten to know, as I have enjoyed learning from Dr. Tooman for most of my undergrad. Secondly, it was wonderful to see the reading process that they taught me laid out so succinctly and masterfully. It always amazes me when the seemingly boring, terse prose of the Hebrew Bible comes alive through a series of repeated words, phrases, or plot points. The way that a text alludes to other texts amongst the Hebrew Bible is continually fascinating to me, and this small book on Ruth is a prime example of how a lot of these texts work. Hoping that this approach takes the Biblical Studies world by storm in the next few years.

Highest recommendation to anyone interested in my undergraduate training, why I'm so interested in these texts, and why I want to keep doing it.

[Sam Fredrickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good stuff