The Book of

RUTH

Peter H. W. Lau

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

4035 Park East Court SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

www.eerdmans.com

© 2023 Peter H. W. Lau

All rights reserved

Published 2023

ISBN 978-0-8028-7726-0

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

The New International Commentary on the Old Testament

General Editors

E. J. Young

(1965–1968)

R. K. Harrison

(1968–1993)

Robert L. Hubbard Jr.

(1994–)

Bill T. Arnold

(2020–)

For Kathryn

Contents

Series Editor’s Preface

Author’s Preface

List of Abbreviations

Bibliography

INTRODUCTION

I. Structure and Message

II. Genre

III. Authorship and Date

A. Authorship

B. Date of Composition

C. Conclusions regarding the Dating of the Book of Ruth

IV. Purpose

V. Canonicity

VI. The Hebrew Text

VII. Theological Messages

A. Names of God

B. God’s Providence

C. Human Action

D. The Cycle of Divine-Human Kindness

E. God’s Blessing

VIII. Themes

A. Applying the Law

B. Ruth’s Ethnicity and Israelite Identity

IX. Ruth and the New Testament

A. Matthean Genealogy

B. Mission

C. Redemption

TEXT AND COMMENTARY

Act 1: Death and Emptiness (1:1–22)

A. The End of a Family Line in Moab (1:1–6)

B. En route: Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth Dialogue (1:7–19a)

C. Town Gate: Naomi Laments before the Townswomen (1:19b–22)

Act 2: Seeking Short-Term Security (2:1–23)

D. Home: Naomi Accepts Ruth’s Plan (2:1–3)

E. Boaz’s Field: Encounter between Ruth and Boaz (2:4–17) 133

F. Home: Naomi and Ruth Debrief (2:18–23)

Act 3: Seeking Permanent Security (3:1–18)

F′. Home: Ruth Accepts Naomi’s Plan (3:1–5)

E′. Threshing Floor: Encounter between Ruth and Boaz (3:6–15)

D′. Home: Naomi and Ruth Debrief (3:16–18)

Act 4: Redemption and Fullness (4:1–22)

C′. Town Gate: Boaz Redeems before the Elders (4:1–12)

B′. Home: Naomi and the Women Dialogue (4:13–17)

A′. The Beginning of a Royal Line in Israel (4:18–22)

Index of Authors

Index of Subjects

Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Texts

Series Editor’s Preface

“Do you understand what you’re reading?”

What a question!

With this opening line, Philip, one of Christianity’s first evangelists, approached a seeker from Africa, who had been in Jerusalem to worship. Somewhere along the Gaza Road, on his return trip to Ethiopia, the stranger was reading a portion of the Old Testament. Philip asked the question when he heard him “reading” the ancient text, an activity that almost certainly involved verbalizing the text by reciting it aloud (anaginōskō; Acts 8:30). An “angel of the Lord” had sent Philip to meet the Ethiopian for this very opportunity (8:26–29).

Realizing that the seeker was reading a difficult text, and yet also realizing how vitally important it was to the stranger’s faith, Philip distinguished between reading and comprehending. “Understanding” is different from simply pronouncing the text aloud; comprehension involves grasping the significance of what is ...