which women are the main characters, the other being Esther. The two books present complementary reflections on Israelite identity in the context of interactions with other peoples. Ruth utilizes story as a vehicle to think through how Israel should relate to foreigners living in its midst. Esther, on the other hand, takes the opposite tack: how to live as a minority within a dominant and sometimes hostile culture. Read together, the books comprise a narrative diptych on the topic of Jewish identity,