Laps and Levirite Marriage: The Proper Care and Feeding of Children in Ruth 4

By the time we get to the end of a story we generally have a pretty good idea of who the characters are and what the plot is about and, probably, what the conclusion of the tale has in store for us. The book Ruth is much the same. When we get to chapter 4–whatContinue reading “Laps and Levirite Marriage: The Proper Care and Feeding of Children in Ruth 4”

Subverting Commands and Expectations: Racism and Womanhood in Ruth 3

Antiquity was super racist. Or, as I’ve talked about before, antiquity was super “proto-racist.” Geography was destiny and where you were from told everyone everything they wanted to know about who you were and what your character was like. As horrible as that is—and let’s be clear, whether we want to call this proto-racism, racism,Continue reading “Subverting Commands and Expectations: Racism and Womanhood in Ruth 3”