I would say that it was because, even though Ruth and Orpah were both Moabites by birth who had been married to Jewish men, Ruth had apparently developed a belief in the God of Israel in a way that Orpah had not. Once Rus came to Boaz at night this clinched his belief that her conversion was for the right reasons and he immediately proceeds to "redeem" her. A Moabite was always a Moabite, wherever he or she lived. In the Hebrew Bible its in an entirely different place, in the third section, known as the Writings. Why was Ruth so loyal to Naomi? Anonymous (via GotQuestions). 1. Exodus in the Bible and the Egyptian Plagues. Kates and G.Twersy-Rimer, Ballantine, 1994). She was one of so many almosts throughout history people who strove for greatness and immortality but who failed to hang on, instead fading into anonymity. Share They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem . Ever since, Jews would not be able to sit still. What does the Bible mean by, "shedding of innocent blood"? Questions about Ruth. Central to the Book of Ruth is the institution of the goel, the redeemer whose duty, according to Leviticus 25:25, is to buy back any land sold by his kinsman out of economic necessity. Living in Moab was a hardship for Naomi and her family. Orpah was motivated by. The whole theme is that of the need of redemption of those unable to rescue themselves by a kinsman redeemer. Why did Ruth and Orpah make a different decision? At the end of the Book of Ruth, the themes of land and family come together. The name Ruth means "companion, friend, woman of beauty," but it can also mean "a feeling of pity, distress of grief." As we will learn as we begin to study Ruth, she lives up to all these . The second decision requires discipline and determination until we reach our destination. Ruths story is one that both Christians and Jews alike can celebrate. The story comes full circle: The family that left its land and had no descendants returns to its homeland and acquires an heir and a patrimony. 2:4). The book of Judges presents Israel's frailty, the nation's need for deliverance, and God's use of flawed leaders to guide his chosen people through a dark period of their history. Great insight in the sacred scripture. Report. He lived in Bethlehem during the time of the judges. Thereafter, we read: "Jehovah granted her conception and she bore a son.". Why did Boaz not want anyone to know Ruth was at the threshing floor? The amazing thing about these accounts is that, although lineage is defined through the males, it is the women who take responsibility for the continuity of the family and the guardianship of its lineage. I think that anyone who uses Ruth to do so is absolutely wrong and doing something atrocious. Photo Credit: Getty Images/Campwillowlake. The narrative from Exodus to Deuteronomy relates the return of this people from Egypt to the land they have been promised. Tamela Turbeville wants every woman to know God loves them, no matter what their past looks like. Login or Sign Up to view the rest of this answer. She pleaded with the two to return to their homeland and their people because there is no future where she is going. I thought according to the Hebrew the phase uncovered his feet meant something more salacious. But she didnt do it. [1] After the death of her husband, Orpah and her sister-in-law Ruth wished to go to Judea with Naomi. Is it okay for a Christian to play Bedwars on Minecraft? Isn't Boaz a wealthy man, famous. In all, Leah and Rachel provide Jacob with 12 sons (and one daughter), who will in turn father the 12 tribesthe people of Israel. Her name is supposed to be derived from the Hebrew word for "neck" (`oreph), and so to mean "stiff-necked" because of her turning . Normality's appetite stops at satisfaction" (Ruth, in Reading Ruth: ed .J. Naomi stands on the road to Judah as her two Moabite daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, beg to accompany her to her native land in this watercolor by Salvador Dali. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 14 Liberal scholars argue that Ruth was written after the Babylonian exile. In Judah she was considered worthless as a widow. Why can't Ploni Almoni be a real name, in Ruth? Your people will be my people, and your God my God. Who should be making the financial decisions for a church body? Ruth made a commitment to follow Naomi's God as well ( Ruth 1:16 ). Are there scriptures to support any model of the shape of the earth? I believe that it is the Malbim who says that when Ruth Says Ameikh Ami Elokayikh Elokai (your nation is my nation your God is my God) it means that Ruth has taken on keeping the mitzvoth and at this point begins living as a Jew. Questions. As soon as Orpah parted company with Naomi and Ruth, she went to the absolute opposite extreme. He explains at length what it was that she did that was "Moabite in nature". The commandments of the Torah are not simply acts to perform, ways of earning heavenly reward. Why does the second bowl of popcorn pop better in the microwave? Essentially, Orpah did what was expected . The story of Ruth provides for David the same pattern that produced the patriarchal line and the line of Judahnamely, the perpetuation of the family through the deeds of womenand it thereby joins the covenant with David to the covenant with Abraham. Orpah is not often depicted in a positive light in the Bible, because she didn't choose to stay with Naomi, and Ruth did. They have no legal obligation to one another and can offer each other no mutual protection or support. Clarify Share Report Asked March 10 2014 Anonymous (via GotQuestions) Answers (2) Discuss. We are studying ruth 3 (selected verses) for sunday, august 18. Who was naomi in the bible? Orpah and Ruth chose different paths, Ruth toward God and chose the faithful way, and Orpah chose the familiar path wherein she returned to familiar people and gods. She backed down. March 10 2014 Why did Ruth stay with Naomi after Rashi (to Ruth 1:12) states that she (and Orpah) were still gentiles when they were on the road back to Eretz Yisrael (indeed, we derive from their conversation the halachah that we are to attempt to dissuade a prospective convert (Yevamos 47b)). We became alive, possessed driven to make a difference. Comments. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. Ruth said, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. According to the Sages, Ruth and Orpah were sisters, descendents of Eglon and Balak, kings of Moab. Why did Ruth and Orpah make different decisions? Adele Berlin was the Robert H. Smith Professor of Hebrew Bible at the University of Maryland before retiring. Orpah did not want to leave Naomi and return to Moab, but the desire to be a wife and mother weighed heavily. How can the soul prosper as stated in 3 John vs 2? Please ensure your answer MEETS all our guidelines. Comments are sorted chronologically. I don't see that in the Malbim. 1. Perhaps, Naomi began to consider her future and the future and hopes of her daughters-in-law. If a person has the potential for greatness (as we all do) and misuses it, he can take those same enormous energies and use them for the bad. God says to Abraham: The early chapters of Genesis are a prologue to this covenant, describing the creation of all the land in the world and of all of its peoples, until the narrative focuses on one particular family: Abrahams. GotQuestions.org Audio Pages. We would be driven to achieve, to fulfill ourselves, and to become godlike and eternal. Either way, Orpahs name reveals a sense of running away or turning away. Both decisions are important. What does the Bible say about decision-making. Elimelech of Bethlehem departs the country for Moab, taking his wife Naomi and their two sons along. Her new book, A Rescued Life, is now available on Amazon. "Now Elimelek, Naomis husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. And how to capitalize on that? 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. Ruth 1: Ruth 2: Ruth 3: Ruth 4: Ruth's Choice: Ruth's Service: Ruth's Claim: Ruth's Marriage: Naomi and Ruth Mutual Grief: Ruth and Naomi and Boaz Mutual Pursuit: Boaz and Ruth Mutual Love: Ruth's Decision: Return with Naomi Ruth's Devotion: Provide for Naomi Ruth's Request: Redemption by Boaz Ruth's Reward: Relative of Messiah Ruth and Naomi: Ruth and Boaz In Ruth 1; we read that the husband of Naomi died in the land of Moab. Some scholars translate her name as neck or stiff-necked, referring to her choice to turn away from Naomi and her God and return to Moab. Ask a Question. This is all the more amazing after Naomi's grim description of their future with her. Why did Ruth and Orpah make different decisions? So Ruth spoke: "Do not plead with me to abandon you, to turn back from accompanying you; for where you go I shall go, and where you spend the night I shall spend the night. All rights reserved. Today I am acquiring from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and to Chilion and Mahlon [his sons]. "Your people shall be my people, and your God my God" (Ruth 1:16). Tens years later, and without any children, the two sons die. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. What are the biblical principles for solid decision-making? Naomi makes another plea to which Ruth replies with the well-known "entreat-me-not-to-leave-thee" soliloquy. Now we would think that Orpah was not that bad a character. One path can lead away from God, and the other takes us toward God and into His loving care and protection. The Sinaitic encounter awakened within us an enormous drive for spirituality and immortality. More from . God gave Israel the Torah to enable us to direct those drives. through the grace extended by the community of faith, and Gods provision of a Kinsman Redeemer, Gods grace redeems all that was lost to unbelief, when Ruth marries Boaz. She would have witnessed the faith of Naomi, her husband and her sons, yet there is no record that she and her sister-in-law ever denied their gods and converted to Judaism. After all, Ruth's choice was the scarier of the two, and Ruth didn't have the benefit of hindsight. As a Christian we see in Ruth the coming of the church, the gentiles as part of the people of God. In Christian Bibles it is slipped in between Judges and Samuel, among the historical books. Just like African-Americans are Americans of African descent. Far from being a casual move, the importance of returning is emphasized in chapter 1 by the repetition of the root shuv, return, twelve times as Naomi bids her daughters-in-law return to their families in Moab and as she returns to Judah with Ruth. Ruth is a foreigner coming 'to a people that [she] does not know' ( . ESV - The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Theres no grave containing his body. Orpah chose the familiar path while Ruth . Who should be making the financial decisions for a church body? Does a halachically circumcised non-Jew need Hatafat Dam when converting? They too wanted to enter and reside in the Land of Israel. However, Orpah and Ruth said they would go to Bethlehem with Naomi. The higher the vote, the further up an answer is. With that in mind, it is quite possible to say that the reason the text continues to stress her Moabite origins is precisely to counter that claim that was common at the time of its authorship. should I perhaps add it to the original question? We read a lot about Ruth, who seems to be Naomis favored daughter-in-law, but not so much about Orpah, the second daughter-in-law. Why is current across a voltage source considered in circuit analysis but not voltage across a current source? (Although Ralbag does mention that this was because Naami wanted to see if her conversion was legitimately sincere.) Vote Up midrash) was the son of Balak. Could these translations be too harsh? When the famine abates, Naomi returns to Bethlehem. Clarify God gave us the Torah to direct our energies towards goodness and meaningful achievement. On its face, the Book of Ruth is a short self-contained story, unconnected to the narrative sequence from Genesis through Kings. 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