Gleaning Ruth


Book Description

The biblical story of Ruth celebrates the power to begin life anew, to gather what has been scattered, to glean what one needs. In this original approach to understanding an ancient love story, Jennifer L. Koosed crafts a multifaceted portrait of the Old Testament character of Ruth and of the demanding agricultural world in which her story unfolds. Highlighting the most complex aspects of the book—the relationships Ruth has with her mother-in-law, Naomi; sister-in-law, Orpah; future husband, Boaz; and infant son, Obed—Koosed explores the use of pairings to define Ruth's aspirational fortitude. Koosed also touches on the narrative's questions of sexuality, kinship, and law as well as the metaphoric activities of harvest that serve to advance the plot and illuminate the social and geographic context of Ruth's tale. From the private world of women to the public world of men, Koosed guides readers through the book of Ruth's revealing glimpses into the sociology of the ancient Hebrew world. The study concludes with a discussion of the postbiblical fascination with Ruth and her later representations in a variety of literary and visual media. Koosed's approach is eclectic, employing a host of methodologies from philology and theology to literature, folklore, and feminism. Thoughtful of the interests of both scholarly and lay audiences, Koosed presents inviting and compelling new insights into one of the Old Testament's most enigmatic characters.




Handfuls of Purpose


Book Description

Many have been blessed by the letters of Ruth Bryan, for she continually pointed people back to Christ. Here in her diary, one sees that same dedication as she continually points her own heart back to Jesus. Scattered throughout her entries, she likens herself to her biblical namesake, Ruth the Moabitess. Ruth Bryan reckons herself a meager gleaner in the fields of the gracious, loving, and greater Boaz, Jesus Christ. Observing the inner life of Ruth Bryan is a reminder to all believers of the boundless mercies of Christ, for what are we that such “handfuls of purpose” should be dropped for us? These nineteenth-century letters are a rich treasury of mature, experiential, and practical divinity that still meets the needs of believers today. Would you like guidance in learning how to live more closely to Christ, how to walk more by faith in adversity, and how to lay hold of God in prayer? Read this book prayerfully, preferably as a daily devotional, and let Ruth Bryan be your spiritual mentor.




Ruth


Book Description

Feminist biblical interpretation has reached a level of maturity that now makes possible a commentary series on every book of the Bible. It is our hope that Wisdom Commentary, by making the best of current feminist biblical scholarship available in an accessible format ... will aid readers in their advancement toward God's vision of dignity, equality, and justice for all. - Book jacket.




Ruth


Book Description

Ruth is widely recognized as a superlative literary achievement of ancient Israel. With its sensitive portrayal of women in crisis, its admiration for a righteous man, and its profound theology of providence it offers hearers in every age a window into life in the ancient Near East, inspiration for good and godly living, and reason to wonder at the common roots of Israel's royal and messianic hope. Bridging the historical and theological gap between Judges and Samuel, the book of Ruth explains specifically first how David, the most important character in the Hebrew Bible, could emerge from the spiritual and ethical morass of the premonarchic period, and second to account for the Moabite blood in this king's veins. - Back cover.




Judges and Ruth (Teach the Text Commentary Series)


Book Description

Focused Biblical Scholarship to Teach the Text The Teach the Text Commentary Series utilizes the best of biblical scholarship to provide the information a pastor needs to communicate the text effectively. The carefully selected preaching units and focused commentary allow pastors to quickly grasp the big idea and key themes of each passage of Scripture. Each unit of the commentary includes the big idea and key themes of the passage and sections dedicated to understanding, teaching, and illustrating the text. The newest Old Testament release in this innovative commentary series is Kenneth C. Way's treatment of Judges and Ruth.




Gleanings in the Fields of Boaz


Book Description

This book contains the miscellaneous unpublished writings of the noted Chinese pastor/writer, Watchman Nee, gathered by his faithful followers after his death and presented to the public in book form.




Ruth


Book Description

Maintain your Hebrew. Too often, a former Hebrew student is a lapsed Hebrew student. The paradigms, the syntactical forms, and even the alphabet can be hard to recall. The way to make Hebrew stick, like any language, is to continue to put it to use. In Ruth: Guide to Reading Biblical Hebrew, Adam J. Howell helps intermediate readers of Hebrew work through the text of Ruth with exegetical and syntactical aids. With Howell as a guide, students will be able to mine the riches of the Hebrew text to appreciate the literary and theological significance of the book of Ruth.




Finding God in the Margins


Book Description

The ancient book of Ruth speaks into today's world with astonishing relevance. In four short episodes, readers encounter refugees, undocumented immigrants, poverty, hunger, women's rights, male power and privilege, discrimination, and injustice. In Finding God in the Margins, Carolyn Custis James reveals how the book of Ruth is about God, the questions that surface when life falls apart, and how God reaches into the margins and chooses two totally marginalized women who, in the eyes of the patriarchal culture, are zeros. Against the backdrop of disturbing issues in today's world, this bracing narrative puts on display a radical gospel way of living together as human beings that shouts the Kingdom of God, foreshadows Jesus' gospel, and raises the bar for men and women, then and now.




Ruth


Book Description

A wide-ranging exploration of the story of Ruth, a foreigner who became the founding mother of the Davidic dynasty "[A]n insightful exploration of the book's themes of otherness, kindness, and loyalty. This is a valuable contribution to the literature on Ruth."--Publishers Weekly "A virtuoso exploration of the Book of Ruth as an admirable touchstone in the realms of literature, art, and human values. Ilana Pardes foregrounds the timeless emergency of migrants and refugees with compassion and depth."--Galit Hasan-Rokem, author of Web of Life The biblical Ruth has inspired numerous readers from diverse cultural backgrounds across many centuries. In this insightful volume, Ilana Pardes invites us to marvel at the ever-changing perspectives on Ruth's foreignness. She explores the rabbis' lauding of Ruth as an exemplary convert, and the Zohar's insistence that Ruth's Moabite background is vital to her redemptive powers. In moving to early modern French art, she looks at pastoral paintings in which Ruth becomes a local gleaner, holding sheaves in her hands. Pardes concludes with contemporary adaptations in literature, photography, and film in which Ruth is admired for being a paradigmatic migrant woman. Ruth's afterlives not only reveal much about their own times but also shine new light on this remarkable ancient tale and point to its enduring significance. In our own era of widespread migration and dislocation, Ruth remains as relevant as ever.




Ruth


Book Description

The narrative of the book of Ruth is a drama of ordinary human life, but the drama unfolds against a background of the providence and purposes of God. Katharine Doob Sakenfeld has written a commentary that makes very clear why the book of Ruth has such great importance as literature and as Scripture. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.