Ruth the Moabite Breaks a Pattern of Seduction

After Elimelech of Bethlehem moves his family to Moab to escape famine in Judah, he and his sons die, leaving behind Naomi, the family matriarch, and the sons’ Moabite wives; three childless widows (1:1–6). Naomi hears that the famine has ended in Judah and decides to return to Bethlehem (Heb. בֵּית לֶחֶם, “the house of bread,” 1:7). Ruth, one of Naomi’s Moabite daughters-in-law, chooses to continue her journey with her mother-in-law, declaring her intent to live with her and worship her God:

^{רות א:טז} וַתֹּאמֶר רוּת אַל תִּפְגְּעִי בִי לְעָזְבֵךְ לָשׁוּב מֵאַחֲרָיִךְ כִּי אֶל אֲשֶׁר תֵּלְכִי אֵלֵךְ וּבַאֲשֶׁר תָּלִינִי אָלִין עַמֵּךְ עַמִּי וֵאלֹהַיִךְ אֱלֹהָי.

^{Ruth 1:16} But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you, to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people and your God my God.^[1]

Ruth’s declaration of faith stands in contrast to the actions of her foremothers, the daughters of Moab, who used sexual temptation to incite the Israelites to worship their god, Baal Peor, in the wilderness:

‏^{במדבר כה:א} וַיֵּשֶׁב יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּשִּׁטִּים וַיָּחֶל הָעָם לִזְנוֹת אֶל בְּנוֹת מוֹאָב. ^כה:ב וַתִּקְרֶאןָ לָעָם לְזִבְחֵי אֱלֹהֵיהֶן וַיֹּאכַל הָעָם וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲוּוּ לֵאלֹהֵיהֶן.

^{Num 25:1} While Israel was staying at Shittim, the people profaned themselves by whoring with the daughters of Moab, ^25:2 who invited the people to the sacrifices for their god. The people partook of them and worshiped that god.

Ruth’s embrace of the Israelite God indirectly removes the threat that she could tempt Boaz (or any other Israelite).^[2] This stands in the back of our mind also when she propositions Boaz on the threshing floor.

Setting the Scene

When they arrive in Judah, Ruth offers to go out to the fields to find food. By a fortunate coincidence (2:3),^[3] she meets Naomi’s kinsman, Boaz, who invites her to glean in his fields for the remainder of the barley and wheat harvests:

‏^{רות ב:ח} וַיֹּאמֶר בֹּעַז אֶל רוּת הֲלוֹא שָׁמַעַתְּ בִּתִּי אַל תֵּלְכִי לִלְקֹט בְּשָׂדֶה אַחֵר וְגַם לֹא תַעֲבוּרִי מִזֶּה וְכֹה תִדְבָּקִין עִם נַעֲרֹתָי.

^{Ruth 2:8} Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen to me, daughter. Don’t go to glean in another field. Don’t go elsewhere, but stay here close to my girls.

Ruth initially wonders why he is kind to her, a poor Moabite woman:

^{רות ב:י} וַתִּפֹּל עַל פָּנֶיהָ וַתִּשְׁתַּחוּ אָרְצָה וַתֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו מַדּוּעַ מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ לְהַכִּירֵנִי וְאָּנֹכִי נָכְרִיָּה.

^{Ruth 2:10} She prostrated herself with her face to the ground, and said to him, “Why are you so kind as to single me out, when I am a foreigner?”

Boaz then explains that he has heard of the good deeds she had done for her mother-in-law:

^{רות ב:יא} וַיַּעַן בֹּעַז וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ הֻגֵּד הֻגַּד לִי כֹּל אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂית אֶת חֲמוֹתֵךְ אַחֲרֵי מוֹת אִישֵׁךְ וַתַּעַזְבִי אָּבִיךְ וְאִמֵּךְ וְאֶרֶץ מוֹלַדְתֵּךְ וַתֵּלְכִי אֶל עַם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יָדַעַתְּ תְּמוֹל שִׁלְשׁוֹם.

^{Ruth 2:11} But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.

Boaz’s hospitality to Ruth is persistent. He invites her to eat and ensures that she gleans as much as she desires. It seems that neither Ruth’s foreign identity nor her social class diminishes Boaz’s compassion towards her. However, Boaz never expresses a desire to court her, only a wish that she join his servants.

Naomi Plans the Seduction of Boaz

Later, when Naomi wants to find Ruth a secure home in which to settle down (3:1), she instructs Ruth in detail about how to seduce Boaz into taking her as a wife, or at least as a concubine:^[4]

‏^{רות ג:ב} וְעַתָּה הֲלֹא בֹעַז מֹדַעְתָּנוּ אֲשֶׁר הָיִית אֶת נַעֲרוֹתָיו הִנֵּה הוּא זֹרֶה אֶת גֹּרֶן הַשְּׂעֹרִים הַלָּיְלָה. ^ג:ג וְרָחַצְתְּ וָסַכְתְּ וְשַׂמְתְּ שִׂמְלֹתֵךְ [שִׂמְלֹתַיִךְ] עָלַיִךְ וְיָרַדְתִּי [וְיָרַדְתְּ] הַגֹּרֶן אַל תִּוָּדְעִי לָאִישׁ עַד כַּלֹּתוֹ לֶאֱכֹל וְלִשְׁתּוֹת.

^{Ruth 3:2} Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. ^3:3 Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.

Although she is not explicit, Naomi’s instructions to Ruth reveal that she wants Ruth to entrap Boaz. The special clothing, the nighttime setting, and the reference to drinking (and presumably inebriation) all suggest a scene of sexual intercourse, especially through deceit.^[5] Naomi’s final comment that Boaz will tell Ruth what to do, further indicates that she anticipates that the couple will act and not talk:

^{רות ג:ד} וִיהִי בְשָׁכְבוֹ וְיָדַעַתְּ אֶת הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁכַּב שָׁם וּבָאת וְגִלִּית מַרְגְּלֹתָיו וְשָׁכָבְתִּי [וְשָׁכָבְתְּ] וְהוּא יַגִּיד לָךְ אֵת אֲשֶׁר תַּעַשִׂין.

^{Ruth 3:4} When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.”

Naomi initiates and plans the scene, and Ruth sets out to fulfill her instructions. When Boaz, tired and maybe drunk or tipsy (cf. Esth 1:10), falls asleep at the threshing floor, Ruth sneaks in and lays down at his feet.

^{רות ג:ז} וַיֹּאכַל בֹּעַז וַיֵּשְׁתְּ וַיִּיטַב לִבּוֹ וַיָּבֹא לִשְׁכַּב בִּקְצֵה הָעֲרֵמָה וַתָּבֹא בַלָּט וַתְּגַל מַרְגְּלֹתָיו וַתִּשְׁכָּב.

^{Ruth 3:7} Boaz ate and drank, and in a cheerful mood went to lie down beside the grainpile. Then she went over stealthily and uncovered his feet and lay down.

Naomi not only plans this scene, but later will also seem to have known what transpired during the night, as if she was there with the couple.^[6] Upon Ruth’s return from the threshing floor, Naomi will ask, מִי אַתְּ בִּתִּי, “Who are you, my daughter?” (3:16). The question seems odd, as if she cannot recognize Ruth, or does not expect to see her.

Indeed, this oddness is resolved in the Dead Sea Scroll manuscript 2QRuth with a “what” question rather than “who” (i.e., מה את בתי).^[7] However, the wording in the Masoretic Text seems like a mindful allusion to the words of Boaz to Ruth at the threshing floor, asking Ruth מִי אָתּ, “who are you?,” when he awakes (v. 9), and calling her בִּתִּי, “my daughter,” when he blesses her (v. 10). This resonance gives a sense of Naomi's controlling the scene, even from afar.

Nonetheless, there is a twist in the expectations: the anticipated seduction comes to an abrupt halt. In contrast to Naomi’s advice, Ruth does not wait for Boaz’s instructions and actions. Instead, as soon as he wakes up, still a bit confounded, Ruth quickly reveals her identity and requests that Boaz spread his “cloak over” her:

‏^{רות ג:ח} וַיְהִי בַּחֲצִי הַלַּיְלָה וַיֶּחֱרַד הָאִישׁ וַיִּלָּפֵת וְהִנֵּה אִשָּׁה שֹׁכֶבֶת מַרְגְּלֹתָיו. ^ג:ט וַיֹּאמֶר מִי אָתּ וַתֹּאמֶר אָנֹכִי רוּת אֲמָתֶךָ וּפָרַשְׂתָּ כְנָפֶךָ עַל אֲמָתְךָ כִּי גֹאֵל אָתָּה.

^{Ruth 3:8} At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and there, lying at his feet, was a woman! ^3:9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant; spread your cloak over your servant, for you are next-of-kin.”^[8]

Intriguingly, Boaz interprets Ruth's request as an act of chesed, considering it even “better” than the support she has been providing to Naomi.^[9] By this, he alludes to Ruth’s particular interest in him, rather than in a younger man:

^{רות ג:י} וַיֹּאמֶר בְּרוּכָה אַתְּ לַי־הוָה בִּתִּי הֵיטַבְתְּ חַסְדֵּךְ הָאַחֲרוֹן מִן הָרִאשׁוֹן לְבִלְתִּי לֶכֶת אַחֲרֵי הַבַּחוּרִים אִם דַּל וְאִם עָשִׁיר.

^{Ruth 3:10} He said, “May you be blessed by YHWH, my daughter; this last instance of your chesed is better than the first; you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.”

Boaz tells Ruth not to fear, for he will endeavour to fulfill her request (v. 13). The next chapter recounts their marriage and the birth of a son (ch. 4).^[10]

Lot’s Daughter, Mother of the Moabites

This scene at the threshing floor bears resemblance to the story in Genesis 19 of Lot’s daughters during the destruction of Sodom.^[11] The story recounts the arrival of messengers of YHWH to Sodom, where the men of the town threaten them with sexual violence. In an attempt to prevent this, Lot offers his two daughters to the Sodomites as a substitute (Gen 19:7–8. Cf. Judg 19:25). Similarly, Naomi, like Lot, pushes her daughter(-in-law), Ruth, into the hands of a stranger for what she supposes to be a sexual interaction.

This parallel between the two narratives extends into the subsequent actions of the daughters in both stories. While dwelling in a cave following the destruction of Sodom, Lot’s daughters initiate intercourse with their father to conceive children, as they believe him to be the last man alive:

‏^{בראשׁית יט:לא} וַתֹּאמֶר הַבְּכִירָה אֶל הַצְּעִירָה אָבִינוּ זָקֵן וְאִישׁ אֵין בָּאָרֶץ לָבוֹא עָלֵינוּ כְּדֶרֶךְ כָּל הָאָרֶץ. ^יט:לב לְכָה נַשְׁקֶה אֶת אָבִינוּ יַיִן וְנִשְׁכְּבָה עִמּוֹ וּנְחַיֶּה מֵאָבִינוּ זָרַע.

^{Gen 19:31} And the older one said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to consort with us in the way of all the world. ^19:32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him, that we may maintain life through our father.”[12]

One of the sons born from this intercourse is Moab, a forefather of Ruth’s nation.^[13]

Ruth’s story appears to rectify the perversions of the narrative involving Lot and his daughters. Unlike in Lot's situation, Boaz and Ruth are not blood related, thus their relationship would not be considered incestuous and a violation of a social rule or norm.^[14] In addition, while both Ruth and Lot’s daughters perform their acts in the dark and after getting Lot drunk on wine, Ruth's actions differ significantly. She seduces Boaz only up to a certain point, and does not go as far as to steal his sperm.^[15]

Tamar, Boaz’s Foremother

The scene at the threshing floor also corrects another supposedly inappropriate act of a foremother, this time of Boaz’s lineage—Tamar, who conceived by deceiving her father-in‑law, Judah. Having been widowed by Judah’s two eldest sons, Tamar returns home to her father’s house with a promise that she will be given to Judah’s youngest son, Shelah, when he is of age. She realizes, however, that Judah is not going to keep his promise.

When Tamar hears that Judah will soon travel to Timnah for the sheepshearing, she disguises herself and waits by the side of the road, creating an opportunity for her to conceive a child with him:

^{בראשׁית לח:טו} וַיִּרְאֶהָ יְהוּדָה וַיַּחְשְׁבֶהָ לְזוֹנָה כִּי כִסְּתָה פָּנֶיהָ. ^לח:טז וַיֵּט אֵלֶיהָ אֶל הַדֶּרֶךְ וַיֹּאמֶר הָבָה נָּא אָבוֹא אֵלַיִךְ כִּי לֹא יָדַע כִּי כַלָּתוֹ הִוא וַתֹּאמֶר....

^{Gen 38:15} When Judah saw her, he took her for a harlot; for she had covered her face. ^38:16 So he turned aside to her by the road and said, “Here, let me sleep with you”—for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law….

Thus, Tamar accomplishes her “sperm theft” through ruse and disguise. Only after her pregnancy becomes known to Judah does she reveal that she was the woman by the road, thereby indicating Judah’s liability for the child (vv. 25–26a). By contrast, Ruth reveals her identity immediately, and conceives without the use of deception.^[16]

Ruth Redeems Her Moabite Legacy

As the story does not explicitly refer to Deuteronomy’s prohibition of intermarriage with Moabites, neither to justify its violation nor to offer a polemic against it, it remains unclear whether the story is aware of the law:

^{דברים כג:ד} לֹא יָבֹא עַמּוֹנִי וּמוֹאָבִי בִּקְהַל יְ־הוָה גַּם דּוֹר עֲשִׂירִי לֹא יָבֹא לָהֶם בִּקְהַל יְ־הוָה עַד עוֹלָם.

^{Deut 23:4} No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted into the congregation of YHWH; none of their descendants, even in the tenth generation, shall ever be admitted into the congregation of YHWH.

However, Ruth’s appreciative statement when she meets Boaz, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?” (2:10), does suggest that foreign men and women would not be easily accepted into the community.

Ruth’s case, however, does not necessarily establish a new general rule about Moabite intermarriage. Ruth is validated in the story because her actions diverge from those of her predecessors. In the wilderness, the Moabite women sexually tempted the Israelites into participating in the worship of their god, Baal Peor (Num 25:1–3). Ruth’s temptation, in comparison, does not pose a threat to Boaz’s integrity or the faith and stability of the community, as she had already embraced the Israelites and their god (1:16).^[17]

Against this background, it becomes clear that Ruth’s declaration of commitment to Naomi’s God serves as a required condition for her qualification. Ruth’s legitimacy within the community would not have been possible had she not proclaimed her exclusive devotion to the Israelite God.