Conversion

Ruth’s consumption of barley and wheat gleaned from the field of Boaz was an integral step in her transformation from a “foreigner” who arrived from the fields of Moab to a “daughter” in Judah.

Conversion to Judaism as we know it is a rabbinic development, but what, then is the biblical ger, and why does he need to be circumcised in order to eat from the paschal offering?

Linked by words and acts of chesed (lovingkindness), Jethro and Rahab are rabbinic exemplars of true converts.

By comparing the aggressive approach of Nehemiah towards the foreign wives of the Judahites with the positive role of Ruth as a Moabite woman who married into an Israelite family, we can attempt to uncover the core messages about Jewish identity that the two texts have in common.