As soon as Orpah parted company with Naomi and Ruth, she went to the absolute opposite extreme. Her descendants would play a major role in Jewish history on the other side of the fence. Scripture says the women wept together, and Ruth clung to her. 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. What did Jesus mean when he said, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees"? The characters in this story are the family from whom King David, and ultimately, the Messiah will come. And she took that same zeal and self-sacrifice and brought them to the other side. 14 Liberal scholars argue that Ruth was written after the Babylonian exile. And as was the custom in Israel, Boaz takes off his sandal to validate the transaction of his becoming redeemer and says to the witnesses: The child Obed is shown in this decorative letter, in the arms of either Ruth or Naomi. Depending on whether youre using a Jewish or Christian version, the Book of Ruth is placed between Judges and Samuel or between the Song of Songs and Lamentations. Who should be making the financial decisions for a church body? Just as we willingly accepted the Torah and the Jewish mission at Sinai, so too did Ruth voluntarily enter the covenant to become a part of that same glorious mission. After all, Ruth's choice was the scarier of the two, and Ruth didn't have the benefit of hindsight. They too wanted to enter and reside in the Land of Israel. While many believe Ruth converted when she said in 1:16, that your G-d is my G-d, Gersonides, also known as Ralbag interpreted chapter 1 to be saying that Orpah and Ruth converted to Judaism prior to marrying Mahlon and Chilion, and the proof is that her conversion is not mentioned for Boaz. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Conservative scholars, however, place authorship during the reign of David. Ezra/Nehemiah recount the peoples return to the land and the restoration of the community in it. Like the Church, Ruth went with her mother in law, representing Israel, when she had nothing left to lose no husband, no kids. 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. I don't see that in the Malbim. Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, is also our . then the conversion has to be investigated. The gentile women in Jesus ancestry are explicitly brought out by the Gospel writers and demonstrate how foreigners are grafted in to the native family tree of Israel. Why did Ruth and Orpah make different decisions? 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 . We praise Ruth and forget Orpah. Clarify Share Report Asked March 10 2014 Anonymous (via GotQuestions) Answers (2) Discuss. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. It tells of a relationship between two women-Naomi, the senior of the two, and her daughter-in-law Ruth. And Goliath fell to David in battle in what was in essence a battle between two worldviews physical versus spiritual. After a brief appearance, she exits the stage of history, presumably no longer playing a role. However, it seems they became comfortable and complacent because the sons married Moabite women, and they were there for more than a decade. However, Orpah and Ruth said they would go to Bethlehem with Naomi. However, Alshich writes the opposite. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. The Chida writes that Shmuel wrote Megillas Ruth to counter the claims that arose later against David's kingship saying that he was unfit being that he descended from a Moabite which the Torah prohibits entering our nation. Unlike Orpah, who returns to her Moabite family in obedience to Naomis wishes, Ruth insists on traveling to Bethlehem with Naomi. In the book of Ruth it never openly states that she converts and in fact she is referred to as Ruth the Moabite throughout the text. Browse other questions tagged, Like any library, Mi Yodeya offers tons of great information, but, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. She continues with her mother-in-law along the way to the Holy Land. 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. She is joining herself to Naomi not only on the private family level, but also on the national peoplehood level. 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. Why did the first kinsman redeemer in Ruth refuse to marry her. I think that anyone who uses Ruth to do so is absolutely wrong and doing something atrocious. Ever since, Jews would not be able to sit still. This also teaches us an important lesson about the Revelation at Sinai, which we celebrate on Shavuot. She was willing to give her all for her beliefs, to follow Naomi no matter what the cost. When the story opens, Naomis sons have just died. King David is a descendant of their offspring. Boaz was NOT the Students also viewed. In Judah, she would live as an outsider and possibly never marry again. But thankfully, we know how Ruth's did. ESV - Is idle hands are the devil's workshop' biblical statement? God gave Israel the Torah to enable us to direct those drives. Here are guidelines to help facilitate a meaningful learning experience for everyone. A ketana can certainly be mezukeket leyibbum (read: a female minor whose husband dies childless is obligated in yibbum or chalitza to the husbands brothers if he has any.). Undoubtedly, the land/family motif helps to explain why the author emphasizes certain details and ties the story to the Torah and rest of the Old Testament. from Egypt to the land they have been promised, having Nabot killed so they could get his vineyard. I overpaid the IRS. Was He More than an Exodus Hero? "Your people shall be my people, and your God my God" (Ruth 1:16). Who was Naomi in the Bible? However, Naomi tried to persuade both . He also serves as a volunteer writer for Torah.org. Ruth made a commitment to follow Naomi's God as well ( Ruth 1:16 ). She gathered her belongings and set out for Bethlehem with her dutiful daughters-in-law in tow. By the end of Genesis the extensive family is settled in Egypt. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. (Although Ralbag does mention that this was because Naami wanted to see if her conversion was legitimately sincere.) When Naomi hears that the famine in Judah has retreated she decides to return to Judah. Ruth's response revealed the difference between Orpah and herself. Naomi attempts to dissuade them three times (vv. Ruth made a _____ when she decided to go with Naomi to Bethlehem. Naomi makes another plea to which Ruth replies with the well-known "entreat-me-not-to-leave-thee" soliloquy. Eventually, Naomi's husband dies and Naomi's sons marry Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth. We meet Orpah for the first time in Ruth 1:3-4. Are there scriptures to support any model of the shape of the earth? David represents both the United Monarchy at its height and the promise of its eternal existence. Elimelech made a stupid decision, and it ended up being a really bad trip, and not only did he go, but he took his family with him. It is therefore entirely appropriate that Orpah accedes to Naomis suggestion that she remain in Moab with her parental family. Did Job believe God would kill him (Job 13:15)? Answer. She reminded the women there would be no marriage prospects. Through marriage, the two women become sisters-in-law and family. He explains at length what it was that she did that was "Moabite in nature". In the diagram, list what some of the disadvantages of choosing to go with Naomi to Bethlehem might have been. Ruth is a foreigner coming 'to a people that [she] does not know' ( . The relevance of the Book of Ruth to Shavuot is clear enough. Leaving her remaining family was heartbreaking. . They had lived with one another, experienced loss together, mourned together, and wept together. Why did Ruth and Orpah make different decisions? Orpah ( Hebrew: Orp, meaning "neck" or "fawn") is a woman mentioned in the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible. Kovetz Haoros Ubeurim Oholei Torah, no. However, Orpah may deserve more grace than we often give her. Naomi at least had kinsman and suddenly Naomis God is Ruths God, Naomis people, her people? Rachel, initially barren, is jealous of Leahs ability to bear children and so supplies her maidservant Bilhah to Jacob for this purpose (as Sarah had done for Abraham). Is there a difference between priests and Levites? Both decisions are important. Is it pashut pshat that Rut never ate breakfast? They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth.. 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. They have no legal obligation to one another and can offer each other no mutual protection or support. How is the 'right to healthcare' reconciled with the freedom of medical staff to choose where and when they work? Alshich also follows this approach, pointing to the fact that the Talmud Bavli (Yevamos 47) learns from the dialogue between Naami and Ruth with regards to the laws of conversion. While the two women have several things in common, they are different in some respects. Background: Elimelech and his sons. She was from Moab and was the daughter-in-law of Naomi and wife of Chilion. Naomi warned that Orpah and Ruth might not have the opportunity to remarry if they went with her to Bethlehem. Ruth's story begins when an Israelite woman, named Naomi, and her husband, Elimelech, leave their hometown of Bethlehem. In the story of Ruth and Naomi, we see Compassion, Acceptance, Kindness, and finally, Loyalty. Now this story reveals the bankruptcy of the Church and its need to give up and follow Israels lead, not some would be Messiah. Who should be making the financial decisions for a church body? Orpah almost became great. Orpahs arch nemesis was Ruth the one who did hold on, and who turned her commitment to achieve into a lifetime of greatness. What age was Jehoiachin when he began his reign? Naomi told the women, "Go back home. Ruth demonstrates great loyalty when she says to Naomi, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Naomis family lived as foreigners in a hostile land. Orpah believed in many gods and didn't stay with Naomi as Ruth had done. Who was Ruth in the Bible? Essentially, Orpah did what was expected . or'-pa (`orpah; for meaning see below): A Moabitess, wife of Mahlon, son of Elimelech and Naomi. 982, page 76), based on some other Midrashic statements, that at the time of her marriage Ruth was halachically not yet an adult, because she was an ailonis (a woman who never undergoes the normal bodily changes of puberty) but didn't exhibit the symptoms thereof (listed in Rambam, Hil. Tamar bears twins, Perez and Zerah, after she masquerades as a prostitute to seduce her father-in-law, Judah, who had failed to fulfill his promise to give her his youngest son Shelah as a husband after his two older sons had died while married to her (Genesis 38). Naomi's two sons married Moabite women called Orpah and Ruth. Why did Boaz not want anyone to know Ruth was at the threshing floor? The story of Ruth and Naomi is a unique story being the fact that there are only two female books in the bible which the book of Ruth was part of because male is given more preferences then. The two daughters-in-law must consider their future, Naomi pleaded in hopes of dissuading her daughters-in-law from continuing the journey. 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. Share Ruth became a mother in Israel, great-grandmother to the spiritual giant David. The meaning of ones name identifies a person's character, but the definition of Orpah is not clear. The article appears to overlook the redemptive indicators in the book of Ruth, and as for not recognizing the well established interlocking connection to Hebrew Bible as if the author suddenly doscovered this is a glaring announcement of inadequate scholarship. Orpah did not want to leave Naomi and return to Moab, but the desire to be a wife and mother weighed heavily. Why was Ruth so loyal to Naomi? A not so scholarly article.. LOL. She tried twice to dissuade the women from following her to Judah. The section known in Jewish tradition as the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings) details the vicissitudes of the people in the promised land, until, at the end of Kings, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar conquers the territory of Judah and sends its people into exile. Report. Orpah chose to return to her home, and Ruth decided to stay with Naomi. 0 responses Perhaps, Naomi began to consider her future and the future and hopes of her daughters-in-law. Giant David dissuading her daughters-in-law story opens, Naomis people, and her daughter-in-law Ruth at! Chose to return to Judah from following her to Bethlehem to choose where and when they?! 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