Ruth – Robert Hubbard, Jr.

The text is beautiful. It draws the reader in as he/she identifies with the characters and gets hooked by the romantic story. Emptiness is turned to joy. Also it is seen how God, hidden in the background, works in human affairs.

Text
There is only one unresolved difficulty, in the reading of 2:7.

Canonicity
There was no controversy over canonicity in the early centuries, though its place in the list differed between Jew and Christian.

The MT differs from the LXX, Vg. and KJV. Which is original? Hubbard favours the MT order, placing it in the ‘Writings’. Placing it before the Psalms is probably earlier.

Literary Criticism
Is there a pre-history of the book?
Myers suggests 3 stages:

1. Oral tale from after Israel’s entry to Canaan.
2. Written tale from around 9-8th cent. BC, largely as it is now.
3. Final form with the addition of the genealogy, after the Exile.

Brenner: it is a weaving together of two stories – of Ruth, and of Naomi. Depends on “inconsistencies” does not agree with the consensus.

Conclusion: it is a complete, fresh work, and not a “careless amalgam”.

There are interpretative difficulties with the naming of Obed in 4:17.

There is a difficulty with the genealogy of 4:18ff. Some have suggested that it was added later to strengthen ties with David. It shows some similarities with later genealogies, it conflicts with the main thrust of the story, and it does not fit literarily with the rest. Hubbard shows the weaknesses of these concerns.

The purpose of the genealogy was, first, to show how Ruth founded Israel through David. Second, to confirm the blessings given to Ruth. It shows the hand of God’s providence in guiding the story. David was a divine gift for Israel’s blessing. Finally, it shows the high honour given to Boaz as an ancestral hero who made David’s advent possible.

Authorship and Date
The genealogy and the parenthetical statement of 4:7 place it later than Samuel (as suggested in the Talmud). The prominence and initiative of the women suggests a female writer.

There are two suggestions for dates: pre-exilic (after David) and post-exilic (after 538BC)

The case for post-exilic is weak.

The case for pre-exilic enjoys a slight edge.

Purpose
There is no explicit, or veiled, statement of purpose.
Some suggestions of others:

• That it was a polemic in favour of mixed marriages in the post-exilic period. But there is no polemical tone, and Ruth’s nationality has little relevance to the plot.
• To oppose the reactionalry rule in Jerusalem, post exile. Absence of polemics a problem.
• Propoganda for various customs? good relations with neighbours?
• It promotes the interests of David and his dynasty. Gloss over non-Israelite blood-line? David’s claim to monarchy by appeal to providence? Not likely.
• Promotion of proper conduct? Teaching about God’s activity in using the lowly to bring about salvation?
• Mere entertainment? But unlikely that ancient stories were written without an underlying purpose.

Hubbard’s suggested purpose is based on two themes:

• Dominant: God’s gracious rescue of Elimelech’s family from extinction.
• Minor: The resultant historical destiny of the family in producing David.

The book’s purpose is linked to David.

Three other observations:

• The book recalls famous ancestors. It is replete also with motifs from patriarchal stories, primarily Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Thus the appeal made to the patriarchs show that the same working of God present in their destinies is also present in the ancestry of David.
• Though the book shows David’s Judean ancestry, its target is all Israel (4:15).
• Acceptance of foreigners into Israelite history.

So the book is an appeal to the continuity of God’s guidance in establishing David’s throne.

Setting
There was a debate about the legitimacy of David’s rule.

Several suggestions:

• Post-exilic – an appeal to the northern kingom in the reign of Rehoboam (10th cent BC)?
• Reign of Hezekiah?
• Reign of Josiah?

These Hubbard excludes.

Two remaining are the reign of David or of Solomon. Depends on interpretation of 4:7. If not just a literary device then Solomon. If it is, then David.

Genre
Does not like “novella” as Gunkell. Its features are first, a concern for describing character and situations. Second, a wide use of dialogue.

Prefers “short story”. Four characteristics:

• use of elevated prose and rhythm
• interest on ordinary people and everyday life.
• It has the purpose of entertainment and instruction
• “the audience delights in the author’s creative wedding of message and literary artistry in the story.

In addition, it allows for historical accuracy in the narrative.

Legal Background
[skipped this bit]

Themes
The story is about divine providence in the lives of ordinary people. It resolves three human needs: food, marriage and children.

The first theme is the rescue of Elimelech’s family from extinction. This is dome by providing food through the courage of Ruth and the generosity of Boaz. Then through the provision of an heir. Two other threads are woven into this theme. There is the reversal of Naomi’s fortunes from empty to full. And there is the “return” of Ruth to Israel. In this she becomes a member of Israel and is no longer a widow.

The second theme is the ultimate provision of David as King. There are hints all the way through. Famine had proved significant in the past. Perhaps now. Only God’s help could solve the problem. So too with the existence of a closer relative. Once the problems are resolved the story begins to look forward to David.

The final theme is hesed (kindness, devoted loyalty). God’s kindness is evident. Ruth and Boaz also display kindness. God rewards this. God uses the faithfulness of ordinary people to do great things.

Themes: God’s Character
The book looks like a secular book. There are no angelic visitors, miracle etc. God seems to be absent. But close scrutiny of the book changes this perception.

• The book refers to God by his covenant name everywhere, except two places: Shaddai in 1:20,21
• Ruth embraced Naomi’s God, not Orpah’s
• God broke the famine.
• It was under God’s wing that Ruth found refuge
• The character invoke God’s name to answer prayer
• It is God who restores Naomi to fulness as indicated by the celebrations in §4
• God is the giver of prosperity and fertility

Also the OT has much to say on the theme of caring for widows. It applies to all nations, as Gen 12:3 shows. Hence Ruth is included in that care.

The book presumes God’s ruling of the world’s moral order. See Naomi’s complaint (1:20,21) and Boaz’s request for Ruth (2:12).

The book view hesed as a constituent of the moral order which God oversees.

Themes: Theological Perspective: God’s Activity
Two foundations underpin God’s working:

• His continuous hidden all-causality
• his role as rewarder

The first is shown by an inclusio. In 1:6 God gives food. In 4:13 God grants conception.

It is startling that there is no direct intervention, but the awareness of God’s presence is signalled constantly by His presence on their lips.

There are many places where the narrator could comment on God’s activity, eg the giving of David to Israel. But he does not. This emphasises that God works through the actions of people.

Every prayer in the story is answered.

Elimelech: God is king. This name turns out to be prophetic.

The second is justice for those who show kindness. It is expected that good acts merit good outcomes. Intriguing that the outcomes are brought about by the acts of others.

Themes: Theological Perspective: Human Activity
This book shows that all human acts are Yahweh’s acts. This is demonstrated in the word play kanap in 1:12 and 3:9. But human acts have limitations. They are always in response to God’s initiative.

Whether the OT affirms God’s intervention or not, it assumes that Yahweh acts in both.

Themes: Theological Perspective: The Life of Hesed
The book uphold Ruth and Boaz as role models for Hesed. Their blessings come as a result of their loyalty.

This is show through contrasting characters: Ruth with Orpah, and Boaz with the other relative.

Both Ruth and Boaz have to take great risks in showing Hesed. At the same time they do the right thing.

God rewards such: 1:8, 3:10.

Categories: Ruth, HubbardRL

Ruth – Frederick Bush

Canonical Status and Position
There has been little doubt that Ruth has a position in the Canon of Scripture. The only objection has been that of a ninth century Nestorian commentator.

The position in the canon has been less certain. The KJV and subsequent translations follow the Septuagint and put Ruth between Judges and 1 Samuel.

However in Jewish versions of the Bible it is found in the 3rd division – the Writings. Ruth is part of the Festal Scrolls. There are two orders in Masoretic texts and later.

There are no complete collections of books of the OT prior to the Masoretes, only lists. The Babylonian Talmud only lists 24 books and the Festal scrolls are listed separately, not as a group. Ruth comes at the beginning of the Writings. There are some suggestions that Ruth was combined with Judges in order to reduce the number to 22, the same number as the Hebrew alphabet.

It has been held that the place in the Writings has held sway – the Alexandrian Canon hypothesis.

etc etc

Text
The text is very well preserved. Only 2:7 presents any kind of connundrum.

Unity
Almost agree that it is a unity, with the exception of the genealogy in 4:22. There have few theories of earlier sources. Here are two:

1. Glanzman and the 3-stage theory, based on linguistic features. Weak.
2. Brenner suggests two strands woven together: a Naomi story and a Ruth story.

He claims to be able to see discernible “seams”.

Who is being redeemed in 4:13-17? Ruth or Naomi or both? The agent of redemption is the child. Naomi is redeemed because her emptiness is resolved.

The second chapter sees Naomi inactive initially, but she comes to life in the 3rd scene and takes the initiative. Therefore there is no exchange of roles where Ruth takes over.

“[T]he role of the genealogy as a fitting and apprpriate capstone revealing the significance of the resolution of the story argues for its originality.” (p.16)

Authorship and Date
There is nothing in the text to indicate the identity of the author. Futile exercise.

There has been a range of dates proposed, from the Davidic era to the post exilic era. Use is made of the nature of levirate marriage and the shoe custom of 4:7. But the interpretations are subjective and so inconclusive.

REecently it has been recognised that biblical Hebrew has gone through two phases, called Standard and Late Biblical Hebrew. These are identified with pre and post exilic periods, resp. In Ruth there are evidences of both, as though the author attempted to write in SBH, but could not avoid LBH features. This places the date in the transitional phase of late preexilic to post exilic.

Genre
Genre involves agrouping of works based on

• Outer form (structure, presence or absense of metrical rhythms of speech)
• Inner form (mood, setting, function, voice, content)

Identification of genre of a book can affect how it is heard. If Ruth is thought to be a folk tale it will be interpreted differently from a historical narrative.

The OT itself does not use generic classification of texts and so we must resort to desgnations drawn from outside the OT. This is not without problems.

Gunkell has used the term “novella”, but others have used this term while meaning something quite different.

Campbell has sought to establish a case for the genre of “Hebrew Short Story”, but its characteristics are too general to be much use.

Some have believed that the book of Ruth is the final form of an oral tradition sung by singers. But this is now discredited.

It is not a folktale.

It is not a historical narrative in the sense of presenting an ordered account of cause and effect events. It has a “problem-based plot” – problem, interraction, resolution.

Discourse structure of Table 1, p. 39. The plot is advanced through dialogue. It is a tale – short, moving from problem to resolution. It is primarily concerned with an event and its implications rather than characters.

Novels develop characters, short stories reveal characters or events . Ruth emphasises the revelation of character. This is done, not by the narrator, but by the other characters. Minor characters serve to further serve to characterise the main characters.

Ruth a woman of kindness and worth.
Boaz a man of principle and valour.
Naomi – empty to start with, but full at the end.

In presenting the main characters thus, it has the character of a legen which invites the readers to do likewise. It is therefore an “edifying short story”.

God is not a direct character though the story is about his ordering of events. There are no calls to God. Evidence for his activity:

• His presence on the lips of the characters. In everyday greatings, in affirmations of fidelity, convictions based on expectations of Yahweh.
• Naomi attibutes the famine to God.
• The narrator share the view of Naomi in 1:6.

Boaz’s faithfulness, Naomi’s risky plan and Ruth’s accidental steps are all part of God’s plan.

Theme and Purpose
The theme and purpose are determined by the prominence of characters and discourse elements.

Naomi is the most prominent character. It is she who takes the stage (1:3) and it as a child for her that is born (4:17) though Ruth is the mother. Other characters are described in relation to her, not to their husbands (Ruth and Orpah).

Ruth and Boaz are lesser characters.

The other ment, the husbands, only serve as names to provide a setting. “[N]ames without characters”.

The problem of the story is the death and emptiness of Naomi. The significance of the son of B & R is primarily for Naomi in resolvine her emptiness, not in providing an heir for Elimelech.

It also led to the production of David.

The plot is advanced through dialogue and through this the qulity of ‘kindness’ is advanced.

The theme has 4 elements:

1. the loving loyalty faithfulness and obedience of Ruth to Naomi
2. the kindness, graciousness and sagacity of Boaz in fulfilling his responsibilities
3. the concern of Naomi for Ruth shown in the risky plan to get Ruth married to Boaz
4. Yahweh’s provision of fruitfulness of field and womb thus bringing resolution to Naomi’s emptiness.

The book presents what hesed looks like and that it should be imitated.
It presents the absolute sway of God over the events of this world. It is implicit, but is a story of divine providential guidance in the lives of one family.
The denoument focuses attention beyond the story itself, showing the worth of David.

Theology
A way of life to be imitated: hesed. There are two aspects: first, hesed is a completely free act. Second, it is extraordinarily merciful and generous. This is shown by both Ruth and Boaz, and contrasted with Orpah and the near redeemer. Such a life is not presented as a foregone conclusion for the people of God.

The absolute sway God has over events. Unexpressed, but unmistakable. There is coincidence of divine and human causality. God effects his puprposes through the ordinary events of his people.

Categories: Ruth, BushF

Richard Lusk – Paedobaptism and Baptismal Efficacy

This article in “The Federal Vision” editted by Wilkins and Garner.

In the 1850s Hodge notes that “paedobaptism is dying out”.

Lusk notes two powerful cultural-thelological movements.

Revivalism
The first great awakening of the 18th century did not promote a high view of the church. The second great awakening of Finney et al completely restructured Christianity in the US undermining any high view of the church and the sacraments.

Preachers and pastors appeared with little or no training. Also the revivals spawned individualistic piety. Tradition was discounted.

There was a strong emphasis on individual experience, undermining the objectivity of the covenant and the efficy of the sacraments. Children, e.g. in New England, though baptised were seen as without hope if they did not have a religious experience.

Thus revivalism pushed children to the margins. Scholasticism created categories of membership to account for them.

Enlightenment Rationalism
This movement forced theology into one of two moulds: rationalistic, secularised dogmatics, or subjective, introspective pietism.

In the first, theology became arid and became less doxological and practical as it had been in Calvin’s day. M F Sadler says there was a connection between this truncation of faith and loss of the sacraments as a salvific means of grace. Baptism is the grafting of a person into Christ. It is supernatural.

Faith began to be seen as a mental act than as a relational dispoisition. SInce children cannot reason properly, they cannot have faith. Christianity became inward and spiritual. Baptism becomes a matter of human choice rather than a work of grace.

There was the creation of the nature/grace dualism. Calvin attempted to integrate faith and reason in Institutes which had come in in medieval times. It crept back in with the reformed scholastics. This resulted in the meritorious covenant of works doctrine. Grace is added to nature after Genesis 3. Sacraments cannot therefore cannot be a genuine means of grace. The idea cannot be pushed too hard because one would lose the incarnation. However, the early reformers had no difficulty in seeing the ordinary ’stuff’ of the sacraments as a means of grace.

Post-enlightenment, the sacrament were increasingly seen as human acts of piety, not as divine acts of redemption.

Paedobaptism in Crisis
Hodge, though he bemoaned the decline in paedobaptism, was part of the problem. Thornwell, too. He regarded baptised children as enemies of the cross untill they were converted (revivalism).

The Decline of Paedobaptism: John Williamson Nevin’s Assessment
Part of the Mercersberg movement with Phillip Schaff. Sympathised with Hodge’s concerms but probed deeper. He believed the problem was that of a loss of belief in baptismal grace and efficacy, and the loss of a proper understanding of the church as the living body of Christ.

For Nevin, prior to baptism a child was entitled to the rights and privileges of the covenant promise, but only at baptism did they become their true possession.

Bsptismal Efficacy in the Reformed Tradition: The Lost Legacy
Calvin saw the sacraments as an effectual means to salvation and asurance. At the font forgiveness and regeneration are offered to us. Remission is made but regeneration has begun. The washing is once for all time and therefore stands as an assurance of the forgiveness of sins. The Table is the means of sustaining food of that new life.

“For Calvin, Christ is the mirror of election, and of course, is clearly seen in his ordinances.”
[This seems to miss out the fact that Christ is seen in his word. In locating Christ in the sacraments primarily, one puts the objective covenant signs over the word. Is this the source of the reversal we are seeing?]

Bucer’s views matured to the point where he saw no distinction between spiritual and ritual baptism.

Knox’s Scots Confession speaks of the efficacy of baptism.

Cornelius Burges in 1629 wrote of baptismal regeneration. It was a life which could wither and die if not cultivated.

E. V. Gerhart reviewed the reformed confessions and found that they affirm that they reject the idea of an abstract saving grace, but that God ordibarily works through means. It must be received in faith and it does not guarantee ‘esachatological salvation’ – apostasy will remain a problem.

The central thrust of WCF §§27, 28 is baptismal regeneration. Modern presbies focus on the quaifications instead. Must hold clearly to what God does in baptism. Otherwise paedobaptism will decline.

Biblical-Theological Considerations
There are 3 areas of discussion:

1. The relationship between the sign and the thing signified.

The confessions teadch that the sacramnent includes both the sign and the thing signified (WCF 27.2). The two are so closely related that there is a collapse of the language of one into the other. Christ works through the sacraments as a surgeon works through a scalpel. There is no spiritual baptism apart from water.

Historically sacrametal theology has been modeled after Christology. The two natures of Christ should not be separated. Nor should water and spirit.

If it is just a sign, why give it to children who do not understand it? [though, it is still as sign to the church, is it not?]

Southern Presbyterians spearated ‘real’ baptism from ‘ritual’ baptism and related them to the invisible and visible churches, respectively.

Kuyper spoke of true partakers of the covenant and of those who have the appearance only. Lusk comments that therefore God hands out counterfeit promises. But how can you knw which is which until the jchild is old enough? In order overcome this he spoke of presumptive regeneration. But presumption is not the same as promise.

There needs to be done some work on the nature of ’signs’ in the Bible. Are they transformative – example: the pronouncement that a couple are man and wife makes it so.

2. The relationship between baptismal efficay and faith

The medieval view was that baptism worked ex opera operato. This must be avoided.

However the Word is considered effective (Isa 55:10-11), but the effect depends on the response. Sim with baptism. It can be result in judgement. [Lusk quotes Horton approvingly!] Word and sacrament are God’s means of giving, faith the means of receiving.

There is much in OT typology that helps us see that.

3. The relationship between paedobaptism and conversion

Presbies argue from the OT about the place of pb in the NC. But what are the benefits to the child? Calvin speaks of children in different ways: of belonging to God from conception, of being regenerated at baptism, of baptising them into future faith and repentance.

For the child of Christians there is only betrothal before baptism and marriage afterwards. They are to be received as children of God. It is silly to doubt the promise of God. Parents must act accordingly.

Beginning the Reformed Discussion Anew
This is an intramural debate, but it is too important to ignore.

Significant Writers
Sympathetic to:
J Calvin
L B Schenck (Presbyterian)
M F Sadler (Reformed Anglican)
J W Nevin
E V Gerhart

Unsympathetic to:
C Hodge
J H Thornwell

Others:
J Murray
M Horton

Categories: LuskR, Baptism, FV