Abstract:
The genealogy at the end of the Book of Ruth starts
with Perez and ends with David, thereby covering Israel’s history since the time of the sojourn
in Egypt to the Davidic monarchy. This article focuses on Ruth 4:18–22 and what its genealogy
may reveal. After a brief review of different types of genealogies in the Hebrew Bible, the
problematic dating of the Book of Ruth becomes secondary; however, a particular perspective
will determine the rest of the interpretation of the genealogy. My point of view in this article is
that the Book of Ruth dates back to the period of the Second Temple. I examine the following
issues: the connection between Ruth 4:18–22 and 1 Chronicles 2:4–15, as David’s genealogy
appears only in these two passages of the Hebrew Bible; the connection between the tenmember
genealogy in the Book of Ruth and similar ten-member genealogies of Genesis; and
whether Ruth 4:18–22 is a later addendum to the text or part of the original. The conclusion to
these questions is that the genealogy of the Book of Ruth is similar to those in Genesis, and that
it was part of the original book. The median of the genealogy of the Book of Ruth takes place
in the desert with Nahshon as the representative of that era. Nahshon’s sister happens to be
married to Aaron whose priesthood is elevated above the rest of the tribe of Levi, and to whose
descendants eternal priesthood is promised. Phinehas, his grandson, appears to be extremely
intolerant of mixed marriages – an attitude which is later sustained by his descendant, Ezra,
the scribe. The article also touches briefly upon the whole problem of mixed marriages and
a sense of identity during the Second Temple period. The conclusion is that the author of the
Book of Ruth was written by members of the scholarly circles of this period in opposition to
exclusivist circles as to remind the community of the important role that women – especially
foreign women – played in the formative history of the nation.
