RT Article
T1 Israelite or Moabite?: Ethnicity in the book of Ruth
JF Journal for the study of the Old Testament
VO 46
IS 1
SP 44
OP 63
A1 Thambyrajah, Jonathan A.
LA English
PB Sage
YR 2021
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/177247231X
AB Scholarship on ethnicity in the book of Ruth has taken it as axiomatic that Ruth is transformed (at least partially) into an Israelite by the end of the book. This article argues on narrative grounds that the book of Ruth continues to present Ruth as a Moabite, even at the book’s end. Moreover, scholarship has been mistaken in attempting to force an ancient text to function according to modern constructivist assumptions about ethnicity. Although from our perspective as modern readers, Ruth may undergo changes that would qualify as ethnic transformation, the book of Ruth describes her change in social and kinship terms, rather than ethnic ones: the text itself does not imply that Ruth ceases to be a Moabite.
K1 Israelite
K1 Moabite
K1 Narrative
K1 Ethnicity
K1 Ruth
DO 10.1177/0309089220980486