SAB sez:
There's nothing good in Ruth.
Okay, it is a nice story. And it seems to show some concern for poor widows -- even for those who are foreign-born and with different religious beliefs. But it's far from clear whether these tolerant ideas are endorsed or approved by the author. And there is no indication that such tolerance is a part of its message.
So although I like the story, there is nothing in it that I can honestly call "good".
Sez me:
Au contraire. While there really is nothing particularly good in Ruth, the hidden message makes it a very good book in general meaning. The message of Ruth is one of anti-racism. The earlier writers (especially Deuteronomy) abhored Moabites and Ammorites and Canaanites and Hittites and any non-Hebrew, but Ruth throws them a curveball by making a Moabite woman the grandmother of the (paraphrasing Dawkins) "second most evil character in all fiction, (IMO)" David himself. Instead of ten or eleven generations of breeding with the progeny of Moabites or whoever.
Agki
There's nothing good in Ruth.
Okay, it is a nice story. And it seems to show some concern for poor widows -- even for those who are foreign-born and with different religious beliefs. But it's far from clear whether these tolerant ideas are endorsed or approved by the author. And there is no indication that such tolerance is a part of its message.
So although I like the story, there is nothing in it that I can honestly call "good".
Sez me:
Au contraire. While there really is nothing particularly good in Ruth, the hidden message makes it a very good book in general meaning. The message of Ruth is one of anti-racism. The earlier writers (especially Deuteronomy) abhored Moabites and Ammorites and Canaanites and Hittites and any non-Hebrew, but Ruth throws them a curveball by making a Moabite woman the grandmother of the (paraphrasing Dawkins) "second most evil character in all fiction, (IMO)" David himself. Instead of ten or eleven generations of breeding with the progeny of Moabites or whoever.
Agki
