Having recently read both Ruth and Nehemiah, I was struck by the very different ways they relate to the recurring entanglement of Moabite women and Israelite men. Nehemiah seems to replay the old story, whereas Ruth seems to invert it (the faithful pagan woman, redeemed that she might birth the future redeemer). Do you have any thoughts on this or on the related issue of how David and Jesus were admitted into the congregation of Israel in spite of Moabite ancestry?

Continue reading “Ruth the Moabitess and the Moabite Women of Nehemiah” →