Saturday, January 15, 2005

Ruth 2: Reflections (1:6-22)

(William Blake, Ruth the Dutiful Daughter in Law, 1803)
In our study this week we explored the complex relationship developed between these three women: Naomi, Ruth and Orpah. We discussed the depths of the women's losses and their relationship to one another in Iron I Age (1200-1000B.C.E.) Israel. We talked about the intricacy of family life during this time and about what it really meant to be a woman in this male-controlled world. Furthermore, we discussed the lunacy involved with Ruth's stubbornness to remain with Naomi against all odds. She has disobeyed her mother-in-law's plea and in doing so has chosen death over life--death to her own people, her own country, even her own gods! We also discussed the role that Orpah played in this scene. Is she an obedient, realistic woman or is she an evil and self serving rogue? Compare these two pictures. What strikes you about the manner in which Naomi, Ruth and Orpah are depicted? Do you agree with the artists' depictions? Why or why not?







(Armond Avanes, Ruth will not leave Naomi, 2000)
























It seems that these two paintings depict Orpah in distinct ways. Which one do you think captures the biblical text more faithfully?

In verses 20-22 we behold Naomi as she returns to her hometown of Bethlehem. In a world that defined women in relation to the men in their lives, how do you think Naomi felt when she returned home "empty"? How would you feel? How does this picture make you feel? Have things changed for women all that significantly? It seems that society still puts an enormous amount of pressure on women to have a boyfriend, husband, etc. Why do you think this is? We mentioned in class about the language Naomi uses when she enters into the city gates. She says, "I went away full but the Lord has brought me back empty." Is she indeed empty? This picture clearly shows Naomi accompanied by her daughter-in-law. Perhaps her "being brought back" by the Lord was done in the service of being refilled? Notice that she was "brought back". The storyteller is clear to note that this is not some whimsical okay-so-I-guess-I-will-go-home-now on Naomi's part. The Lord has brought her back and maybe her sorrow will be turned to gladness, her emptiness to abundance, her bitterness to sweetness? Tune in next week to see what happens as the barley harvest begins. (Bible Moralisée, Vienna, c.1122)

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