Biblical Humor: The Many Names within Ruth

Are you familiar with the biblical story of Ruth? In four pithy chapters, we learn the story of Ruth – a widowed Moabite woman who shows fierce loyalty to her widowed mother-in-law, Naomi. After some transnational travel, Ruth arrives in Judah. Through some nuances in their law, a kinsman redeemer named Boaz seeks to wed Ruth, but doing so comes at a cost: any children from their relationship will carry on the legacy of Ruth’s first husband. Before Boaz can marry Ruth, though, her closest redeemer must eschew that duty. This would-be redeemer, though, refuses; he fears this action might harm his own inheritance: At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it” (Ruth 4.6). This refusal reveals the ironic nature of this biblical book. An unnamed man refuses to wed Ruth because doing so might harm his estate. Another words, the accomplishments surrounding his name would be lessened. For reasons only of vanity, he refuses the role of kinsman redeemer: the integrity of his name must be protected!

Here comes the humor: Just about every person in the story of Ruth is named – save one. That’s right, the man worried about the legacy of his name remains unnamed. Let’s examine some people in this story. There’s Elimelek. He’s married to Naomi. Their two sons are Mahlon and Kilion. These two sons married Oprah and Ruth. After the death of her husband and two sons, Naomi adopts a new name: Mara, which means bitter. Enter Boaz, the story’s hero. Before the book’s end, though, more names flow. From the annuals of history, the book name drops Rachel, Leah, Tamar, Perez, and Judah. Then, looking past the story’s timeline, the book mentions Ruth’s son Obed, who was father of Jesse, who was father of David. And the names keep coming, the book ends with genealogy that adds the additional names: Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, and Salmon.

Another level of humor in name-dropping comes in references to locations and name-use frequency. Bethlehem is referenced seven times. The entire New Testament uses the word only eight times. Further, the book lets us know Bethlehem is in Judah. (Where else would it be?) Twice, the book speaks about Ephrathah, which is another uncommonly used term for Bethlehem. Elimelek’s name is used six times, sometimes referencing his clan. Mahlon and Kilion are mentioned three times – very odd since they are never given dialogue, and further in oddity, the Bible seldom speaks of the younger son. And in four pithy chapters, Ruth’s name is used 24 times, Boaz’s name is used 21 times, and Naomi’s name is used a whopping 28 times.

Let’s remember where we started. Ruth’s would-be and unnamed kinsman-redeemer refused her to secure the legacy of his name. How did that work out for him? Not good. And from our vantage, I think the story of Ruth intentionally leaves us smirking at this man’s arrogance.      

For us, an inferred lesson from this story is clear: don’t be an arrogant buffoon. Do right. Let God take care of the rest. Our role is not, and never will be, to advance our own name. Rather, our role is to advance the name of God. We want to be Ruths, Naomis, and Boazes – people who show fierce loyalty to one another and trust the outcomes to God.