Mosaic Law in the Book of Ruth

A crucial key to understanding the Book of Ruth is understanding practices defined in the Law of Moses.

One of those is the possession of land. Elimilech and Naomi owned ancestral land in Judah. That land was theirs and their heirs in perpetuity. Yes it could be sold but ultimately would be returned during the year of Jubilee.

“But if they do not acquire the means to repay, what was sold will remain in the possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. It will be returned in the Jubilee, and they can then go back to their property” Leviticus 25:28

So even though Elimilech and Naomi moved to Moab because of the famine they still owned their ancestral land.

Of course Elimilech and Naomi were in Moab for 10 years. Did the famine really last that long or was there some other factor in play? Also Moab was only 75 miles from Judah.

Another curious practice in the Law of Moses was the practice of levirate marriage.

“If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel" Deuteronomy 25: 5-6

So in the case of Ruth there are no brothers that she can marry. In fact Naomi tells Ruth that she is too old to have other children. So apparently since there are no brothers to marry then it was the obligation of the nearest available relative. Enter Boaz.

The other Law of Moses practice to consider was that of gleaning fields.

"When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow" Deuteronomy 24:20-21.

So when Naomi and Ruth, both widows, get back to the land of Judah they take advantage of this jewish social security program and Ruth goes out to “glean” the fields. What a coincidence that the field she gleaned belonged to her future husband Boaz! Coincidence or the hand of God?