Ruth: A Subversive Romance: Boaz

In the fifth century bc, when Ezra and Nehemiah enacted a controversial policy based on a strict interpretation of the Torah that required Israelite men to divorce their Moabite wives and banish their children, a subversive romance was composed that we know as the book of Ruth. It’s the story of two widows—Naomi of Bethlehem and her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabite. The two widows have returned to Bethlehem from Moab, and in an effort to survive, Ruth goes out to glean in the barley fields. By chance she ends up in the field of Boaz—a prominent, wealthy, middle-aged landowner. Ruth catches the eye of Boaz who is keen to bestow various favors on the young widow. That’s when Naomi decided it was time to press the issue and tells, Rut, "Behold, Boaz is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor."