Symmetry,Ruth and Canon

Abstract

The book of Ruth has proven problematic insofar as scholars have not been able to agree upon its structure, purpose or meaning. This article proposes that a key to each of these may be found in the first six verses of the book. After suggesting that these verses evince a symmetrical pattern, the author then explores what canonical connections might be implied by such an arrangement. The author argues for a ‘Davidic’ reading of the entire book, not by emphasizing the genealogy, but by focusing on the book’s introduction and presenting it, and the story that follows, as a figurative expression of an exilic (or post-exilic) hope for the restoration of the Davidic dynasty.