Ruth 3:9 en 4:5 : what does the levirate marriage have in common with the practice of land redemption?

摘要

This article examines two passages in the book of Ruth – 3:9 and 4:5. Both pertainto two practices in ancient Israel, namely the levirate marriage and the redemption of property– here in the case of the book of Ruth. Ruth 3:9 hints only indirectly to these, therefore, I aimto indicate that Ruth does offer Boaz a marriage proposal and that some form of redemptionof property is intended. In Ruth 4:5 these two practices are once again juxtaposed. Scholarspropose various reasons why the levirate marriage and redemption are related to each otherin the book of Ruth and nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible. It appears that their proposals canbe related directly to their dating of the book, either pre- or post-exilic. In my article, I accepta post-exilic dating since the author of the book of Ruth seems to know most of the laws inthe Pentateuch. I conclude with the views of Irmtraud Fischer, a feminist scholar who offersinteresting perspectives from a feminist historical critical point of view.