Background:
Naomi was an Israelite widow, living for a while (on account of famine) in Moab, where she married her two sons to Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. The sons later died, leaving Naomi “all alone, without husband or sons” ,
She did have two daughters-in-law, and when she heard that conditions back in Israel had improved, she returned, initially taking her two daughters-in-law with her. She then had a change of heart, and encourages the two women to return to their own home in Moab. After some persuasion, Orpah did so, but Ruth refused.
Ruth 1:14, referring to the relationship between Ruth and Naomi, mentions that “Ruth clave onto her.” (KJV) The Hebrew word translated here as “clave” is identical to that used in the description of a heterosexual marriage in Genesis 2:24: ” Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (KJV)
This book was probably included in the Hebrew Scriptures because King David was one of the descendents of Ruth. Although this same-sex friendship appears to have been very close, there is no proof that it was a sexually active relationship.
Do not press me to leave you Or turn back from following you! Where you go I will go, Where you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people will be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die – There will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you.
(Ruth 1: 16-17)
Ruth: From Alienation to Monarchy by Dr. Yael Ziegler
"Ruth is a devuka, a women who knows how to fasten herself to another person. What does it mean to be a devuka? The act of cleaving to another is the very opposite of selfishness. Individualistic behavior entails looking out for oneself, regarding one's own interests as paramount even when it undermines the needs of the Other. This attitude prevails during the period of the judges, in which tribalism and individualism eclipse any possibility of national unity. Ruth's unprecedented act of attaching herself to another is an important step in beginning the renovation of society so sorely needed at this juncture...[Davak] connotes an all-encompassing connection, a relationship characterized by identification, in which one party embraces the totality of the Other, totally and completely. This description accurately describes Ruth's unusual relationship with Naomi, in which her decision to remain with her mother in law undermines her own self-interest.
John Boswell doesn’t think so:
“There is little in the Book of Ruth to suggest that anything other than loyalty bound Ruth to Naomi (who had, in fact, suggested that Ruth depart, along with her other daughters-in-law; but Ruth refused to do so.)”
He also points out that the obvious devotion of Ruth to Naomi is instrumental in securing the attention of Boaz. What would be the point of remembering a lesbian relationship that serves to attract a husband for one of the women?
Paul Halsall asks, but does not answer, the question,
Is this a story about Lesbianism, which was not forbidden at all in the Law? Whatever the answer, it is a story of love and loyalty between two women.
However, he does point to another aspect of the story which is less commonly remarked on, that it is a story of the outsider, and how outsiders can become insiders. As a Moabite woman, Ruth is very much an outsider in Israeli society. Yet she accepts this in her loyalty to Naomi, and is ultimately rewarded by becoming the mother of Obed, the grandmother of King David, and ultimately an ancestor of Jesus himself.
This is a book of the inclusivity of God’s call, and another Biblical illustration of the limits of the Law
Paul Glaser also sees this as a story of devotion, but reads it as a “coming out” story:
All of us who grow to accept and affirm our sexuality have in some sense heard this call to come out. In grief and regret, some of us may feel forced to leave a family, a congregation, or a community (much as Ruth did) to make our commitments. Following Ruth and Naomi’s strategy, we may use whatever is available to us in the church and society to survive. Yet, alongside Ruth and Naomi, we use our commitment to lovers, our fresh understandings of God, and our new communities of faith – maybe a support group, a network, an organization, a congregation – to survive.
Mona West’s reading of Ruth (The Queer Bible Commentary) notes that “Ruth is our Queer ancestress” (191). For West, Ruth is not specifically lesbian, but a person who resists heterosexist, patriarchal family structures and redefines her relationships according to what will be most effective for her and for Naomi. When Boaz, Naomi’s kinsman and Ruth’s eventual husband, enters the picture, West sees the relationship as a Queer triangle: “Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz provide our community with an ancient example of the ways in which we have been creating our families” (193).English