I Samuel 1, Hannah's Prayer

The people of Israel will transition from the chaos of Judges to the kingdom of David.  That story is covered by the scroll of Samuel. The first half of the scroll (the book of j1 Samuel) will describe the history before David is king.

1 Samuel 1:1-5, Hannah's sorrow

There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.  

Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD. Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb.

Note the significant lineage of Elkanah. An earlier Elkanah appears in Exodus 6:24, in the descendants of Levi.

Although polygamy was part of the culture of the ancient Near East (ANE), it required significant resources. Elkanah is likely to have been fairly well off.

The name Hannah persists into New Testament times. A woman named Hannah served in the temple at the time of the birth of the Messiah Yeshua. In her brief appearance in Luke 2:36-38, her named is transcribed into Greek as Anna.

At this time the central meeting place for worship was still Shiloh. According to the covenant (Exodus 34:23), Israelite men were to go to the tabernacle three times a year to offer sacrifices.

1 Samuel 1:6-8, Hannah's pain

And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.  

Elkanah her husband would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"  

As was common in the ANE and in Israelite culture, women longed to be mothers and, in particular, to give their husbands sons. Elkanah cares deeply for Hannah. He communicates to her that he is happy with her and he wants her to be content. His words imply that she need not provide him with children. But, like any husband, he does not quite understand her strong desire to be a mother. 

Peninnah, like Sarah's maidservant long ago (Genesis 16:3-5), enjoys her status as mother and lords it over Hannah. 

It is possible that Hannah was Elkanah's first wife but that her barrenness led him to find a second wife. (This is a claim of the midrash, says a Wikipedia page on Peninnah.)

The name Peninnah is probably a feminine form of peninim (פָנִין), meaning "rubies", "pearls" or "precious stones" -- see Proverbs 3:15 for a form of that Hebrew word.

1 Samuel 1:9-11, Hannah's prayer

Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the LORD's temple. In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD.  And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."

Hannah brings her pain personally to YHWH in the temple and pours out her soul there. Although this is not explicitly said in the Masoretic text, Hannah is offering her first son as a Nazirite. (The Nazirite commitment is described in Numbers 6.) The Septuagint adds the rest of the Nazirite requirements: "he will not drink wine or any intoxicating beverage" and, says Youngblood, a fragment of this chapter in the Dead Sea Scrolls uses the term Nazirite in verse 22, below.

1 Samuel 1:12-16, Eli's reaction

As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."  

"Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD.  Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."  

Hannah is praying silently. Apparently that is unusual, but she may not want others to hear her prayer. However, the priest, Eli, suspects she is drunk. 

Throughout this passage, Hannah's prayers are serious and intimate. As she grieves and brings her requests to God, she hopes that He not only hears her personal prayer but intercedes for her.

1 Samuel 1:17-18, Go in peace

Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."  

She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

Eli gives Hannah a blessing and suggests that, maybe, the God of Israel will answer her. Hannah names YHWH and appears to speak to Him personally, deeply. Eli gives a more general description of YHWH "God of Israel" and does not appear to be all that engaged. (Eli is not a particularly strong example of a priest; his sons will be much much worse.)

1 Samuel 1:19-20, God answers

Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the LORD for him."

YHWH "remembers" Hannah, that is, gives attention to her, and allows her to conceive. (This result is similar to the miracle given to Ruth in Ruth 4:13.) 

The name Samuel is a combination of two words, the verb shama ( שָׁמַע), meaning "to hear" or "to declare", and el (אֵל), the generic name for God. Hannah is declaring, in that name, that "God heard!"

1 Samuel 1:21-28, Hannah's sacrifice

When the man Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow, Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, "After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the LORD, and he will live there always." 

"Do what seems best to you," Elkanah her husband told her. "Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good his word." 

So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. When they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, "As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.

 

"So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." 

And he worshiped the LORD there.

Once Samuel is weaned (probably between the ages of two and three, possibly older) Hannah reminds Eli of their conversation some years before and gives Samuel to YHWH, to serve in the temple as a Nazirite. As part of that ceremony, the parents offer a sacrifice.  

Elkanah supports Hannah's decision. (Does he have much choice?)

Despite the miracle of Hannah's pregnancy, this offer of her son must have been very difficult for her. She will probably only see her son at the annual visit, when they offer sacrifices. 

First published July 22, 2023; updated July 22, 2026

Ruth 4, A Redeemer Born in Bethlehem

Ruth has spent a night in a barn, lying at Boaz's feet.  This is a marriage proposal that we all hope will be successfully resolved, but there is a problem: another man has more rights to Ruth than does Boaz!

Ruth 4:1-2, Town gate
Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there. When the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along, Boaz said, "Come over here, my friend, and sit down." So he went over and sat down. Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, "Sit here," and they did so.

In the ancient Near East, the city gate was the place of legal business. Boaz draws the kinsman-redeemer to him and then arranges for ten elders to join him. He has set up a classical ANE official meeting.

We lose a bit in the NIV's translation "friend" in verse 1.  The Hebrew that the NIV translates as "friend" is a rhyming phrase: peloni almoni, and might literally be translated "such-and-such" or "Mr. So-and-so." It is a device to leave the man unnamed. 

The ability to bring together ten elders suggests that Boaz has a certain status in the community. Ten Jewish men would be enough to make this meeting official, a minyan, but for legal, not liturgical purposes.

Ruth 4:3-6, A sale of land

Then he said to the kinsman-redeemer, "Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech. I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line."

"I will redeem it," he said.

Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the land from Naomi and from Ruth the Moabitess, you acquire the dead man's widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property."

At this, the kinsman-redeemer said, "Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it."

Boaz begins with a mention of a sale of land. (This is the first that we have heard of this sale.) As he introduces this sale, he makes it clear that he, Boaz, is available as a backup to purchase the land.

Once the other man agrees, Boaz follows with his surprise.  Purchase of that land will mean also taking care of Naomi and Ruth.  Furthermore, via the kinsman-redeemer rules of Israel (and the ANE), the man would be expected to father children with Ruth. Any sons of Ruth would apparently inherit Elimelech's land. This will be a significant burden to this man, but Boaz has thoughtfully handed him a way out of this burden by promising to be the backup on the purchase.  The man grabs this solution, giving Boaz freedom to be the kinsman-redeemer.

Ruth 4:7-10, Exchange of sandals
(Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.) 

So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it yourself." And he removed his sandal.

Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, "Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon's widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from the town records. Today you are witnesses!"

This is a fascinating cultural scene. There is enough detail here that I suspect the Storyteller thinks these activities are interesting also. The ritual with the sandal seems to be a gentler variant on the "Family of the Unsandaled" confrontation described in Deuteronomy 25:7-10.

Hubbard, in his commentary on page 251, has a lot on the significance of feet in near Eastern traditions. Apparently the sandal represents transferring the right of go'el, redeemer.

Here we learn that Ruth's first husband was Mahlon.

At this point, Boaz has completed a business deal, resolving the status of the land and the widows. But the audience for our Storyteller and the town witnesses of this sale, all recognize a much more significant agreement.  In the next paragraph, the elders and others at the gate, applaud not the business arrangement but something more important....

Ruth 4:11-12, Like Rachel and Leah

Then the elders and all those at the gate said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah."

The elders and other townspeople (and the Storyteller's audience) applaud not the sale but the upcoming marriage of our hero and heroine. In Jewish fashion, they wish this couple many children, comparing Ruth to the mothers of the twelve tribes, and to Tamar, mother of Perez and thus of the descendants of Judah. This is high praise for the couple, and, more so, high praise to identify this alien Moabitess with famous Jewish mothers.

Ephrathah is the region in which Bethlehem sits. It was the place where Rachel died and was buried (Genesis 35:16-18.) The blessing of the townspeople will echo again in Micah 5:2 and then later in the New Testament gospels, Matthew (2:1-6) and Luke (2:4-7.)

Ruth 4:13, A son!
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.

Notice how quickly the storyteller moves us now. The marriage, now agreed upon, would have presumably occurred within the next few days, with a public celebration. Then the couple retire in privacy and Ruth, who has been childless so far, is able to conceive a child. (The phrase "went to her" was a euphemism for sex, it usually meant "he went into her room...". The similar American phrase would be "he slept with her".)

This book rarely mentions YHWH directly.  Here YHWH is explicitly identified as making Ruth able to conceive.

Ruth 4:14-17, A kinsman-redeemer
The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth."

Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him.

The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

I think this is my favorite passage of the whole book.  Ruth has labored through the day; the midwives work with her and finally amid her cries, there is the cry of a child! A son! The child is cleaned by the midwives and caressed by the exhausted Ruth, maybe he nurses a little, and then he is triumphantly carried by the women of the community to Naomi, who waits for word of Ruth's labor. Naomi, who at the beginning of the story identified herself as "bitter", is now allowed to hold her grandson on her lap. Can you see Naomi sobbing softly, holding the child, as the women leave to take the good news to the streets?

Once again, the perspective is that of the women of the community.  The reaction of the men is irrelevant to this story.

Ruth is praised by the women as "better than seven sons", high praise for a stranger from Moab.

Who named Obed? (Obed apparently means "one who works/serves". It may be short for Obadiah, which means "one who serves Yahweh".)

The phrase translated "cared for him" in verse 16 implies some type of long-term arrangement, as a nanny, guardian, foster-mother.

Ruth 4:18-22, A family line
This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.

Hezron is mentioned in Genesis 46:12 as traveling with Jacob's descendants to Egypt at the time of Joseph. Nahshon, is mentioned in Numbers 1:7 as the leader of the tribe of Judah when the Israelites leave Egypt with Moses. We are being given only part of the lineage of Boaz.

According to ancient tradition (says a commentary) the position of seventh descendant in a genealogy was a special one. So this may have been structured to give prominence to Obed, Ruth's son.

This beautiful short story of Ruth ends with a surprise. Ruth, the Moabitess, is the great-grandmother of David!  She is mentioned in Matthew 1:5 in the genealogy of the Messiah, Yeshua.

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is ga'al, a verb, "to ransom, redeem, avenge."

גָּאַל

Some Random Thoughts

The story of Ruth has two endings, the romantic one, in which a good man and a good woman are successful in finding each other and taking care of each other. And then a second ending, in which we discover that these two ordinary good people are parents at the head of a famous tribe, a famous dynasty.

First published July 21, 2023, last updated July 21, 2026

Ruth 3, A Night in a Barn

Ruth has been faithfully working in the fields of Boaz, and in that role, been well-treated by him. But the harvest is coming to an end. What will happen to Naomi and Ruth?

Ruth 3:1-6, Naomi's plan
One day Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for? Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been, a kinsman of ours? Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don't let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do." 

"I will do whatever you say," Ruth answered. So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.

The first verse of this chapter echoes Naomi's prayer in Ruth 1:9.  Naomi hatches a plan to marry Ruth to Boaz.  It involves Ruth dressing for the part, washing, putting on her best clothes and perfume. Given the cultural differences between Moab and Israel, Ruth is told to follow precise instructions.

Once again, we are given the women's point of view.  We hear the conversation between the two women, a conversation that includes details that women would be more likely to appreciate.

It would be easier for Ruth stay hidden on the threshing floor than we might think -- there would be very little lighting at night, maybe none at all. The threshing floor (barn?) would be dark soon after the sun had set. And would stay dark until dawn.

Hubbard says the threshing room floor was often associated with licentiousness and debauchery, with harvest orgies and wild drinking. (See Hosea 9:1 for example.) There is significant risk for Ruth here, either from other men at the threshing floor or because she might be viewed as a prostitute. Both Naomi and Ruth are putting their lives and reputations into Boaz's hands.

Ruth 3:7-9, Middle of the night
When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. In the middle of the night something startled the man, and he turned and discovered a woman lying at his feet. "Who are you?" he asked. 

"I am your servant Ruth," she said. "Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer."

Note: another interpretation of "something startled the man" is "the man was made to tremble/shiver". It is possible that he awoke because his feet were cold!

Hubbard: The word for "servant" in verse 9 is amah, a higher form than the term used by Ruth in Ruth 2:13. This term denotes an Israelite with enough standing to marry. (The term was used for Bilhah and Zilpah, the servants of Rachel and Leah.) Ruth also uses a familial term for "you" when she says I am your servant and, unlike chapter 2, she uses her name. Her words here are bolder, much less submissive than those in the previous chapter.

Why is Boaz in good spirits? Hubbard sees him lying in the darkness, full and content. He has a good God, he has had a good harvest, life is wonderful! What more could a man want? Oy, maybe he is a little lonely, yes?

In the previous chapter (Ruth 2: 12), Boaz asks YHWH, "the God of Israel" to bless Ruth, for she has taken refuge under His wings. Ruth's request in verse 9 is that Boaz spread his wings over her. (The Hebrew word translated "wings" in 2:12 is kanaph; here that same word is translated "corner of your garment.") Boaz has a chance to answer his own prayer!

This is the climax of the story, with considerable tension. We now have our hero and heroine together, indeed they are next to each other in the dark! How will Boaz react?

Ruth 3:10-13, Boaz responds
"The LORD bless you, my daughter," he replied. "This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. And now, my daughter, don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character. 

"Although it is true that I am near of kin, there is a kinsman-redeemer nearer than I. Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to redeem, good; let him redeem. But if he is not willing, as surely as the LORD lives I will do it. Lie here until morning."

Boaz responds like the good man of character he is. The audience, listening to this story, sighs with happiness.  Yes, Boaz reacts with integrity and compassion.  He demonstrates hesed (loyal compassion.) And he compliments Ruth for her kindness, for her demonstrations of hesed.

But, just as the Storyteller's audience sighs with happiness, one last conflict is introduced into the story. There is a closer kinsman! Boaz assures Ruth that one of them will take care of her.  But this is not good news! By this time our audience is rooting for a Ruth-Boaz couple and so this second man is a problem. (Three thousand years later, Hallmark movies use a similar dramatic technique -- for two-thirds of the movie, the audience yearns for the hero and heroine to discover each other. Then, finally, when they meet, suddenly a crisis occurs and the perfect match is suspended by a thread, to be resolved in the last minutes of the movie.)

Boaz promises to resolve everything in the morning.  Until then, Ruth is to stay with him in the dark, where she is safe.

Ruth 3:14-15, Return to town
So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, "Don't let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor." 

He also said, "Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out." When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and put it on her. Then he went back to town.

Boaz doesn't want Ruth to be seen in the dawn light. Otherwise people would make an obvious assumption about a woman leaving the threshing floor in the morning.

The Hebrew of verse 15 (and later, verse 17) does not give a unit of measurement for the barley, but merely says that Boaz "measured six of barley." 

The Old Testament audience would recognize fertility symbols in the gift of six measures of barley. YHWH has been gracious to Boaz, with a fertile harvest, and Boaz is now passing on these gifts to Ruth and Naomi. The ANE audience is now hopeful that this story will include future fertility.

Ruth 3:16-18, Unfinished business
When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, "How did it go, my daughter?" 

Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her and added, "He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, `Don't go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.'" 

Then Naomi said, "Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today."

Ruth has been gone all night. Naomi has probably been anxious the entire time -- both her future and that of Ruth -- depend on a man stepping up and taking care of them.  Ruth, returning with six measures of barley and a promise of marriage, is the best she could hope for, even if we do not yet know the identity of the husband-to-be.

From Ruth's story, Naomi knows that Boaz will resolve the kinsman-redeemer issue and provide a husband to Ruth.  Her suggestions to Ruth have a hint of optimism, as she sees considerable evidence that Boaz plans to be the one to marry Ruth. With this hope, the Storyteller ends this chapter.

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is amah,  feminine noun, "maidservant."

 אָמָה

Some Random Thoughts

Ruth is a strong woman. She has committed herself to Naomi and to the God of Israel and followed Naomi into an unfamiliar culture, with an unfamiliar language, where she might be rejected. She is subservient to Boaz when she first meets him and recognizes her place at the bottom of the societal rung. Yet when she has to step up, she confronts Boaz with both gentleness and yet a demand, a demand that includes presenting herself as a woman deserving respect.

First published July 20, 2023, last updated July 20, 2026

The Story of David, An Introduction to I Samuel

At the end of the book of Genesis, Jacob and seventy members of his family migrate to Egypt.  Several centuries later, a nation led by Moses leaves Egypt, guided by YHWH, the One God of Creation, Who has chosen this nation to represent Him. YHWH feeds the nation in the desert, implements a covenant and guides them into Canaan. In Canaan, Joshua leads the nation to a mostly successful conquest but at the death of Joshua, the nation is still in conflict with various tribes of Canaanites. The book of Judges describes the chaos that follows. That book ends with a disorganized and decadent collection of tribes fighting with both outsiders and themselves.

The scroll of Samuel, in the Hebrew TaNaKh, describes the passage from chaotic tribal disputes to the reign of King Saul and then the dramatic reign of the charismatic King David. 

Historians believe David's death occurred about 970 BC. (See this Wikipedia page on the Kings of Israel and Judah.) The scroll of Samuel (1 & 2 Samuel) then covers about a century (1070-970 BC) in the history of the young nation of Israel.

Eventually the scroll of Samuel was separated into two parts, First and Second Samuel.  First Samuel covers the transition from leadership by the judge-prophet Samuel to the first kingdom, the reign of King Saul. As Saul's reign decays, the shepherd-poet David rises in power and influence. The book of I Samuel ends with the death of Saul while David waits in the wings.

Outline

The first half of the scroll of Samuel naturally fits into three parts:

1. Chapters 1-7 introduce us to the last judge, Samuel
2. Chapters 8-15 describe the rise of the first king, Saul, and his coronation by Saul.
3. Chapters 16-31, describes the ascent of David and the decline of Saul.

Problems and Questions

Rabbinical tradition gives three authors for the scroll of Samuel, attributing to Samuel everything up to the account of his death and then the remainder to the prophets Gad and Nathan. (See I Chronicles 29:29-30 for support for this hypothesis.)  It is likely that the final scroll was completed by a later editor.

As in previous books, there are some questions on the Old Testament use of large numbers. (I summarize what I know of that in the Sunday essay, The Problem of Large Numbers in the Old Testament.)

The details described in the scroll of Samuel occurred over three thousand years ago. They were probably originally written down in paleo-Hebrew and then, after the Babylonian captivity, copied in what we now call biblical Hebrew. The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint copies of the scroll differ significantly in various places. A notable example is the story of David's ascent into Saul's court. He enters Saul's court as a young harpist in 1 Samuel 16:14-23 and then again when he kills Goliath in 1 Samuel 17.

Resources and References

My practice is to read through the text from the New International Version (NIV), copied into the blog and italicized in blue. (These colors do not come through in the Substack version of this blog.) At the head of each blue paragraph of text I place a short title; after the text I place my thoughts or comments in black. I begin this process with my own observationss and thoughts and I then supplement these comments with gleanings from a commentary or two.

One goal of this blog is to force me to read every verse thoughtfully. My comments are part of that process, creating a certain accountability for me in this study. I hope that you, too, read the passages thoughtfully! Feel free to disagree -- or to react in other ways! (I place hyperlinks in pink, created so that one can click on a link and see the linked site open in another window... and go down a rabbit hole if one wishes!)

For the book of I Samuel I have found two commentaries helpful. 

• Robert Alter has an excellent and enjoyable translation and commentary called The David Story.  
• I have also used a commentary by Ronald F. Youngblood found in the third volume of the Expositor's Bible Commentary.

Both of these sources cover both 1 and 2 Samuel. In addition, in the online commentaries provided by EasyEnglishBible, is an online commentary on 1 Samuel.  (The Easy English Bible commentaries are easy to read, with deliberately simple language intended for those for whom English is a second language. The Old Testament text is included in the commentary.) 

In addition to these resources, there is a Wikipedia article on the scroll of Samuel and an online article from the Jewish Encyclopedia. The Untidy Faith podcast started a study in 1 Samuel in January 2023, working through the book with a podcast every two weeks. The first podcast on 1 Samuel is here. And as always, there is a nice Bible Project video on 1 Samuel. 

The book of First Samuel is the first of four books on the kings of Israel, leading up to the conquest of the nation by countries to the east. The history is rich, with details of internal conflicts and, like Joshua-Judges, describes an on-again off-again relation with YHWH.

First published July 30, 2023; updated  July 19, 2026

Ruth 2, A Man Named Boaz

Naomi and her daughter-in-law, Ruth, have returned to Bethlehem, Judah, just as the harvest begins. Will the harvest be fruitful? Can the two widows survive in this small town?

Ruth 2:1-2, Harvest
Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side, from the clan of Elimelech, a man of standing, whose name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor." 

Naomi said to her, "Go ahead, my daughter." 

The first verse sets us up for the rest of the chapter. We are introduced to Boaz before he appears in the story. This is a technique intended to heighten our suspense and follows naturally from the last verses of chapter one.

The Storyteller tells us that Ruth, the Moabitess, seeks to work in the fields. Our Storyteller emphasizes Ruth's alien status.

The phrase "relative on her husband's side" could apparently be interpreted "friend of her husband". Most likely Boaz was both -- maybe a cousin and friend of Elimelech, for example.

Ruth 2:3, As it turned out...

So she went out and began to glean in the fields behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech. 

"As it turned out", Ruth ends up working in the field of Boaz! What a coincidence! The Storyteller will repeatedly mention coincidences and challenge us to decide if they are indeed accidental.

Gleaning, described in Deuteronomy 24:19, allowed the poor to find enough food to survive.

Ruth 2:4-7, Whose young woman is that?

Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "The LORD be with you!" 

"The LORD bless you!" they called back. 

Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, "Whose young woman is that?" 

The foreman replied, "She is the Moabitess who came back from Moab with Naomi. She said, `Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.' She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter."

The phrase "just then" could also be translated "behold!" or "look". We are to pay attention. The story is then carried quickly forward by dialogue, in four important statements. In the first two, Boaz greets the harvesters in the name of YHWH and they respond with the same blessing. Then Boaz says, essentially, "Whoa, who is that young woman?!"  In the foreman's reply we are reminded again that Ruth is an alien, an outsider and then we learn that she is a hard worker. 

If this were a Hallmark movie, we, the audience, would now know that this is the couple we are to root far.  He is wealthy, yet kind and upright.  She is a hard worker but also young and attractive. We hope that they will become a couple.  Although this story is three thousand years before Hallmark movies, the human desire for romance is unchanged! The ancient listeners, gathered in a circle around the Storyteller, also root for Ruth and Boaz.

Commentary (from The Book of Ruth, by Robert L. Hubbard): The Hebrew word na'ar appears three times in this passage. It is embedded in the phrase which the NIV interprets as "foreman" and in the foreman's reply as an adjective for "Moabitess". It means "young" and also shows up in the question of Boaz as "young woman".

Ruth 2:8-9, My daughter
So Boaz said to Ruth, "My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. 

"I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled." 

Boaz addresses the woman as "my daughter". This is a protective expression, followed by some statements that emphasize the protection.  The phrases "listen to me", "Don't go", "Stay here" are emphatic. Boaz is giving some strong advice. The fields could be a dangerous place for an unprotected woman.

Notice that Ruth's request in verse 2 has been answered.

Ruth 2:10-13, Favor for a foreigner

At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me--a foreigner?" 

Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband--how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." 

"May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord," she said. "You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant--though I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls."

There is wordplay in the Hebrew in verse 10. The word for foreigner was loosely "the unnoticed ones" and so the Hebrew phrase "anoki nokriya" apparently means "notice the unnoticed" or "recognized the unrecognized". Ruth is asking "Why do you do the undoable -- notice the unnoticeable foreigner?"

In verse 11, there occurs the phrase "leave father and mother". It appears only one other time in the Old Testament -- where?  Along the same lines, Hubbard reads hints into the response of Ruth: "May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord."

The word "favor" in verse 13 is hesed.

Notice Boaz' prayer: "May YHWH reward you." YHWH will indeed answer that prayer. Who do you think YHWH will use to reward her?!!

Ruth uses a strange word for herself when she says "servant" in verse 13. The common word would apparently be ama but Ruth uses sipha, a virgin slave of the lowest class, assigned to menial tasks. This represents her low status as a foreigner.  Ruth reserves ama for a later conversation, in the next chapter.

Ruth 2: 14-17, Mealtime
At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar." 

When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, "Even if she gathers among the sheaves, don't embarrass her. Rather, pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don't rebuke her." 

So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.

Boaz continues to provide little gifts to Ruth.  He then gives instructions that make sure her work will be rewarded.  The workers are even to help her glean by dropping extra stalks for her! At the end of the day, Ruth's grain is an ephah, probably about 30 pounds, a significant amount of food. Apparently a field worker might receive 1 to 2 pounds of food for his work, so an ephah is quite a large amount of barley, possibly as much as a month's worth.

Ruth 2: 18-19, "Where did you glean?"

She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough. 

Her mother-in-law asked her, "Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!" 

Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. "The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz," she said. 

It would not have been easy for Ruth to carry an ephah of barley back to town.  Ruth is a strong young woman! In addition to the ephah of barley, Ruth also gives her mother-in-law her left-over portion (doggie-bag) from lunch.

Dramatic technique: Ruth delays the name of her benefactor, to the very end of the sentence (also in the Hebrew).

Ruth 2:20-22, Kinsman-redeemer

"The LORD bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. "He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead." She added, "That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers." 

Then Ruth the Moabitess said, "He even said to me, `Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.'" 

Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with his girls, because in someone else's field you might be harmed."

In the ancient Hebrew culture, a kinsman-redeemer (Hebrew: go'el) was a relative who, according to Hubbard (pp. 188-9), had the responsibility to:

1. Repurchase property once owned by the dead relative but sold in time of need.
2. Purchase out of slavery relatives who had sold themselves due to poverty or need.
3. Avenge the killing of a relative by tracking down the murderer.
4. Receive money paid in restitution for a wrong committed against the dead relative.
5. Assist the relative in legal matters, lawsuits.

Apparently the go'el might also be expected to marry the widow of the deceased relative and take care of her children.

Naomi identifies Boaz as showing kindness to both the living and the dead. She may mean, by this, his kindness to Ruth is, by extension, a kindness to Elimelech and Elimelech's family.

Ruth 2:23, Summary

So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Each harvest was about one month: April then May.

The storyteller says "and she lived with her mother-in-law" and starts to rise from his seat. Can you hear the audience say "Wait! That can't be! You're not done!" (Once again the storyteller simultaneously summarizes the story and teases us, hinting at the next episode.)

The barley harvest was an important time in this agricultural society. The end of the barley harvest was celebrated by the feast of Pentecost. Eventually the book of Ruth would be the standard reading at the Pentecost celebration.

The Hebrew of the first half of Ruth 2, read aloud, is available in this Youtube video at the Youtube channel by Tim McNinch.

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is kanaph,  a feminine noun, "wing, corner, border, skirt." 

כָּנָף

The word appears in verse 12 here and then again in 3:9. In both appearances of this noun, the author is making a point.

First published July 19, 2023, last updated July 18, 2026

Ruth 1, Widows and Famine

After the book of Judges, we have a story of survival, survival for two women during that time.

Ruth 1:1-5, Disaster in Moab
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there. Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

With quick brevity we hear of a tragedy: of famine, then a retreat across the Jordan to Moab, followed by death.  Although the people of Moab and Ammon, according to Deuteronomy 23:3-6, were to be viewed as enemies, no judgment is given here regarding going to Moab or marrying Moabite women. And we are given no explanations for the deaths or causes of death.  We simply have concise statements of a great tragedy. For women in the ancient Near East, these tragedies, involving loss of a husband-provider, were especially difficult, threatening one's very survival.

Elimelech means "God is King" and Bethlehem means "House of Bread." Naomi means "pleasant." Each name carries irony.

Ruth 1:6-14, Return to Judah
When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. 

Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband." 

Then she kissed them and they wept aloud and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people."

But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me -- even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons -- would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD's hand has gone out against me!"

At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her.

It is about 50 miles from the fields of Moab to Bethlehem. This is a significant walk with considerable danger.

Many tribes had tribal gods; these were assumed to have power only in that land or tribe. So a traveler might sacrifice to the Philistine gods as he enters Philistine, then make a sacrifice to the Moabite gods as he enters Moab.

We see here a unique characteristic of the book: the book will tell the story by dialogue.

The word rest in verse 9 means security, stability. It was often a euphemism for the Promised Land and is the same concept that appears in Hebrews 4 (eg 4:9-11) where the Hebrew Christians are challenged to make sure they enter God's Rest.

The Hebrew word for kindness in verse 8 is hesed. At least one commentator suggests this is the theme of Ruth and the Hebrew word appears throughout the book. The word might be best translated "loyal devotion".

The use of the word "womb" (me im) in verse 11 ("Do I have sons in my womb?") is unusual, as there is a more precise Hebrew word for womb. The word used here also appears in Song of Songs 5:4 where it represents desire and in Isaiah 16:11 and Jeremiah 31:20 where it represents pity. It carries emotion, it is not just the womb but the heart.

Ruth 1:15-18, "Where you go, I will go"
"Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her."

But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."

When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

Again Naomi urges Ruth to go back, pointing at Orpah in the distance. Is Orpah in the wrong here?

Ruth gives a beautiful and elegant statement of commitment! Notice what she promises. What does Ruth mean by her statement? Does she know who Naomi's God is? How much does she know? (Ruth's promise includes a classic oath, generally made in the name of one's god. Here Ruth says, "May YHWH deal with me...." Even her oath includes allegiance to Naomi's God!)

Why would Ruth promise to even die where Naomi dies?

Comment: This is the second place in the Old Testament where a foreigner lays claim to YHWH. (See Joshua 2: 8-11.)

Ruth 1:19-21, "Can this be Naomi?"
So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?"

"Don't call me Naomi," she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."

Naomi means “pleasant”; Mara means “bitter”. Notice that the whole town came out. Surely in the crowd were old friends and in the buildings were old memories, memories of Elimelech and two small boys.

Verses 20 and 21 are the only places where YHWH is not used for God in this book. In these two verses, the name "Almighty" is the Hebrew Shaddai.

Ruth 1:22, Return
So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.

The title "the Moabitess" is given to Ruth here. The  book will continue to identify Ruth as "the Moabitess", emphasizing her alien status.

Hubbard argues that a more precise translation is "Naomi came home along with her daughter-in-law, Ruth the Moabitess, the one who returned from the fields of Moab." A problem for Old Testament scholars is that the phrase "one who returned (hassaba)" is apparently assigned to Ruth! How does Ruth "return" from Moab?

Notice the symmetry of the chapter. Naomi left with children in famine (verse 1) and returns with Ruth at barley harvest. Indeed, not only is our story-teller ending the chapter with an elegant summary, but raising expectations for the remainder of the story.

The author of the book clearly mentions YHWH and His work in places. But at other times he allows a hint of chance. That hint appears in this verse; you will see such hints more clearly later. These hints challenge the listener to decide if he or she believes in chance.

This book is intended to be told as a story.  In this case the medieval chapter divisions are accurate -- each chapter ends with a pregnant pause, with the audience getting a hint of things to come. The barley harvest was an important time in this agricultural society.

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is lechem, bread, masculine noun.

לֶחֶם

Bethlehem was so named because it was "the house (beth) of bread."

First published July 18, 2023, last updated July 17, 2025

Judges 21, Benjamin Rebuilds

After the rape and murder of a concubine, the tribe of Benjamin was attacked by the other tribes in a horrific civil war. Benjamin is on the edge of extinction with only six hundred fighters left.

Judges 21:1-5, Two angry oaths

The men of Israel had taken an oath at Mizpah: "Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite."

The people went to Bethel, where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly. "O LORD, the God of Israel," they cried, "why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?" 

Early the next day the people built an altar and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Israelites asked, "Who from all the tribes of Israel has failed to assemble before the LORD?" For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah should certainly be put to death.

A flashback describes two foolish oaths taken in anger at the beginning of this civil war. There is an oath to not allow the Benjamite men to have wives and an oath to kill anyone who does not show up for the sacrifice at Mizpah. The second oath has led to extensive genocide putting the tribe of Benjamin on the edge of extinction. The first oath essentially guarantees that the remnant from Benjamin will not have descendants.

Judges 21:6-15, Jabesh Gilead

Now the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites. "Today one tribe is cut off from Israel," they said. "How can we provide wives for those who are left, since we have taken an oath by the LORD not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?" 

Then they asked, "Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah?" They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly. For when they counted the people, they found that none of the people of Jabesh Gilead were there. So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men with instructions to go to Jabesh Gilead and put to the sword those living there, including the women and children.

"This is what you are to do," they said. "Kill every male and every woman who is not a virgin"

They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan. Then the whole assembly sent an offer of peace to the Benjamites at the rock of Rimmon. So the Benjamites returned at that time and were given the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there were not enough for all of them. 

The people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a gap in the tribes of Israel.

The result of the past bloodshed is a decision to kill more Israelites. In this attack, young women are captured from Jabesh Gilead to be given to the Benjamite men. In the perverse logic of the Israelite oaths, this is permissible since the passive people of Jabesh Gilead, having not shown up for war, had also not made the oaths to prevent Benjamites from marrying their women.

Judges 21:16-19, Another festival

And the elders of the assembly said, "With the women of Benjamin destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left? The Benjamite survivors must have heirs," they said, "so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. We can't give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: `Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.' But look, there is the annual festival of the LORD in Shiloh, to the north of Bethel, and east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and to the south of Lebonah."

There are six hundred Benjamites hiding at the rock at Rimmon. The attack on Jabesh Gilead has captured four hundred women to marry these men and so help bring a new generation of Benjamites. But four hundred women is not enough and so the Israelites arrange a second chance for the Benjamites to have wives. This will be done at a festival in Shiloh.

Judges 21:20-22, Dancing girls

So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, "Go and hide in the vineyards and watch. When the girls of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, then rush from the vineyards and each of you seize a wife from the girls of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin. When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, `Do us a kindness by helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war, and you are innocent, since you did not give your daughters to them.'"

In the ancient Hebrew culture, women often celebrated by dancing. (See Miriam's dance in Exodus 15:20, women dancing at David's victory in I Samuel 18:6 and a promise that "virgin Israel" will someday dance in Jeremiah 31:4.) Dancing women would thus be expected at this upcoming festival. The single Benjamite men are instructed to hide in the vineyards at this festival and, when the young women come out dancing, the men are to run out and capture a woman to marry. In this way the people of Israel do not violate their vow since they did not give women to the Benjamites! (They merely set up a mechanism by which the women are to be violently abducted!')

Judges 21:23-24, Benjamin rebuilds

So that is what the Benjamites did. While the girls were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled in them. At that time the Israelites left that place and went home to their tribes and clans, each to his own inheritance.

We have seen rape, murder, then mass murder and genocide. Now young women are abducted as they dance. The Israelites have creatively solved the problems caused by their foolish oaths. Our narrator makes no comment about the morality of these actions but merely describes this history. 

Judges 21:25, No king

In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.

This final verse is the summary of this violent (and depressing) book. But it will be followed by a very beautiful and short Old Testament romance, the book of Ruth.

First published July 17, 2023; updated July 16, 2026