The book of Ruth is probably best known as a romantic love story that, through the expression of loving devotion, overcomes tragedy and ends with the founding of the most famous family in all of biblical Israel. But the book wasn't always this way. In fact, it wasn't a book at all but rather a story told with a very different purpose in mind. Before Ruth, there was the Story of Naomi, a subversive story designed to challenge a male-dominated status quo. Through comedy, sarcastic irony, and unparalleled rhetorical skill the Naomi storyteller holds up for inspection social gender roles and the power of sexuality in a manner that resonates yet today. The Story of Naomi--The Book of Ruth goes behind the literary rendition of the story and recaptures the original oral tale, with script and performance directions that brings to life the humor, tragedy, and transparent honesty shared between the Naomi storyteller and her audience.

"In concert with Swanson's art, Chittister's prose explores, through the biblical story of Ruth, a series of twelve life-defining moments in every woman's life"--From publisher description.

Presents the complete text of the New Revised Standard Version Bible, with the Aprocryphal/Deuterocanonical books; and features annotations in a single column across the page bottom, in-text background essays on the major divisions of the biblical text, and other reference tools.

Kristen Moen Saxegaard demonstrates how character complexity generates theological themes in the Book of Ruth. Each character has its specific voice which raises a particular topic. The interaction between the characters elaborates multiple perspectives to these themes, which offer new approaches and alternative answers to the reading of Ruth.

"The essential resource for Scripture students"--Cover.

"Bible" as used in the title of this book refers to the Bibles used by mainstream American Jews, Roman Catholics and Protestants. This book deals with the books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, including those of the Apocrypha. This is a study of the people who wrote the books of the Bible and of the historical, political and social settings in which they wrote and of the factors that caused the authors to write. The search for the authors and what motivated them to write takes the readers into the origins of the stories that make up a large part of the Bible. While many popular and scholarly books have been written about the authorship of specific books of the Bible, this is the only book that deals with all of the books of the Bbile is a single, concise volume. It is in laymen's language with footnotes suggesting where readers can find further information for expanded study. Where scholars have offered differing views of biblical matters that affect the determination of authorship, this book presents the various views - in laymen's language. Read, learn and enjoy!

This valuable reference tool for students and pastors explores the components of the narrative genre—setting, characterization, and plot—and then develops the major theological themes in each of the Old Testament historical books.

Tremper Longman III and Peter E. Enns edit this collection of 148 articles by over 90 contributors on Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ruth and Esther.

Provides an overview of various models of reading the Bible in the Third Millenium.