{"id":56504,"date":"2019-06-01T23:12:31","date_gmt":"2019-06-01T20:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=56504"},"modified":"2022-12-23T11:51:52","modified_gmt":"2022-12-23T09:51:52","slug":"loyalty-replaces-disloyalty-brotherhood-fratricide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/loyalty-replaces-disloyalty-brotherhood-fratricide\/","title":{"rendered":"Loyalty Replaces Disloyalty; Brotherhood – Fratricide"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Judges 20 glaringly describes a story that on its surface appears virtuous but is replete with depravity and sin: the civil war. On the surface the Israelites are repeatedly described as uniting as <\/span>one man<\/span> before the Lord<\/span><\/em> (see Judges 20:1) and they heroically proclaim their intention to <\/span>stamp out the evil from Israel<\/span><\/em> (20:13). They even bring God offerings while seeking His advice. This unified and \u201cnoble\u201d war, however, is a civil war! The Israelites proclaim unity as they literally fight against their brother, the tribe of Benjamin. The text emphasizes this perverse association with brotherhood as the Israelites refer to the tribe of Benjamin as <\/span>achi<\/span><\/em>, my brother, even as they seek to kill them (Judges 20:23,28).<\/span><\/p>\n

In stark contrast, in the book of Ruth, Boaz displays true loyalty in the name of brotherhood.<\/span> \u00a0\u00a0<\/b>Inspired by Ruth\u2019s loyalty to Naomi, Boaz announces that he will redeem the field that belonged <\/span>le\u2019achenu<\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/i> to our brother (Ruth 4:3) because <\/span>echav<\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/i> brothers of Israel should never be cut off (4:10). <\/span><\/p>\n

There are numerous words in Judges that describe perverse aspects of the civil war and then describe virtuous acts in Ruth. In Judges, for example, the soldiers in the civil war are described as foot soldiers who<\/span> shalaf<\/span><\/em>, draw their swords (Judges 20:2). Nowhere else in Tanakh are soldiers described as drawing their swords and also as <\/span>fighting men on foot<\/span><\/em>. In Ruth the word <\/span>shalaf<\/span><\/em> is also used in the context of feet. Here, Boaz virtuously redeems Naomi\u2019s husband\u2019s field when he draws, <\/span>va\u2019yishlof<\/span><\/em>,<\/em> his shoe (Ruth 4:7-8). Throughout Tanakh the root <\/span>sh-l-f<\/span><\/em> describes fighting and aggression. Only in the book of Ruth is the root <\/span>sh-l-f<\/span><\/em> used peacefully, when it twice describes Boaz’s righteous redemption of his brother\u2019s field.<\/span><\/p>\n

The root <\/span>d-v-k<\/em> <\/span>in Judges similarly describes Israelites belligerently chasing one another (see Judges 20:42). In the Book of Ruth, <\/span>d-v-k<\/span><\/em> describes virtuous loyalty, when Ruth <\/span>davka<\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/i> clings<\/span> to Naomi and when Boaz tells Ruth to <\/span>tidbikin<\/span><\/em>, stick to his maidens and field (Ruth 1:14; 2:8; 2:23). \u00a0Similar patterns appear for the words <\/span>menucha<\/span><\/em>, <\/span>Tamar<\/span><\/em> and c<\/span>hayil<\/span> (see for example Judges 20:43, Ruth 1:9, 3:1; Judges 20:33, Ruth 4:12 and Judges 20:44, Ruth 2:1)<\/span><\/p>\n

These words then follow the surface-depth theme we\u2019ve seen throughout the comparisons of these two texts. Just as Judges describes a society that on the <\/span>surface<\/span> appears moral but <\/span>in reality<\/span> is corrupt, these words in Judges are on their <\/span>surface<\/span> positive words, but their <\/span>context<\/span> describes depravity and sin. In the book of Ruth, as the Israelites learn to look beyond the surface of Ruth as a foreign woman and discover her inner goodness, these very words from Judges regain their positive associations while describing acts of true valor and virtue.<\/span><\/p>\n

For a fuller exploration about the contrast between the end of the Book of Judges and the Book of Ruth, please see: Raskas, Jennifer R.<\/span> \u201cThe Book of Ruth: A Contrast to the End of the Book of Judges.\u201d<\/span><\/a> Jewish Bible Quarterly. Volume 43:4 (2015): p. 223-232<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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