Ruth: A Touching Love Story Trivia Quiz

Answer: At the time of the Judges

"Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled..." (Ruth 1:1). The Book of Ruth was probably at one time an appendix to the Book of Judges. It follows Judges in the modern Bible canon, and is like a ray of fresh light after the dark periods depicted in the prior book, showing that even in the midst of horror, the simple love story can be acted out.

Answer: All of these

The marriage of a Jew to a foreigner would not likely be so positively portrayed in the post-Exile days of Ezra and Nehemiah, when a severe attitude was taken by the Jewish leaders toward this kind of intermarriage, and when such unions were sternly forbidden. Liberal scholars argue that some of the Aramaic idioms used in the work indicate a later dating than the reign of David. Conservatives counter that examples of such words can be found even before the book of Judges.

Answer: Four

The book has four chapters and each is presented as a different "scene" with a definite sense of division. Act one opens in Moab. Act two opens in the fields of Boaz. Act three opens in the house of Naomi and takes the audience to the threshing floor, and the final act takes place at the city gate.

Answer: Because of a famine

"...and there was a famine in the land" (Ruth 1:1). The family settled in Moab, and Naomi's sons took wives of the Moabites, Ruth and Orpah. After the death of her husband and sons, Naomi wished to return to her own land, and Ruth accompanied her.

Answer: Orpah

At first Orpah was willing, but when Naomi advised, "Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?", Orpah turned back. Mahlon was one of Naomi's sons; Elimelech was her husband.

Answer: Her mother-in-law, Naomi

The verse is recited by brides (or sometimes the bride and groom both) during some Christian weddings. The next verse which may be included reads: "Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me" (Ruth 1:17).

Answer: Friendship

Ruth is one of two Old Testament books named after a woman; the other is Esther. (For Catholics, Judith is a third.) The name's Hebrew root is thought to be ra'a, which is used to refer to friendship.

Answer: All of these

In order to "redeem" a widow, slave, or orphan, the kinsman-redeemer had to be a relative who was both willing and able to pay the price of redemption. In the case of a widow, he had to marry her and any offspring would be given the deceased husband's name.

Answer: Mara

"Call me not Naomi," she said, "call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me." Naomi means pleasant, a meaning she no longer found appropriate, once she had returned home "again empty" (Ruth 1:20-21). This looks like it was a wry observation rather than a serious renaming: in the remainder of the book, Naomi is still called Naomi.

Answer: False

In Boaz's absence, Ruth began gleaning in his fields, as was the right of the poor and the widow in accordance with the law. When Boaz returned from the city to his fields, he noticed her right away, and he immediately inquired after her: "Whose damsel is this?" Boaz, after being told who she was, told her to continue gleaning in his field and to drink from the vessels whenever she was thirsty.

Answer: He had heard of her loyalty and respected her for it

Ruth 2:11-12: "And Boaz . . . said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.

The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee." It is also possible that he had fallen in love at first sight, but he certainly showed no inclination to seduce her. Boaz was not related to Ruth, but rather a near kinsman to Naomi's husband, and thus qualified to serve as a kinsman redeemer.

Answer: All of these

Ruth brought home to Naomi many gleanings, and Naomi asked her in whose fields she gleaned. When Ruth answered Boaz, Naomi told her that he was a close kinsman to Naomi's husband.

Answer: False

Rather, Naomi advised her to be forward with him. She suggested Ruth wash, anoint herself, dress well, and go lie down beside him on the threshing floor.

Answer: Ruth was offering herself and the pair had sex

According to many liberal scholars, in ancient idiom, "feet" was a euphemism for the male genitalia. They also support the supposition that the pair had sex by pointing out that, the next morning, Ruth left before daylight, and Boaz said, "Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor." According to conservative scholars, however, "uncovering the feet" was an ancient custom that involved a woman only slightly raising a man's robe and then asking him to (as Ruth does here) throw his skirt over her, as a symbol of the fact that he is willing to take her into his protection as a husband and provider.

As evidence, they refer to Ezekiel 16:8, where God (who in the Prophets is often portrayed as the husband of Israel) says that he "spread [his] skirt" over Israel and "entered into a covenant with" them. Conservative scholars also argue that the pair would not likely have had sex on the threshing floor, where other men were also sleeping, and that both characters are portrayed as too virtuous for such an action to be congruous with their characters.

Indeed, Boaz's response to Ruth's request was, "I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman." He then went on to talk about how he was not the nearest kinsman and did not have the first right to redeem her, but how he would gladly "do the part" (i.e. marry her) if her nearest kinsman refused (Ruth 3:3-13).

Answer: False

Rather, he was flattered. "Blessed be thou of the Lord," he said, "for thou hast shewed more kindness . . . inasmuch as though followedst not young men, whether rich or poor." Rather than chasing after the young men, she chose an older man, Boaz, because of his kindness and virtue (Ruth 3:10).

Answer: False

Boaz did NOT try hard to persuade the other, nearer kinsman to marry Ruth. Indeed, at first, he did not mention Ruth at all--only that Naomi had a parcel of land. When the kinsman said he would pay to redeem the land, Boaz subtly tried to dissuade him by saying he would also have to marry Ruth and raise up offspring in the name of Ruth's deceased husband, so that Ruth's son, and not the kinsman himself, would actually own the land.

This duty the kinsman did not care to assume: "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance," he said. Boaz used some ingenuity to ensure that he would be free to marry Ruth.

Answer: Obed

Obed was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David. Pharez was an ancestor of Boaz.

Answer: False

According to Deuteronomy 23:3, such offspring were excluded until the tenth generation. Yet David, who was a great grandson of Ruth, was King of Israel, so this exclusion was perhaps a hyperbole or not always practiced.

Answer: The Writings

The Writings include such works as Song of Solomon, Esther, Ecclesiastes, and Lamentations.

Answer: Shavuot

Shavuot commemorates the giving of the law and the wheat harvest. Christians know it as Pentecost, which is the word used to refer to Shavuot in Acts. The symbolism here is quite interesting. Ruth, a foreigner (Moabite), married her Jewish kinsman-redeemer Boaz; similarly, the Church (which commences on Pentecost), came to be populated by foreigners (gentiles), and it was depicted by Paul as the bride of the Jewish Messiah Jesus Christ, who was in a sense a kinsman (because of His Incarnation), and who paid a great price to redeem mankind.