Identity and Ethics in the Book of Ruth: A Social Identity Approach (Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift Fa1/4r die Alttestamentliche Wissen) PDF
Preview Identity and Ethics in the Book of Ruth: A Social Identity Approach (Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift Fa1/4r die Alttestamentliche Wissen)
Peter H. W. Lau Identity and Ethics in the Book of Ruth Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft Herausgegeben von John Barton · Reinhard G. Kratz Choon-Leong Seow · Markus Witte Band 416 De Gruyter Peter H. W. Lau Identity and Ethics in the Book of Ruth A Social Identity Approach De Gruyter ISBN 978-3-11-024760-2 e-ISBN 978-3-11-024761-9 ISSN 0934-2575 LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Lau,PeterH.W. Identity and ethics in the book of Ruth : a social identity approach / PeterH.W.Lau. p. cm. - (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissen- schaft,ISSN0934-2575;Bd.416) Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN978-3-11-024760-2(hardcover:alk.paper) 1. Ethics in the Bible. 2. Sociology, Biblical. 3. Bible. O.T. Ruth - Criticism, Narrative. 4. Bible. O.T. Ruth - Social scientific criticism. I.Title. BS1315.6.E8L39 2010 2221.3506-dc22 2010034691 BibliographicinformationpublishedbytheDeutscheNationalbibliothek TheDeutscheNationalbibliothekliststhispublicationintheDeutsche Nationalbibliografie;detailedbibliographicdataareavailableintheInternet athttp://dnb.d-nb.de. ”2011WalterdeGruyterGmbH&Co.KG,Berlin/NewYork Printing:Hubert&Co.GmbH&Co.KG,Göttingen (cid:2)Printedonacid-freepaper PrintedinGermany www.degruyter.com Foreword This book is a revision of my doctoral dissertation accepted by the Uni- versity of Sydney in January 2009. I would like to express my gratitude to the following people and organisations: My supervisor, Shani Berrin Tzoref, whose guidance, generosity, and insightful feedback have been invaluable. I appreciated your con- tinued direction even after you departed for Jerusalem. My thanks also to Mark Leuchter, who supervised after Shani left. You extended my thinking in many areas and helped me understand the subtleties of HB studies. The staff at Tyndale House, Cambridge, for their warm welcome and making our stay so enjoyable and productive. I would also like to thank Ronald Clements for commenting on earlier drafts of this study, the stimulating discussions, and encouragement. Thanks also to James Aitken and Cambridge University for a grant that enabled me to ex- perience the land of Israel. My heartfelt thanks to the Divine Grace Foundation for financial assistance while we were in Cambridge. John Davies for getting the dissertation ball rolling, Ian Young for assisting with the section on the Dating of Ruth, Zeba Crook for feed- back on social-scientific matters, and Daniel Hawk for his responses to the overview on Ruth studies. Thank you to those who commented on the sections of this study I shared at the SBL International Meeting, Auckland 2008, and at the Sydney chapter of the Fellowship of Biblical Studies, 2009. My thanks also to my grandmother, Alma Goon, and Chang Tsyh Yong for their careful proofreading and to Darren Yong for helping prepare the Scripture index. Of course, any remaining errors are my responsibility. To my parents, for life-long support and encouragement in all my endeavours, including my academic pursuits. Finally, my loving family, who have shared this wonderful adven- ture with me: my wife Kathryn and our children who were all born during the gestation of this book. Zachary was born as I started my dissertation, Jeremy in the middle, and Sophie a year ago. To my family I dedicate this book. Peter H. W. Lau University of Sydney and Malaysian Theological Seminary October 2010 Table of Contents Foreword ...................................................................................................... v Abbreviations ............................................................................................... ix Introduction(cid:1) I. Approaches to Hebrew Bible Ethics .................................................... 1(cid:1) II. A Social-Scientific Approach .............................................................. 6(cid:1) III. Survey of Interpretive Approaches to the Book of Ruth ................ 12(cid:1) IV. Conclusion ........................................................................................ 18(cid:1) V. Outline of Study................................................................................. 18(cid:1) Ancient Israelite Identity(cid:1) I. Towards an Ancient Israelite Social Understanding of the Self ........ 20(cid:1) II. The Social Identity Approach ........................................................... 25(cid:1) III. The Self in the Social Identity Approach ........................................ 29(cid:1) IV. The Social Identity Approach and Ancient Israelite Identity ......... 32(cid:1) V. Narrative, Identity, and Ethics .......................................................... 39(cid:1) VI. The Implied Reader .......................................................................... 42(cid:1) VII. The Dating of the Book of Ruth .................................................... 44(cid:1) VIII. Summary and Conclusion ............................................................. 53(cid:1) Boaz: Identity and Ethics(cid:1) I. The Identity of Boaz ........................................................................... 55(cid:1) II. The Actions of Boaz .......................................................................... 60(cid:1) III. The Identity and Actions of Mr. So-and-So ................................... 74(cid:1) IV. The Identity and Actions of Boaz ................................................... 79(cid:1) V. The Identity and Inaction of Boaz .................................................... 83(cid:1) VI. An Assessment of Boaz’s Actions from a Social Identity Perspective ..................................................................................... 85(cid:1) VII. Summary and Conclusions ............................................................. 87(cid:1) Ruth: Identity and Ethics(cid:1) I. The Transformation of Ruth’s Identity .............................................. 90(cid:1) viii Identity and Ethics in the Book of Ruth II. The Personal Component of Ruth’s Identity.................................. 101(cid:1) III. The Impact on the Identity of an Implied Reader......................... 110(cid:1) IV. Summary and Conclusions............................................................. 118(cid:1) Naomi: Identity and Ethics(cid:1) I. The Loss of Naomi’s Identity............................................................ 120(cid:1) II. The Regaining of Naomi’s Identity................................................. 126(cid:1) III. The Impact on the Identity of an Implied Reader......................... 135(cid:1) IV. Summary and Conclusions............................................................. 143(cid:1) A Provenance for the Book of Ruth(cid:1) I. The Monarchic Period ...................................................................... 145(cid:1) II. The Persian Period ........................................................................... 159(cid:1) III. Summary and Conclusion .............................................................. 188(cid:1) Summary and Conclusions(cid:1) Summary................................................................................................ 191(cid:1) Conclusions ........................................................................................... 193(cid:1) Bibliography ............................................................................................. 197 Scripture Index .......................................................................................... 225 Abbreviations AB Anchor Bible ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary. Edited by David N. Freedman. 6 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1992 AcT Acta theologica AJT American Journal of Theology ANET Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. Edited by James B. Pritchard. 3d ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969 AOS American Oriental Series BA Biblical Archaeologist BAR Biblical Archaeology Review BASOR B ulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research BDB Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907 BHQ Biblia Hebraica Quinta BHS Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Bib Biblica BibInt Biblical Interpretation: A Journal of Contempo- rary Approaches BSac Bibliotheca Sacra BT The Bible Translator BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin BWANT Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament BZAW Beihefte zur ZAW CBQ The Catholic Biblical Quarterly CC Continental Commentaries CurBS Currents in Research: Biblical Studies DCH Dictionary of Classical Hebrew. Edited by David J. A. Clines. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993– x Identity and Ethics in the Book of Ruth ExpTim Expository Times FRLANT Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments GBH Joüon, Paul. A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew. Translated and revised by Takamitsu Muraoka. 2 vols. Subsidia biblica 14/1–2. Rome: Pontificial Biblical Institute, 1991 GKC Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar. Edited by E. Kautzsch. Translated by A. E. Cowley. 2d. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press 1910 HALOT Koehler, Ludwig, Walter Baumgartner, and Jo- hann J. Stamm. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexi- con of the Old Testament. Translated and edited under the supervision of M. E. J. Richardson. 4 vols. Leiden, 1994–1999 HAT Handbuch zum Alten Testament HS Hebrew Studies HSM Harvard Semitic Monographs HTKAT Herder Theologischer Kommentar zum Alten Testament HTR Harvard Theological Review HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual IBHS An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. Bruce K. Waltke and M. O’Connor. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1990 ICC International Critical Commentary IDB The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. Edited by George A. Buttrick. 4 vols. Nashville: Abing- don, 1962 IEJ Israel Exploration Journal Int Interpretation ITC International Theological Commentary JAAR Journal of the American Academy of Religion JANES Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society JJS Journal of Jewish Studies JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies
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