The Chiastic Structure Of Ruth 2 -- By: A. Boyd Luter
Journal: Bulletin for Biblical Research
Volume: BBR 03:1 (NA 1993)
Article: The Chiastic Structure Of Ruth 2
Author: A. Boyd Luter
BBR 3:1 (1993) p. 49
The Chiastic Structure Of Ruth 2
And
Talbot School Of Theology
La Mirada, California
Introduction
“Never the twain should meet” is a sad lament where the natural duet between exegetical and literary studies should be performed. Occasionally there are important passages of Scripture that have received considerable attention in one discipline or the other, but not in tandem. These specialized expositional or literary-structural contributions may parallel each other like railroad tracks. But, without an intersection point, there cannot be the resulting combined insights into the biblical text.
The elegant little story of Ruth is an important case in point. Over the last two decades in particular,1 it has been the subject of increased exegetical and related background works.2 On the other hand, structural (notably chiastic) studies have not been lacking either.3
So far, though, there is a paucity of research in which both the exegetical and structural lenses are focused on Ruth simultaneously.4 That point, if anything, is even more valid in regard to the closer study of Ruth 2, as will be seen in the next section.
BBR 3:1 (1993) p. 50
Recent Studies Of Ruth 2: A “Bird’s-Eye View”
For the purposes of perspective in regard to this examination of Ruth 2, only two primarily exegetical, then two chiastic, treatments will be briefly discussed. First, the prestigious commentaries by Edward F. Campbell, Jr. (1975) and Robert L. Hubbard, Jr. (1988) will be considered as to their approaches to, and overall understandings of, Ruth 2.5 Following that, the seminal structural studies of Stephen Bertman (1965) and Y. T. Radday (1981), both of which basically relate Ruth 2 to the overall framework of the book, will be probed for their contributions.6
The Overbalanced Exegetical Approach
Both Campbell and Hubbard evidence considerable awareness of the form and meaning of chiasmus in ancient Hebrew literature.7 However, neither develops the self-contained chiastic structure of
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