1. Biblical Studies
  2. Old Testament Commentaries
  3. Ruth
Ruth
Ruth
Semi-technical
Jewish
Critical

Ruth

in JPS Bible Commentary

by Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Tikva Frymer-Kensky

5 Rank Score: 5.32 from 1 reviews, 2 featured collections, and 5 user libraries
WorldCat Google Amazon CBD Logos Bible Software Accordance
Pages 216
Publisher Jewish Publication Society of America
Published 7/6/2011
ISBN-13 9780827607446

Thanks to these generous donors for making the publication of this book possible: Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence Deutsch.

The latest in the JPS Bible Commentary series, 2011 National Jewish Book Award Winner, Barbara Dobkin Award in Women’s Studies

The moving story of Ruth, with its themes of loyalty, loving kindness (hesed), and redemption, is one of the great narratives of the Bible.

Socially, the Israelites were aware of their responsibility to protect the weak and unprotected among them. Redemption secures the life of the people as a community, not just as individuals. In this story, Boaz fills the familial obligation to marry the widow of a deceased relative who never was able to father children, both to continue the family line and protect an otherwise vulnerable woman.

The authors provide a critical, line-by-line commentary of the biblical text, presented in its original Hebrew, complete with vocalization and cantillation marks, as well as the 1985 JPS English translation. The extensive introduction places the book within its historical, literary, and critical context, discusses contemporary interpretations of the story of Ruth, and examines its major motifs and themes, among them: family, marriage and levirate marriage in biblical and ancient Israel, redemption and inheritance, hesed, and the book’s connection with the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.

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DavidH DavidH August 8, 2026
Eskenazi and Frymer-Kensky provide one of the most distinctive and rewarding commentaries on Ruth. Its Jewish perspective brings sustained attention to rabbinic interpretation, Israelite law and custom, conversion and foreignness, gender, community, and details that Christian commentaries often overlook. Particularly illuminating is their treatment of hesed as a kind of expanding circle of kindness: Ruth’s actions provoke generosity from Boaz, which in turn contributes to Naomi’s restoration and ultimately the flourishing of the wider community. They are also excellent on the unusual legal arrangements of Ruth 4, emphasizing how Boaz moves beyond minimum obligation rather than simply applying a straightforward statutory requirement. Some historical conclusions, particularly those connecting Ruth closely with postexilic controversies about intermarriage, remain debatable, and Christian readers will naturally supplement its theological conclusions elsewhere. Nevertheless, precisely because its perspective differs from most evangelical commentaries, it is an unusually valuable dialogue partner and one of the commentaries I would least want to be without.
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