Open English Translation RUTH Introduction

Introduction

This account tells us about what happened back in the time when the tribal leaders (misleadingly called ‘Judges’ in most older English translations) were still ruling Yisrael (Israel), i.e., before their first king. At that time, a long drought caused a famine in Yisrael, which in turned caused Elimelek to move his family to the neighbouring country of Moab. After a time, Elimelek died there in Moab, but eventually their two sons married, and this account focuses on Ruth who was one of those wives. When Ruth’s husband also died, she displayed amazing love and dedication towards her mother-in-law, Naomi (whose name means ‘pleasant’). When God blessed Yisrael again with good crops, Naomi returned back to her roots in Yisrael and Ruth accompanied her. According to Jewish customs, Ruth needed to marry a relative of her husband, so that Elimelek’s name could continue through the generations. Boaz turned out to be that man, and the son they bore became an ancestor of the future King David, and eventually through time, of Yeshua (Jesus) the messiah.

The previous Accounts of the Heroes and Guides/Leaders tells about how much the Jewish people suffered because they had turned away from God. So this account reveals how Ruth, a non-Jew, is blessed after she begins to follow Yisrael’s God.

Note that the Hebrew name of the main character in this account is ‘רוּת’ which might be transliterated as ‘Rūt’ (and pronounced as ‘root’ with no ‘th’ at the end). However in weighing up the pros and cons, we have elected to use the traditional spelling of ‘Ruth’ (rather than ‘Rut’ which might would be more accurate in one sense, yet would most likely also be pronounced wrongly by most English speakers).

This is still a very early look into the unfinished text of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check the text in advance before using in public.