Ruth

Havilah Dharamraj

Description

This commentary presents the book of Ruth through a uniquely Asian lens that helps bring out the nuances of this Old Testament text that are often missed or misunderstood. The deep and skillful exegesis presented will satisfy a scholarly reader, yet the language used is accessible enough for lay preachers and teachers to understand, appreciate, and use. This commentary brings the text to life; Ruth is no longer a story in a time long gone, but one that effortlessly unfolds right in front of your eyes.
The Asia Bible Commentary Series empowers Christian believers in Asia to read the Bible from within their respective contexts. Holistic in its approach to the text, each exposition of the biblical books combines exegesis and application. The ultimate goal is to strengthen the Body of Christ in Asia by providing pastoral and contextual exposition of every book of the Bible.

Informations

• Publié par: Langham Creative Projects
• Date de parution: 31 octobre 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783687077
• Langue: English

Extrait

This is a delightful commentary that deserves a wide readership. The authors combine solid exegesis with a warm and very readable style. Their exploration of the book of Ruth with Asian eyes reminds us Westerners how much closer to the world of the Bible others may be. The illustrative anecdotes from their own Indian world give this commentary a quality that is found in none other. Congratulations to the authors of the volume and the editors of the series.
Daniel I. Block, DPhil
Gunther H. Knoedler Professor Emeritus of Old Testament,
Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, USA
What makes this commentary stand out from other works on the book of Ruth is the interface of the biblical text with Indian culture and stories, and with Jewish readings. The authors’ engaging style draws the reader into the world of the story with its ancient background, and leads one to reflect on similar issues in contemporary Asian society. What an enjoyable book!
Athena Evelyn Gorospe, PhD
Chair, Biblical Studies Department,
Asian Theological Seminary, Manila, Philippines
Imagine yourself in the tenth century AD walking the alleys of old Damascus seeking to find the Hakawati’s Café, a place where a crowd gathers every Friday evening to attentively listen to the story-teller ( hakawati ) sharing a story from the ancient past. As the audience becomes excited to reach the climax of the story the hakawati concludes by saying “to be continued next week.”
Dr. Dharamraj is a gifted hakawati as she narrates the magnificent story of Ruth. She skillfully combines a solid exegesis with Asian stories and presents the reader with contemporary applications. Dr. Dharamraj will surely oblige you to read her book to its last page (no need to come back next Friday)!
I will be teaching the book of Ruth in the seminary and this book is my first choice for a reading assignment.
Riad Kassis, PhD
Director, Langham Scholars Ministry,
Langham Partnership
Visiting a famous gallery I was impressed by a certain painting. Then an art expert explained it to me, commenting on various things I had missed, such as how the artist used a breakthrough technique which displayed its brilliance. My eyes were opened and I appreciated it so much more. Reading this commentary on Ruth had a similar effect on me. It proves an excellent guide, enabling us to read Ruth through Asian eyes but also through the eyes of an expert OT scholar, committed Bible teacher, and faithful disciple of Christ. Anyone reading, teaching, or preaching Ruth cannot fail to be enriched by this volume.
Derek Tidball, PhD
Former Principal,
London School of Theology, UK

Ruth
Asia Bible Commentary Series
Havilah Dharamraj with Philip Ewan Yalla
General Editor
Federico G. Villanueva
Old Testament Consulting Editors
Yohanna Katanacho, Tim Meadowcroft, Joseph Shao
New Testament Consulting Editors
Steve Chang, Andrew Spurgeon, Brian Wintle

© 2019 by Havilah Dharamraj and Philip Ewan Yalla
Published 2019 by Langham Global Library
an imprint of Langham Publishing
www.langhampublishing.org
Langham Publishing and its imprints are a ministry of Langham Partnership
Langham Partnership
PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 9WZ, UK
www.langham.org
Published in partnership with Asia Theological Association
ATA
QCC PO Box 1454 – 1154, Manila, Philippines
www.ataasia.com
ISBNs:
978-1-78368-546-2 Print
978-1-78368-707-7 ePub
978-1-78368-708-4 Mobi
978-1-78368-709-1 PDF
Havilah Dharamraj and Philip Ewan Yalla have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the authors of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
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Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are from the New International Version, copyright © 2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-1-78368-546-2
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and an author’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth and works referenced within this publication or guarantee its technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use, or interpretation of its published content.

Converted to eBook by EasyEPUB

With much affection,
to my MDiv Class of March 2019 at SAIACS
Chrish, Deepika, Francis, Geo, Jerome, John, Muan and Selson
and to my colleague
Angu
May each explore and reach their God-given potential to be an ish hayil or esheth hayil
Contents

Cover


Series Preface


List of Abbreviations


Introduction


AUTHORSHIP AND DATE


CANONICAL STATUS AND POSITION


HISTORICITY AND GENRE


PURPOSE


OUTLINE


Ruth 1


STRUCTURE


1:1–5 IN THE COUNTRY OF MOAB


1:6–18 ON THE WAY TO BETHLEHEM


1:19–22 Arrival in Bethlehem


Ruth 2


STRUCTURE


2:1 Opening Note


2:2 At Home


2:3–17 IN THE FIELDS


2:18–22 BACK AT HOME


2:23 CLOSING NOTE


CONCLUSION


Ruth 3


STRUCTURE


3:1–5 AT HOME


3:6–15 AT THE THRESHING FLOOR


3:16–18 BACK AT HOME


Ruth 4


STRUCTURE


4:1–12 AT THE CITY GATE


4:13–17 At Boaz’s Home


4:18–22 The Epilogue


Conclusion


Selected Bibliography


About Asia Theological Association


About Langham Partnership

Endnotes
Series Preface
In recent years, we have witnessed one of the greatest shifts in the history of world Christianity. It used to be that the majority of Christians lived in the West, but Christians are now evenly distributed around the globe. This shift has implications for the task of interpreting the Bible from within our respective contexts, which is in line with the growing realization that every theology is contextual. Thus, the questions that we bring into our reading of the Bible will be shaped by our present realities as well as our historical and social locations. There is a need therefore to interpret the Bible for our own contexts.
The Asia Bible Commentary (ABC) series addresses this need. In line with the mission of the Asia Theological Association Publications, we have gathered evangelical Bible scholars working among Asians to write commentaries on each book of the Bible. The mission is to “produce resources that are biblical, pastoral, contextual, missional, and prophetic for pastors, Christian leaders, cross-cultural workers, and students in Asia.” Although the Bible can be studied for different reasons, we believe that it is given primarily for the edification of the Body of Christ (2 Tim 3:16–17). The ABC series is designed to help pastors in their sermon preparation, cell group or lay leaders in their Bible study groups, and those training in seminaries or Bible schools.
Each commentary begins with an introduction that provides general information about the book’s author and original context, summarizes the main message or theme of the book, and outlines its potential relevance to a particular Asian context. The introduction is followed by an exposition that combines exegesis and application. Here, we seek to speak to and empower Christians in Asia by using our own stories, parables, poems, and other cultural resources as we expound the Bible.
The Bible is actually Asian in that it comes from ancient West Asia, and there are many similarities between the world of the Bible and traditional Asian cultures. But there are also many differences that we need to explore in some depth. That is why the commentaries also include articles or topics in which we bring specific issues in Asian church, social, and religious contexts into dialogue with relevant issues in the Bible. We do not seek to resolve every tension that emerges but rather to allow the text to illumine the context and vice versa, acknowledging that we do not have all the answers to every mystery.
May the Holy Spirit, who inspired the writers of the Bible, bring light to the hearts and minds of all who use these materials, to the glory of God and to the building up of the churches!
Federico G. Villanueva
General Editor
List of Abbreviations
Books of the Bible Old Testament
Gen, Exod, Lev, Num, Deut, Josh, Judg, Ruth, 1–2 Sam, 1–2 Kgs,
1–2 Chr, Ezra, Neh, Esth, Job, Ps/Pss, Prov, Eccl, Song, Isa, Jer, Lam, Ezek