"Wherever You Go, I Go": Queerness in the Book of Ruth
May 27, 2020
Source: https://jwa.org/blog/wherever-you-go-i-go-queerness-book-ruth
Woman-centric Bible stories are hard to come by, let alone feminist or queer ones. The Book of Ruth, which we read every Shavuot, stands as a clear exception to the patriarchal rule. The story begins with Naomi, a Jewish woman married to Elimelech from Bethlehem. They have two sons who marry non-Jewish, Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth. When Elimelech and his two sons die, Naomi commands widowed Orpah and Ruth to return to Moab for a fresh start. Orpah obeys, but Ruth refuses: “Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”