One Plus One Equals Three: The Economics of Land Shares According to Boaz
Ruth - Rhiannon Graybill
Philippe Guillaume [+]
University of Berne
Philippe Guillaume is Lecturer at the University of Berne. His latest publications are A History of Biblical Israel co-authored with Ernst Axel Knauf (Equinox, 2016) and Deuteronomy in the Making, Studies in the Production of Debarim, edited with Diana Edelman, Benedetta Rossi and Kåre Berge (De Gruyter, 2021).
Description
As they imagine that Naomi is selling a field that once belonged to Elimelech, contemporary readers of Ruth miss the economic implications of the deal Boaz wins at the expense of the other next-of-kin. Arguing in favor of the priority of the ketiv at 4:5, this chapter shows that the matter of land shares clarifies the gate scene and reveals why Naomi and Boaz deserve the title of tricksters.