Was the biblical Ruth a Jew or a moabite?

Answer 1

It is clear from the Jewish scriptures (Tenach) that Ruth's origin is that she is a Moabitess. The book of Ruth calls her a Moabitess 5 times (Ruth 1:22, 2:2, 2:21, 4:5 and 4:10) . The questions behind the above question is whether or not the rabbinical practice of conversion was established and practiced during Israel's earlier years and whether or not one accepts the rabbinical process of conversion. Modern traditional Judaism clearly teaches conversion of a Gentile (non-Jew) to becoming a Jew. This convert is called a proselyte and is viewed as a ger tzadik (a righteous convert). Once the process of conversion is completed this person is to be viewed as a Jew and never reminded that he is a convert. One of the concepts behind the conversion is that the Gentile really has a Jewish soul and the conversion process is restoring the Jewish soul to a Jewish body. If one prescribes to this view, then rabbinical tradition puts forth that Ruth converted and became a Jew when she said "Your G-d is my G-d and your people are my people" Ruth 1:16. However, the view that the Torah teaches the tradtional view of conversion is debatable. The word used for proselyte is based on the Hebrew root word "ger". However, the real meaning and usage of the word in the scriptures is a "stranger". Both Moses and Abraham are referred to as "gerim - strangers" in Egypt. Clearly we would not think of them as being "converts" to the religion of the ancient Egyptians, which would make both of them idolaters serving pagan gods. The scriptural flow seems to suggest that non-Jews joined themselves to Israel not as converts, but as strangers who lived in the midst of the Israelites (like Moses and Abraham lived as strangers in foreign lands). According to the Torah these strangers had certain rights of special treatment such as gleaning rights, justice rights, protection against oppression and many other rights. They also were expected to follow a lot of the Torah rules ---especially related to idolatry, sacrifice, blasphemy, blood, sexual purity and other statutes related to judgment and justice. However, they were not called Jews, but maintain a status of stranger. These strangers could be married by Jews and their offspring would be considered Jewish. Boaz took Ruth the Moabitess as his wife and he does not call her Ruth the Jew or Ruth the convert, but he calls her Ruth the Moabitess (Ruth 4:10)(And this is many years after her Jewish mother in law and her had returned to Israel and Ruth has made the confession that your G-d is my G-d and your people are my people). However, their offspring are clearly presented in scripture as Jews because of Boaz and became the descendants that lead to King David. This of course is a problem for Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism which only recognizes offspring of a Jewish woman as Jewish (matrilineal descent) and rejects the offspring of a Jewish man and a Gentile woman as not Jewish --- unless the woman has undergone conversion and thus they have to conclude that Ruth must have converted. Other branches of Judaism recognize patrilineal and matrilineal descent and therefore it is not necessary for Ruth to convert for Boaz's and her children to be considered as Jewish. The only place in the Tenach that speaks of non-Jews becoming Gentiles is found in the book of Esther (Esther 8:17), where it speaks of many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them when great deliverance was brought to the Jews of Persia during what later became known as the feast of Purim. This seems like a shut and close case that conversion may have been taught in the Torah since it is implied in the book of Esther. However, two things must be considered in the book of Esther. First, is that an acceptable translation of the Hebrew phrase "urabim may-ammi ha-aretz mityahadim" is that many of the people "declared" themselves to be Jews, which is different from "becoming" Jews. And the other is that it must be understood that this is after the first destruction of the Temple and is taking place in Persia, in the diaspora not in Israel, and it is in the Babylonian captivity that pre-rabbinical thought and practices are birthed. So to make a long story short, if one accepts rabbinical authority and tradition then Ruth was a moabitess who converted and became a Jew. If one does not accept rabbinical authority, then one agrees with Boaz that his wife is Ruth the Moabitess who came to believe in the G-d of Israel and lived in Israel as a "stranger" and committed herself to Jewish life, first as widow and then as a married women to Boaz. And in either view, she is the ancester of one of the greatest kings of Israel - David the psalmist.