History Literature / BookOfRuth

* LoopholeAbuse: There's another relative who's more legally eligible to marry Ruth than Boaz is, and is keen to acquire Mahlon's property. Boaz then points out that marriage to Ruth comes with that property (by Mosaic law, the first son of a man's widow is considered ''his'' son, not the biological father's), and the other man backs out.

* MandatoryFatherhood: According to Mosaic law (specifically, Deuteronomy 25:5-6), a relative of a man who dies without an heir must marry his widow and give her a son to be the dead man's heir. Boaz is their preferred candidate, but he knows of another man who is more closely related. In chapter 4, he gets this relative to withdraw his claim before witnesses and then becomes the father of Obed with Ruth, giving Mahlon an heir. Obed himself becomes the father of Jesse and thus the grandfather of King David.

* SecondLove: Ruth's first husband dies early in the book, and is barely mentioned afterward. Only one verse even tells us specifically which one of Naomi's sons he was (it was Mahlon).

* TomatoSurprise: Ruth, a foreign born woman, is the great-grandmother of David, Israel's greatest king.

* WhatDidIDoLastNight: The most obvious interpretation of Naomi's planned encounter with Boaz and Ruth was to convince him that ''something'' had happened between the two of them during the night -- he was celebrating the end of harvest season, wine had been consumed, he woke up with parts of himself uncovered and Ruth next to him saying "Now you must marry me"...
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Naomi's other daughter-in-law, Orpah decides to stay in Moab the first chapter and is never mentioned again.

* YouHaveWaitedLongEnough: Naomi tried to send her two daughters-in-law away to remarry (in Moab), but Ruth would have none of it. And Orpah went back only with reluctance.

* Boaz's nightly encounter with Ruth (Ruth chapter 3)

* GetTheeToANunnery: "Feet" was a common euphemism for the genitals at the time, so Noami directing Ruth to uncover Boaz's feet by night is bolder than it sounds.

* LoopholeAbuse: There's another relative who's more legally eligible to marry Ruth than Boaz is, and is keen to acquire the property that would come with the marriage. Boaz then points out that marriage to Ruth comes with the property (by Mosaic law, the first son of a man's widow is considered ''his'' son, not the biological father's), and the other man backs out.
* MalignedMixedMarriage: Averted (maybe). Despite laws about intermarriage, there is no explicit critique about either Mahlon (Naomi's son) or Boaz marrying Ruth. However, both Mahlon and Chilion die childless after marrying women from Moab, which [[ImpliedTrope some interpret]] as punishment. In Boaz’s case, Ruth adopts the Israelite religion, so this is less of a problem.

* PlatonicDeclarationOfLove: Ruth vows her loyalty to her mother-in-law in the famous "where you go, I will follow" speech. While not ''romantic'' love, it is still very touching.
%%* PluckyGirl: Ruth yet again.

* RescueRomance: Boaz catches Ruth's eye by helping save her and Naomi from starving through his generosity.

%%* SheCleansUpNicely: Ruth.
%%* ShiksaGoddess: Ruth and Orpah.
* ShipperOnDeck: Naomi for Ruth/Boaz--she's even the one who teaches Ruth what to do and say to get Boaz to agree to cementing the 'ship.

%%* UndyingLoyalty: Ruth to her mother-in-law, Naomi.
* UnexpectedKindness: Ruth, as a Moabite woman, doesn't expect any warm welcome in Bethlehem, as the Jews and the Moabites are bitter enemies, and is overcome with gratitude ([[RescueRomance which soon leads to stronger feelings]]) when wealthy Jew Boaz not only allows her to glean in his fields but offers her protection and allows her to eat together with him and his reapers.

* UnusualEuphemism: There are those who say that when Ruth uncovered Boaz's "feet", she was actually uncovering... a different body part.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Naomi's other daughter-in-law, Orpah, is never mentioned again after she chooses to go back to Moab.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Why Naomi wanted to send her two daughter-in-laws away--if they stayed with her they would have been foreigners in Israel.
* YouHaveWaitedLongEnough: Naomi tried to send her two daughters-in-law away to remarry (in Moab), but Ruth would have none of it. And Orpah reluctantly went back.

%%* DeterminedWidow
* GetTheeToANunnery: The reference to Boaz’s feet may have meant more than his “feet.”

* LoopholeAbuse: There's another relative who's more legally eligible to marry Ruth than Boaz is, and is keen to acquire the property that would come with the marriage. Boaz figures out a way around this by persuading him it would be bad for his estate.
* MalignedMixedMarriage: Averted (maybe). Despite laws about intermarriage, there is no explicit critique about either Chilion (Naomi's son) or Boaz marrying Ruth. However, in Chilion’s case, he dies, which [[ImpliedTrope some interpret]] as punishment for both leaving Israel and marrying a Moabite. In Boaz’s case, Ruth adopts the Israelite religion, so this is less of a problem.

* MandatoryFatherhood: Boaz, one of Naomi's husband's relatives, was to be the man who would, by the Mosaic Law of levirate marriage (that is, Deuteronomy 25:5-6), be the one who would marry his relative's widow so that he would raise up a son for her dead husband -- or so Naomi and Ruth had hoped, until Boaz revealed that there was a relative much closer in relation to Naomi than he, and that he was next in line to him. In chapter 4, when he gets this relative before witnesses to see if he would agree to acquire Ruth as his wife, the relative backs out, citing that it would damage his own inheritance, and thus pulls off his own sandal as an attestation that he was relinquishing the right to marry Ruth to Boaz. Boaz then marries Ruth and fathers a child with her, who becomes part of the lineage of King David.
* MatzoFever: Ruth's first and second husbands are both Israelites. Orpah was also married to an Israelite, though she returned back to her religion after he died.
* MayDecemberRomance: Boaz was much older than Ruth, and says as much. This does not deter her.

* ObnoxiousInLaws: Inverted, quite famously. Ruth and Naomi get along swimmingly, even after Naomi's son has died. Averted, also, with Orpah, who got on well with Naomi and Ruth, and clearly was torn between leaving and staying.
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Naomi loses both of her sons just in the first chapter alone.

%%* PlatonicDeclarationOfLove: The "where you go, I will follow" quote.

* ObnoxiousInLaws: Inverted, quite famously. Ruth and Naomi get along swimmingly, even after Naomi's son has died.

* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Why Naomi wanted to send her two daughters away--if they stayed with her they would have been foreigners in Israel.
* YouHaveWaitedLongEnough: Naomi tried to send her two daughters-in-law away to remarry (in Moab), but Ruth would have none of it.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The bit about Ruth uncovering Boaz's feet while he slept as part of getting him to marry her. Biblical scholars debate that Ruth [[GetTheeToANunnery did more than just expose Boaz's feet that night]]. But because this is the good romantic story in the Bible, [[ChasteHero Boaz puts a stop to it]]. He still lets her stay the night.

%%* DeterminedWidow: %% Zero context example

* NiceJewishBoy: Boaz, natch. Although he's well older than Ruth, it's implied in the Bible that he didn't ask after women until she showed up working the fields for her kinswoman. Hearing how she's taking care of her mother-in-law Naomi, [[SacredHospitality Boaz sets aside a portion of the best grain for her take home and lets her sit with his table during meals]] (as a foreign-born, she normally wouldn't have been allowed in those days).

* PlatonicDeclarationOfLove: The "where you go, I will follow" quote.
* PluckyGirl: Ruth yet again.

* SheCleansUpNicely: Ruth.
* ShiksaGoddess: Ruth and Orpah.

* UndyingLoyalty: Ruth to her mother-in-law, Naomi.

* DeterminedWidow: See quote.

* BreatherEpisode: The previous book had Israel be invaded several times and its people turning wicked. Now it's time for the fluffy love story!
** ...in the Christian ordering, anyway. In the Jewish canonical ordering, Ruth is with the other literary books, in a different section of the Bible than Judges.

* ConvertingForLove: With a twist. After Ruth's husband dies her mother-in-law, Naomi, advises her and Orpah to return to their old homes and religion. Ruth, however, stays out of loyalty to Naomi.
* DeterminedWidow: See quote

* MatzoFever: Ruth [[UpToEleven to the extreme]]!

* PresentAbsence: This is the first book of the Bible (in the Christian ordering) where God takes no explicit actions or directly communicates with any of the people. Nevertheless, God is referenced by Ruth and Boaz, and the closing genealogy suggests to some God’s ultimate control over events.
* QuoteMine: The familiar verse "Where you go I will go..." is sometimes quoted in marriage services. It does sound very romantic out of context, but in context Ruth is saying it to her ''mother-in-law''. They did evidently have [[HeterosexualLifePartners a very close relationship]], but ([[LesYay probably?]]) not ''that'' close.

* ShiksaGoddess: Ruth is THE UrExample.

* TomatoSurprise: Ruth, a foreign born woman, is the Great-Grandmother of [[spoiler:David, Israel's greatest king]].

* UndyingLoyalty: To her mother-in-law, Naomi.

* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Naomi loses both of her sons.

----

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The bit about Ruth uncovering Boaz's feet while he slept as part of getting him to marry her. Biblical scholars debate that Ruth [[GetTheeToANunnery did more than just expose Boaz's feet that night]]. But because this is the good romantic story in the Bible, [[ChasteHero Boaz puts a stop to it]]. [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming He still lets her stay the night.]]

* ConvertingForReligion: With a twist. After Ruth's husband dies her mother-in-law, Naomi, advises her and Orpah to return to their old homes and religion. Ruth, however, stays out of loyalty to Naomi.

!!"For your tropes shall be my tropes"

* MandatoryFatherhood: Boaz, one of Naomi's husband's relatives, was to be the man who would, by the Mosaic Law of levirate marriage (that is, Deuteronomy 25:5-6), be the one who would marry his relative's widow so that he would raise up a son for her dead husband -- or so Naomi and Ruth hoped, until Boaz revealed that there was a relative much closer in relation to Naomi than he, and that he was next in line to him. In chapter 4, when he gets this relative before witnesses to see if he would agree to acquire Ruth as his wife, the relative backs out, citing that it would damage his own inheritance, and thus pulls off his own sandal as an attestation that he was relinquishing the right to marry Ruth to Boaz. Boaz then marries Ruth and fathers a child with her, who becomes part of the lineage of King David.

* MandatoryFatherhood: Boaz, one of Naomi's relatives, was to be the man who would, by the Mosaic Law of levirate marriage (that is, Deuteronomy 25:5-6), be the one who would marry his relative's widow so that he would raise up a son for her dead husband -- or so Naomi and Ruth hoped, until Boaz revealed that there was a relative much closer in relation to Naomi than he, and that he was next in line to him. In chapter 4, when he gets this relative before witnesses to see if he would agree to acquire Ruth as his wife, the relative backs out, citing that it would damage his own inheritance, and thus pulls off his own sandal as an attestation that he was relinquishing the right to marry Ruth to Boaz. Boaz then marries Ruth and fathers a child with her, who becomes part of the lineage of King David.

* MandatoryFatherhood: Boaz, one of Naomi's relatives, was to be the man who would, by the Mosaic Law of levirate marriage, be the one who would marry his relative's widow so that he would raise up a son for her dead husband -- or so Naomi and Ruth hoped, until Boaz revealed that there was a relative much closer in relation to Naomi than he, and that he was next in line to him. In chapter 4, when he gets this relative before witnesses to see if he would agree to acquire Ruth as his wife, the relative backs out, citing that it would damage his own inheritance, and thus pulls off his own sandal as an attestation that he was relinquishing the right to marry Ruth to Boaz. Boaz then marries Ruth and fathers a child with her, who becomes part of the lineage of King David.

A short story set in the time of the Literature/BookOfJudges , detailing how Ruth, a Moabite widow, finds a new husband.

* SequelHook: The genealogy at the end connects this story to the [[Literature/BooksOfSamuel Davidic kingship]].

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The bit about Ruth uncovering Boaz's feet while he slept as part of getting him to marry her. Biblical scholars debate that Ruth did more than just expose Boaz's feet that night. But because this is the good romantic story in the Bible, Boaz puts a stop to it. [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming He still lets her stay the night.]]

!!Tropes

* HopeSpot: In Judges.