I am in late in posting the news, but my paper has been accepted for the International SBL conference this summer in Amsterdam. No one will be surprised to know that my paper is on Targum Ruth.
The title character of the book of Ruth has been viewed historically as everything from the paragon of a proselyte to a marginal figure who is ultimately nothing more than a pawn used by Naomi and, more lasciviously, by Boaz to attain their own ends. The Targum of Ruth works within the limits of its genre, rendering the text into Aramaic while subtly transforming the character of Ruth through the addition of bits of information and dialogue.
This paper will examine how the Targumist has transformed the character of Ruth, providing her with a lineage of her own, a dramatic confirmation of conversion, and making her a rabbinic exemplar.
