I am now working on moving two papers I have presented on Boaz into (likely) a single article for submission to a journal to be named later. In re-reading my paper “Boaz Centrally Marginalized” it occurred to me that men as a whole are very deliberately moved to the edges of the book of Ruth. Consider these few points: Elimelech, Machlon, and Chilion never speak, they just die, a key element of the story, but […]
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It is well known to those who give the Book of Ruth even a cursory reading that Boaz is older than Ruth and, in fact, is closer to Naomi in age. In the comments of a paper on Boaz that I posted here over a year ago, Robert Holmstedt, who has a great book on the subject, Ruth: A Handbook on the Hebrew Text, pointed to some of his own work in which he noted […]
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I am very (very) pleased to post my translation of Targum Ruth. It can be found here and the opening comments and first verse are below. This is a first draft and the English needs smoothing, but I thought I would do a bit of “crowd sourcing.” Feel free to read it and comment. Short of access to Beattie’s edition (see below) if you have the Accordance Targum module 1 then you have the base […]
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Translation by C. M. M. Brady This is a translation of Valmadonna No. 1 (NB: Previously known as Sassoon 282!), which dates to 1189, the oldest MS available. Please also see Derek Beattie’s critical edition, Targum and Scripture: Studies in Aramaic Translations and Interpretations in Memory of Ernest G. Clarke, SAIS 2, ed. Paul V.M. Flesher (Leiden: Brill, 2002), pp. 231-90.1 An online version of this text is available at the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon (CAL) hosted by […]
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I know, I know. This is an old and hackneyed debate and there are far better/worse modern translations to go after. But as I am finishing up my translation of Targum Ruth (huzzah!) I see that the NRSV has made some lame choices, presumably to be “gender inclusive.” In this case there is some basic biology and not just patriarchal dominance behind the language: Ruth 4:13 וַיִּקַּח בֹּעַז אֶת־רוּת וַתְּהִי־לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה וַיָּבֹא אֵלֶיה So Boaz […]
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I am very grateful to my friend Dr. Robert Cargill (yet again!). He has given me the wonderful gift of…a URL! http://pelonialmoni.com/ This comes from, as you all know, Ruth 4:1 וַיֹּאמֶר סוּרָה שְׁבָה־פֹּה פְּלֹנִי אַלְמֹנִי The NRSV provides a lovely (if not entirely accurate) translation, “So Boaz said, ‘Come over, friend; sit down here.’” The term פְּלֹנִי אַלְמֹנִי is a bit problematic, to say the least, often rendered as “so and so.” But I like the […]
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Eric of Scatterings has a nice little piece on Ruth. As you all know, my current research is on Ruth and Targum Ruth. Eric provides a nice rundown of the plot and how the book is exceedingly positive. There are several points in Hamlet or King Lear where things could get better – where characters might start to understand one another, and the destruction of the characters lives might not be so total. But in […]
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An old roommate (that is, we were roommates long ago, not that he is old now, well, we are older) sent me this link. I don’t know anything about Carolyn James and it appears to be very much a Christian devotional work, but if Zondervan is making it available for free who am I to not download it? The link is at the bottom of the blurb. This isnt the Ruth, the Naomi, or the […]
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I am late to the party here but I thought I would try and experiment. Do I always write like the same person? First I put in the opening paragraphs from my paper on Boaz from MAR-SBL. The result? I write like Kurt Vonnegut. Next I pasted in a portion from a sermon for 6 Easter 2009. The result? I write like James Joyce. Finally, I used a portion from this blog, specifically where I was […]
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As you all know I am working Targum Ruth. Those who know me well know that my interests are more with the exegetical concerns than linguistic issues. Still, one must slog through a translation at some point… Ruth 1:16-17 has received a lot of attention throughout the millennia. For the majority of its reception the passage has been interepreted as Ruth’s “conversion” to Judaism. In this “confession” she becomes a follower of Yhwh. Many modern […]
