World English Bible · The judges
Ruth 3
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her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, shall I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? Now isn't our kinsman, with whose maidens you were? Behold, he will be barley tonight on the . Therefore wash yourself, anoint yourself, get dressed, and go down to the ; but don't make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4It shall be, when he lies down, that you shall note the place where he is lying. Then you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down. Then he will tell you what to do." She said to her, "All that you say, I will do." She went down to the , and did everything that her mother-in-law told her. When had eaten and drunk, and was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. She came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. 8At midnight, the man was startled and turned himself; and behold, a woman lay at his feet. He said, "Who are you?" She answered, "I am . Therefore spread the over ; for you are a ." He said, "You are by , my daughter. You have shown more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, because you didn't follow young men, whether or rich. Now, my daughter, don't be afraid. I will do to you all that you say; for all the city of my people knows that you are a worthy woman. Now it is true that I am a . However, there is a kinsman nearer than I. Stay this night, and in the morning, if he will perform for you the part of a kinsman, good. Let him do the kinsman's duty. But if he will not do the duty of a kinsman for you, then I will do the duty of a kinsman for you, as lives. Lie down until the morning." She lay at his feet until the morning, then she rose up before one could discern another. For he said, "Let it not be known that the woman came to the ." He said, "Bring the mantle that is on you, and hold it." She held it; and he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her; then he went into the city. 16When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, "How did it go, my daughter?" She told her all that the man had done for her. 17She said, "He gave me these six measures of barley; for he said, 'Don't go empty to your mother-in-law.'" Then she said, "Wait, my daughter, until you know what will happen; for the man will not rest until he has settled this today."
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The world at this moment · The judges, 1200 BC to 1050 BC ›
No central government and no standing army. The great empires are weak, which is precisely why Israel's troubles come from close neighbors: Moab, Ammon, Midian, and the newly arrived Philistines on the coast.
- Egypt
- Broken into competing power centres and no longer able to project force into Canaan. Its withdrawal is the single biggest reason this period has no imperial overlord.
- Mesopotamia
- Assyria exists but is dormant, hemmed in and looking east. The century that would have crushed a stateless Israel simply has not arrived yet.
- The coast
- The Philistines settle their five cities after arriving from the Aegean world, bringing Mycenaean-style pottery, a taste for pork, and an early advantage in ironworking. Further north the Phoenician ports of Tyre and Sidon start the trading expansion that will eventually give the alphabet to Greece.
- Further afield
- Greece has entered its dark age: the palaces are gone, Linear B is forgotten, and writing disappears from the Aegean for three centuries. In China the Zhou dynasty replaces the Shang in 1046 BC and issues the doctrine that heaven withdraws its mandate from unjust kings, an idea with an interesting resemblance to the book of Judges.