Ruth and Naomi (Ruth 1:16-17): Paradigm for Relationship in Contemporary Family Life
Caroline N. Mbonu,
Felicia A. Orih.
“Ruth and Naomi (Ruth 1:16-17): Paradigm for Relationship in Contemporary Family Life.”
Igbo Studies Review (ISR)
, Goldline & Jacobs Publishing
, no. 8, 2020
, pp. 127-138
.
Oftentimes, the relationship between mothers-and-daughters-in-law (nnedi na nwunyenwa) is described in less than positive terms. The caricature of the mother-in-law in cartoons amplify the adverse relationship setting up some women to approach marital state with trepidation. Positive images of the relationship between in-laws that can be appropriated for contemporary family life abound in the Scripture, of which, the narrative of Ruth and Naomi is emblematic. This positive image of the female in-law relationship in the book of Ruth questions the default assumption of the antagonistic relationship between mothers-and-daughters-in-law. Ruth, a multilayered tale in the Hebrew Scripture, captures succinctly the themes of steadfast love, solidarity, friendship, life, covenant, community, among others, themes that further positive and secures family wealth, aku, be it material or non-material. The narrator employs metaphors, drama, and innuendos to tell in a terse form, the resilience of women in bringing about life in the midst of poverty, deprivation, misery, and even death. The desperate condition of life in most areas of contemporary Nigeria, and family crises, closely resembles the historical context of the text under study, and as such underscores the significance of the investigation. Although levirate-like marriage in the tale resonates with traditional African family life, however, family relationship, secured in ḥesed (stead-fast love), within a homestead, resonates more with the contemporary audience. On this relationship rests the argument of this paper. The essay employs cultural and feminist hermeneutics, new historicism, and literal reading as methodological tools to show that insight from the book of Ruth remain pertinent to and as well challenge modern women, particularly female in-laws in forging enduring constructive relationships for the well-being of the family.