But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons- would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD’s hand has gone out against me!” At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her.
Since I’m such a romantic at heart I’ve always been very fond of this little book in the bible. I love it when people get married – even when I’m not their wedding photographer! I guess I should have considered this book yesterday (14th Feb). It would have made the photo straight forward, and I might even have had an excuse to get my wife some flowers that way. (She says she doesn’t like me buying flowers because they die and are a waste of money!) Alas, I only realised having ploughed all the way through Judges first.
Of course picking Ruth herself would have been too obvious for me. So I’ll go with the bit part – Orpah. I guess it’s not quite as small as the bit parts of Elimelech, Mahlon and Kilion. As has become my style over the last week, I’ll cosider other bits first before woffling about the main character.
Ruth’s not a very long book, so it’s pretty easy to read it all. In chapter 3 is a bit about uncovering feet. I thought I’d do a quick web search to find out the meaning of this. I’m it is something to do with the way search engines work that most of the early links are all about how feet is a euphemism and that Ruth and Boaz got down to business there and then on the threshing floor. The search also revealed fair amount of feminist writing linked to the passage too. Finally I found the alternative ultra-conservative view of the passage that the is nothing inappropiate whatsoever going on. I’m inclined to take the middle ground, and believe that the implication was there, but that Boaz did the honourable thing. There’s fairly good bit about it in Anita Cleverly’s sermon on this chapter.
There’s not a lot I can say about Orpah give the passge, but I’m always happy to speculate a little when it’s not really going to lead to a major hereasy. I don’t think she did the wrong thing particularly, just a different thing. I wonder what happened to her afterwards. I imagine nothing special but nothing terrible. The author of Ruth doesn’t pass judgement on her, which I’m sure they would have done if bad things had happened to her and they had heard about them. Some jewish writing isn’t so positive. Whatever happened to her, I think she probably missed out big-time. I figure that she is named first in the passage, as was probably therefore married to the older son. I guess that means should would be first in line for redeeming by her kinsman back in Israel, and we’d be reading the book of Orpah instead. A case of “here’s what you could have won“.
The photo
I’m not really one for gambling, but this idea for a photo stuck in my head. We didn’t win!
56mm @ f221/250s Studio strobe 400w/s with snoot + a bit of post-processing contrast adjustment.