Winner of the 1989 Best Commentary Book Award from Christianity Today, Robert L. Hubbard Jr.’s The Book of Ruth has helped scholars, students, and pastors interpret one of the most beloved books of the Bible for decades. The classic commentary, now available in paperback, remains one of the best explications of the story of Ruth and Naomi and its relevance to Christians today.
In his introduction Hubbard discusses the issues of text, canonicity, literary criticism, authorship, date, purpose, setting, genre, legal background, themes, and theology, concluding with an outline of the book and a thorough bibliography. The commentary proper is based on Hubbard’s own translation and is annotated by footnotes on textual, philological, and literary matters.
Gleaning the best from respected contemporary research on Ruth, Hubbard rigorously treats the book’s rich literary, grammatical, and theological dimensions. He allows for the possibility that the anonymous author was a woman and argues that the narrative itself aims to counter opposition to the Davidic monarchy in Israel and Judah during Solomon’s reign. Throughout, Hubbard’s sensitivity to the literary qualities of the text and his coherent explication of its theological themes make this volume an invaluable tool for anyone desiring to explore the intriguing story of Ruth in depth.
