The Story of Ruth
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The Megillah of Ruth, which is read in many communities on Shavuot, tells the story of Ruth and Orpah who were married to the brothers Machlon and Kilyon respectively. After their husbands passed away, their mother-in-law Naomi decided to move back to Israel. Both Ruth and Naomi began to return with her, but after Naomi encouraged them to return to their families and nations, Orpah kissed her mother-in-law and returned home while Ruth remained with Naomi, converted,[1] married the tzadik Boaz, and became the ancestor of the Davidic dynasty.
According to the Midrash[2] (see below for other sources), Ruth and Orpah were sisters as both were daughters (or descendants) of Eglon, king of Moav. This article will examine the various opinions on this incident and the differing life choices of these sisters.
E glon, King of Moav
Eglon was the king of Moav in the 12th century BCE. He and his nation oppressed the Jewish people for 18 years.[3] He came to an ignominious end when he was impaled by the Jewish leader and warrior, Ehud ben Geirah. Ehud accomplished this by hiding a dagger on his right side and saying that he wished to pay homage to the king. (Ehud was a leftie and kept his sword on his right side; since most people kept their swords on their left side, his was not discovered.) When he told Eglon that he wished to deliver a message from G-d, Eglon stood up out of respect for the Divine message. Since Eglon was very obese (and also unsuspecting), Ehud was able to stab him in the stomach as he stood up.[4]
The Midrash says[5] that as a reward for standing from his chair (throne) to honor G-d, Eglon merited to have a descendant (King Solomon, the great-great-grandson of Ruth[6]) sit on the throne of G-d.
Daughter, Granddaughter, or Descendant?
Although it is clear that, according to our sages, Ruth and Orpah were descendants of King Eglon, there are differing opinions as to the exact relationship. Specifically, I have found three opinions:
1) Daughter
Some say that the Midrash should be understood literally – that Ruth and Orpah were daughters of Eglon.[7] The Zohar states this view explicitly as it says,[8] “… And she was the daughter of Eglon, king of Moav. When Eglon died, having been killed by Ehud, they crowned a new king and this daughter (Ruth) remained (single) among her people in the fields of Moav. When Elimelch came, he married her (off) to his son.” The Yalkut Shimoni echoes this view and says,[9] “It is regarding the days of Eglon that the verse says ‘And it was when the judges judged… And Elimelech died… (i.e., the story of Ruth)”
2) Granddaughter
According to the Talmud in Nazir,[10] Ruth was a granddaughter of Eglon (from his son).
3) Descendants
Many of the commentaries say that the Talmud and Midrash mean that they were descendants of Eglon rather than his daughters or granddaughters.[11] This is based on the teaching of the Talmud that Ivtzan (a judge in the time after Yiftach and before Shimshon, see Judges 12:8-10) was the same person as Boaz.[12] Since Ivtzan’s era was 256 years[13] after the death of Eglon, Ruth and Orpah could not have been Eglon’s daughters. Although one might argue that perhaps Ruth was his daughter and she was very old at the time of Ivtzan, this cannot be the case since Boaz praised Ruth for coming to convert in a timely manner.[14] Presumably, if she was at least 259 years old, this could not be considered a timely manner. (259 is also a very old age to bear a child.)
Support for this view can be brought from the fact that in some sources in the Talmud it says that Ruth was Eglon’s daughter[15] while in others it says that she was his granddaughter.[16] This can be resolved by interpreting all of these sources non-literally, that she was neither a daughter nor a granddaughter but rather a descendant.[17]
Those who contend that Ruth and Orpah were Eglon’s actual daughters (or granddaughters) are of the opinion that Ivtzan and Boaz were not the same person.[18]As such, the time gap between the two is irrelevant. The Midrash[19] which says that Boaz passed away the day after he married Ruth seems to be at odds with the opinion that Boaz was Ivtzan. This is because, according to the view that Boaz was Ivtzan, he married Ruth while his 60 children were still alive, and they all passed away during his lifetime, after he married Ruth. Whereas if Boaz passed away on the morning after his wedding, there was no time for this to take place. As such, this Midrash does not agree that Ivtzan and Boaz were the same person.[20]