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Yonder is a city whose name...
will one day be known in the far places of the Earth.
Bethlehem of Judah.
Generations have yet to pass before its star shall rise in the east.
Much shall happen in these lands and be told.
For nearby, across the Jordan in the land of Moab,
lives a people who of old have hated the God of Israel...
and who serve a god of stone, Chemosh,
thirsty for the blood of the young and the innocent.
Yes?
Uh--
Are you giving her to be raised in the service of our god?
But you pay something. Only when there is want.
But there is want. Uh, bad crops, sickness.
Uh, I can't feed my family.
Is she in good health? Yes.
Not lame? No.
No blemishes?
Of all my daughters, she is the strongest and the prettiest.
What is your name?
Ruth.
Ruth?
Recite the prayer.
Chemosh is good. Chemosh is strong.
He is the force of life,
the bringer of victories,
the shield against our enemies.
To one among you will soon come the greatest honor...
that can fall to a daughter of Chemosh.
An endless honor, a glory forever.
The high priest of all Moab will judge of you.
It is between the first and the third.
This child. See that she is properly prepared.
What is this?
I've not seen it before.
She should not have been permitted to go before Lord Hedak.
You know very well there must be no mark or blemish of any kind.
It was not there a moment ago.
Look! I have no blemishes!
Very well. Take the other child.
My lady, it's going away! It's almost gone!
The high priest has chosen her to be sacrificed, and that is the end of it.
This day you pass from a life of learning about your god...
to a life of serving him.
Your first duty will attach to our yearly ceremony of sacrifice.
In this year of Chemosh, the child is Tebah.
Among you shall be shared the honor of fitting her for immolation.
Obey your rectoress in all things.
You will return now to your chambers.
The crown-- is it ready? Your beneficence.
This?
This gross piece to be worn on the altar of Chemosh?
It's heavy and dead. It lacks luster.
But it is wrought of the finest gold.
Have you no sense, old man? It needs glitter.
It must be seen at the farthest reaches of the assemblage!
It must flash when the sun strikes it!
With your leave, gracious lady, I designed this with what I understood your wish--
No matter what you understood.
The crown for this child must be radiant as though for the head of a queen.
Yes, but what I tried to do was--
You were not engaged to try.
You're unworthy of the honor of this work.
Look. Look how graceful this is and how earthbound the other.
But that, your beneficence, I designed for a bride.
It is for feasting and joy.
It celebrates life, whilst the other... is to be worn in death.
Say no more!
What is sacrificed to Chemosh is endowed with eternal life.
Tebah, tell this man what it means to die for Chemosh.
To die for Chemosh is to live forever.
I will make a crown that will sparkle in the sun.
It will glow with precious stones. It will be happy as a bride.
You disapprove of sacrifice?
Of human sacrifice.
Take Tebah outside and wait for me.
I never heard sentiments like yours before. How do you come by them?
Through belief in a merciful God.
And where is this god? Show him to me.
He is invisible.
That makes it convenient for carrying him with you, does it not?
Make the crown as I wish it.
Deal with this person in the matter.
Have him bring the crown to you.
And remember my wishes! It must be radiant!
You will bring the crown to me in the sacrarium of the temple.
Yes, my lady.
- Do you know where it is? - Yes, my lady.
Above all, remember the wish of her beneficence--
that the crown be radiant, not gross and, uh, earthbound.
"Radiant." "Lacks luster."
They have mountains of gold and palaces full of jewels, and they must use every bit of it.
Never mind their gold and jewels. Why don't you learn to hold your tongue?
You know how sensitive they are about human sacrifice.
Not sensitive enough!
Their ritual is their affair. You had no right to raise your voice against it.
Father, the thought of killing that child--
Keep such thoughts to yourself. Don't spoil things for the rest of us.
Mahlon, don't be foolhardy.
We are still Judeans, and they are Moabites. Don't forget that.
They won't. But, Mother, they don't even think of us as Judeans.
Look at Orpah, a Moabitess. Didn't she marry me? Aren't we accepted?
That is your happiness.
You did speak foolishly, Mahlon.
But I'm glad of it.
Oh, Chemosh, thou art the force of light.
To our enemies give evil, plague,
famine and misery.
To our enemies give evil, plague, famine and misery.
To our king grant health, strength and enduring years of life.
To our king grant health, strength--
And enduring... years... of life.
The artisan is here.
Admit him.
We shall go on with this later.
Fine. Very fine.
That too.
Show me the rest.
Do you disapprove of disciplining slaves...
as you do of sacrificing to the gods?
Are you going to answer me? My answer would offend you.
No more than you have already done.
It is not wise to be lax with servants.
It only encourages disobedience. One must be strong with them.
You disagree? I never confuse gentleness with weakness, my lady.
Is this more of the teachings of your invisible god?
Not exactly, although his laws forbid the striking of slaves.
An abused slave can even sue his master for freedom.
Sue his master!
This god of yours-- has he a name?
He is known by many names-- Elohim, Adonai, Jehovah.
It matters not so long as one knows he exists, and I do.
If he is invisible, how do you know he exists?
Is it his invisibility that amuses you?
Am-- Among other things.
May I ask a question in all deference? You may.
Suppose you wish to pray, but you're not near an image of Chemosh.
Then I go to him.
Well, suppose a soldier of Moab is wounded on a field of battle...
and cannot get to an image of Chemosh to pray for his life.
Then he thinks of Chemosh.
But the Chemosh he's thinking of is invisible at the time he thinks of him.
In my work, gracious lady,
I have sometimes repaired your god.
Isn't it hard to believe that a-- a god who cracks and crumbles...
and can be repaired by a mere artisan like myself,
can be the same god who makes the birds sing and the sun rise and set?
How can a god whose own head gets broken...
mend the broken heads of his soldiers?
Tell me more about your Jehovah of the many names.
You have but to send for me any evening.
Perhaps we can talk in the gardens... alone.
You will grow old waiting, artisan.
My name is Mahlon.
An impudent merchant!
What else did she say besides "fine"?
Oh, nothing important. It was all genial?
Sure. There was even laughter. Laughter?
In the temple of Chemosh? Mm-hmm.
I have been told it is always very grim.
Not always.
The festivals of fertility are far from grim, eh, Orpah?
Is this the house of Mahlon?
It is. Enter.
Well? A message for me from the temple. I'm being sent for.
Something about our work? No. Nothing like that.
The girl. Well, well.
The young priestess? She sent for you?
Be careful, Mahlon. Even for a Moabite, it would be dangerous.
For a Judean-- Oh, you make much of nothing.
Have no fear, Mother.
Lest you have the wrong notion, I must make clear why I sent for you.
That is not necessary, my lady.
That you did is enough, and it pleases me very much.
There is no reason for you to be pleased...
since it is not about you that I've been thinking,
but your ridiculous god.
That was all I inferred.
Well, tell me more about him.
Since you say your god is everywhere,
perchance I am stepping on him right now.
Indirectly, yes, the Earth being one of his creations.
The Earth? Then you may as well claim that he made the moon too.
It is told that he made two great lights in the heavens--
the greater to rule the day and the lesser to rule the night.
And all other luminous objects in the sky, I suppose.
Yes.
And one closer by.
Why do you look at me like that?
Because you are so beautiful, so very beautiful.
Don't you know that you are?
I have never thought about it.
No one has ever told you? No man has ever looked at you as I do?
If-If he has, I have not seen it.
You were not watching for it.
Isn't it pleasant, even for a priestess,
to be told that she is beautiful, especially when it's true?
Is beauty so important?
The beauty that's within, as I know it is with you.
How do you know?
I am older than you, and the years teach.
Your teachings are strange to me. I will hear no more of them.
Don't be afraid of what I am saying. But I am afraid.
Perhaps tomorrow night, when you are less afraid.
You are so young.
You could be so beautiful one day.
What's wrong?
Nothing. It's just that I'm so happy for you.
Go, Tebah. Put your crown among your other fittings.
What are you doing here? You haven't dismissed me.
What's-What's wrong with telling a child she's beautiful?
Nothing, my lady.
You may go.
Kera.
I am-- I am sorry I struck you the other day.
Thank you, my lady.
You have been singularly honored.
The king is making a journey throughout the land...
to see the many arms and precincts of his kingdom.
He has asked for four of the most seemly of your rank...
to join the party.
Comport yourselves well!
You dogs, stand straight!
This will stand to exalt your greatness for all time, my king.
Would it please your magnificence to see the entire figure?
Order them to turn the platform.
You! Ten of you men, over here!
Put your backs to it! Turn it around!
I've seen enough.
Have you enjoyed the journey? Yes, my king.
What is your name? Ruth.
When do you complete your purification?
In the spring, sire.
It will please me to welcome you to the royal household.
Thank you, sire.
And as the prisoners were turning the platform,
it began to give way.
The statue of Chemosh started to tip.
My heart stopped for a moment. I thought the king would be crushed.
But luckily the platform held.
And only prisoners were crushed?
Yes, three of them, squashed like insects.
It must have been exciting. Oh, yes, it was.
Aren't you pleased to hear of my experience?
Fascinating. But I haven't told you the best.
His magnificence, the king, actually spoke to me.
He asked my name and how long before my purification would be complete.
When I told him, he smiled...
and said he would be pleased to welcome me to his royal household.
All in all, a memorable journey for you.
You disapprove.
I wish I'd never let you come.
Why? Why, Ruth?
Be-Because you disturb and confuse me.
I've been raised to serve Chemosh.
He is my god, my only god, and he's been good to me.
How has he been good?
No, I'm not challenging you.
You mean he's given you comfort and position?
More than that, much more. Well, tell me.
For one thing, when I was a child, I was chosen to be sacrificed.
Suddenly, a blemish appeared on my arm, so they did not take me.
But no sooner did another child replace me than the blemish faded.
Chemosh had spared me.
Perhaps it was a higher god than Chemosh who spared you.
Besides, I thought being chosen for sacrifice was a coveted honor,
yet you speak of being spared from it.
You've confused me so I-- so I can't think.
I would rather give up the most important thing in my life--
the joy of seeing you-- than bring you distress.
Shall I not come again, Ruth?
No.
But please, Mahlon, no more talk about your people across the Jordan...
who are forbidden to punish slaves,
who cannot beat their animals or even harm a bird's nest.
Please, Mahlon, tell me no more about your strange god...
with so many names and no face.
Oh, Mahlon, this is all wrong.
I was at peace until I met you.
Perhaps it would be best if I don't see you again. No, no.
My lady, my lady.
I will come again whether you send for me or not.
No. If Kera's not watching out for you, they'll find you and kill you.
You must go now.
I made it for you.
The tablets of the law, God's law. I cannot take it.
Cast it away if you like once you leave me, but keep it until then.
I made it for you. Made it with great love, such great love.
My lady.
What is it, Tebah?
I-I had a dream.
Come. Tell me about it.
A golden bird came through my window.
He had a silver beak, and his beak stabbed me here,
and blood began to run.
It's nothing, Tebah. Nothing. Just a dream.
There are alien gods who are jealous of you and envious of Chemosh.
They tried to frighten you with a bad dream.
Oh, but they will fail because Chemosh protects you.
You must get your sleep.
Your great day is coming close.
My Lord Hedak.
So, you are troubled. Tell me.
I have-- I have sinned.
I've offended the god.
I'm deep in sin, my Lord Hedak. Let me judge of that.
I've doubted the ceremony of the sacrifice.
You have seen many sacrifices since you were old enough to understand.
You have never doubted them before.
What has happened, Ruth?
I-- I talked with a man...
who believes no god could be pleased...
to accept the life of a child on the altar.
I could not meet his questioning.
Who's the man?
Mahlon, the Judean artisan.
He's-- He's a gentle, a kind man,
and-and that makes my burden greater.
You have given heed to one of our old enemy.
You are naive, my daughter. You have much to learn.
Ruth, do you not know in your inward heart...
that this sacrifice of the virgin child is wholesome?
Yes. That it brings fertility to the land?
Yes. Do you not know that this sacrifice...
purges our land of sins and sustains us against our enemies?
Yes, yes, my lord, I know all this in my inward heart--
The ways of Chemosh are not to be questioned!
Yes, my lord.
You have found favor in the king's eyes.
In the spring, you will be a priestess of high station.
You may even become one of the king's consorts.
You still have misgivings, Ruth?
No. No, my lady.
You are going to be stronger for your experience.
Remember, you have the exalted honor and duty...
of leading the child, Tebah, to the altar tomorrow.
Be at peace with yourself.
Let the child, Tebah, be brought forth.
Now, my child.
Oh, Chemosh, thou art the force of light!
To our enemies...
give evil, plague,
famine and misery.
To our king grant health, joy,
long and enduring years of life.
No!
They'd kill you.
Eat. Eat.
I can't. He's worried about what they'll do to Ruth.
Is he? I'm worried about what they'll do to us.
I've got to go to her.
Mahlon, come back.
I told you time and again-- Easy with him, Elimelech.
Have you never known folly? Mother--
Take him!
Take them away!
No! Please, no!
No, please! No, please!
Oh!
It is my doing.
I had no right to bring this down on you.
No. The sin is on my head.
I am punished for leaving our people in Bethlehem in time of trouble.
I was rich, but denied the poor.
I had bread, but denied the hungry.
I had substance, but took it with me.
Let's not cast lots for blame. We're past that now.
Get up! Get up!
Murderers! Murderers!
Prisoner, did you have secret meetings with a daughter of the temple?
Yes.
Did you speak to her of an invisible power?
Yes. To what end?
That she might learn of a god to whom the killing of innocent people is an abomination.
The killing of what innocent people?
Tebah and all children slain on the altar of Chemosh!
And the killing of my father and brother for even less purpose!
Artisan of Judah, you and your family came to Moab...
when there was a famine in your land.
We gave you shelter and sustenance,
and you repaid us by attempting to corrupt a priestess.
I have done injury neither to your land nor to a daughter of Moab!
I repent nothing of my love for her,
nor for having told her of a god of justice!
We shall teach you something of justice.
The ax is too swift and kind for a tempter and corrupter.
Your house and shop and all your possessions...
shall be seized in the name of the king,
and you will be sent to the quarries for the rest of your life.
Take him.
I hope your isolation has cleansed from you the blasphemies of the Judeans.
Well, has it not, Ruth?
Have not six months been long enough to purge your thoughts?
Surely you would not want more time by yourself.
No, my lady. I should not.
Good. I bring you happy news.
Chemosh has smiled on you.
Thanks to the gracious intercession of the king,
your privileges have been restored.
Tonight you will leave this room.
Tomorrow you will begin the month of ultimate purification...
before you enter the king's household.
You are to call on me...
for the services of my office.
I asked you never to come here again. I have brought my lady.
It was not as you think, mother of Mahlon.
You came to us many times before, when we were still a family.
You came bearing your lady's messages to my son,
summoning him, no doubt, for her amusement.
Each time you came, you brought death closer to my house.
Please believe me! I had no thought of betraying Mahlon.
I have come to help. We want no help from you.
If I were not fearful for your son's life, do you think I would come stealing here?
If I did not care for him, would-would I carry these tablets with me?
Yes. I watched him make them with love and devotion.
While you carried those in the one hand,
in the other you carried a knife for the killing of a child.
Both are stained with blood.
Could you put aside your bitterness...
long enough to restore your son to you?
What do you want? I have planned for Mahlon's escape.
Escape.
What can you do? A maiden and her slave.
These past weeks, Kera and I have secretly arranged it.
Yes. Two guards are with us.
Don't refuse us, mother of Mahlon.
It is the only hope, and it must be tonight,
for tomorrow I prepare to join the king's household.
Please.
What do you wish me to do?
Kera will lead you to one of the caves on the Hebron Road.
Wait there, and I will bring Mahlon to you. I promise it.
I will go with you, Mother.
May the Lord guide you.
Don't speak. The Lady Ruth is here to help you escape.
Follow me.
You there! Come down here!
Come back here! Come back!
Throw it down!
No!
Mahlon. No!
How can I thank you?
You must not think of that.
I love you too much to die.
Of course you won't die.
My body wants to. No.
My bones ache to die.
Think only of living. Live... so we can marry.
You would marry me? Yes. Yes.
Mother.
Orpah, carry me into the light.
It won't do to be married in the dark.
Help us.
I have nothing to bring to you, Mahlon.
You are all the dowry,
the ornament, the gift...
a man could ask.
Mother?
Your ring?
Uh-huh.
I take you, Ruth, for my wife,
according to the law of Moses.
We have scoured the city.
The priestess Ruth and the prisoner are nowhere to be found.
They seem to have vanished from sight.
Vanished, yes. But in what direction?
What direction, my lady? If you were a priestess and had just opened a prison gate...
for a cursed Judean, where would you go?
- Judah, I suppose. - Ah.
Then suppose you and your men set out and overtake them...
and bring them back?
- I will try, my lord. - Indeed you shall. Now go.
Come, Mother. Sit.
Rest. I will bring water.
He taught me to care about living things,
but he never told me of the pain of caring.
Pain on entering the world, anguish on leaving it.
But the interval between is worth it all.
How can you say that in such an hour?
Look around you at this hard wilderness,
and what do you see but mourning women?
Where is Mahlon's invisible God of mercy?
Where are his blessings?
You are one of them.
You gave my son joy,
and you sent him away with peace in his soul.
I am grateful, my lady.
Could you find it in your heart to call me Ruth?
Yes. Yes, I will call you Ruth.
And I will remember you with tenderness and love.
Where now, Mother? Where will we go?
There's only one place I can go, back to Bethlehem. But you, my daughters--
I shall go with you. Oh, why should you come with me?
You are pretty and young, and many a good man of Moab would wish to marry you.
And your mother and father, who love you even as I,
will want you by them to comfort their old age.
Return, Orpah.
I will do as you bid me.
Farewell, Ruth, and may the Lord bless you.
I'm not returning.
Kera?
My lady? You still have kindred in Ammon?
Two children and my father. Then go to them. You are free.
Free, my lady? Yes.
And I thank you endlessly, my faithful Kera.
Good-bye, my lady.
Peace, mother of Mahlon.
Find joy, Kera.
If you are not returning, then where will you go? With you.
With me? To Bethlehem?
It's a long and hazardous journey. Who knows? You might even be pursued.
And then, a Moabitess in Bethlehem might not be welcome.
You must go back with Orpah, my daughter,
and may the Lord deal kindly with you...
as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
I entreat you to return.
Entreat me not to leave you...
or to keep from following you.
For where you go, I will go. Where you lodge, I will lodge.
Your people shall be my people.
And your God, my God.
* Entreat me not to leave you *
* Or to keep from following you *
* For where you go *
* I shall go *
* Where you lodge *
* I shall lodge *
* Your people *
* Shall be my people *
* And your God *
* My God **
We crossed near here...
on our way to Moab 10 years ago.
My boys were like young lions then--
keen and eager for what lay ahead.
I went where my husband led me.
It was hard to leave Bethlehem.
It is harder to return.
We caught him in a wadi. Two others escaped.
We were hunting, I tell you. Just hunting.
Unbind him. He can hardly breathe.
Perhaps you can help us.
These sheep-- How do you suppose they died?
Maybe from disease. I heard that pestilence is spreading.
And the shepherd boy, did he die from the sheep's disease too?
Maybe the sun-- the sun.
Yes. It is hot. You look thirsty.
Have you no regard for a thirsty man?
Don't you know the teachings of our fathers?
If your enemy is hungry, give him meat. If he is thirsty, give him water.
Thank you, Master. Thank you.
Not out of a skin.
Fresh, flowing water. Go down there and drink at the water hole.
Well, what is it?
I-- I-- I'm not thirsty.
Go down there and drink! No! No! No!
No! No! No! N--
So should it be to all Moabites.
And let jackals do the rest.
Poor welcome for you to Judah.
We'll go on before they ask us where we've come from.
Then we have lost her. Yes, Your Majesty.
Ruth, favorite of the king, priestess of the temple,
not only spurns all Moab,
but delivers a Judean prisoner from under the noses of my officers.
Think, Hedak!
It is important for the kingdom that this priestess be punished.
As to how, I'll leave that to you. Now, go!
Eska?
- Do you remember me? - Is this Naomi, wife of Elimelech?
Widow. Widow?
The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
It does not go easy with me either. My Gavram died, and I'm alone.
Now I must glean in the fields like other poor people.
Still, it's better than starving, even though you eat only...
what you pick up off the ground.
My daughter-in-law. Welcome.
You are from one of the northern tribes? Benjamin, perhaps?
No. I am from Moab.
Moab. Oh, don't speak of it.
You think you're bitter. What with the drought,
oh, there's enough bitterness here too.
But where are you going to live? If our old farm is still standing--
Tsk, tsk. Oh, it's all gone to ruin. The well is dry, and the house--
But, still, it's away from the city. And for you,
just come from Moab,
it's just as well not to be seen much.
Eska, are you coming? Yes, yes. I'm coming.
Do you know who that is?
Naomi... and her daughter-in-law from Moab.
This, after your comfort in Moab.
You have taught me there are other comforts.
Not even a scrap to eat.
My husband had two kinsmen here, Boaz and Tob,
both men of means.
Tob would only rebuff me.
My husband was unkind to him, and as for Boaz--
What about Boaz?
It pains me to tell you, but he was the man at the border.
The one who forced the Moabite to drink?
Then don't go to either of them, Mother.
But how will we live?
That woman by the well-- If she can get along by gleaning, then so can we.
You? You glean? If they'll let me glean.
It's not a question of letting. The law gives widows and poor folk...
the right to glean, but I wouldn't let you.
Widows and the poor? Then I'm entitled twice over.
Oh.
They come fair in Moab.
And from what I hear, they go loose.
Shut your mouth. I'm sorry I told you.
Tell me, what happens in Moab, brother wise man?
Fertility rites. The wine flows freely,
and everyone gets to know everyone else.
And you must get to know us better.
The mighty man!
Is that a new gleaner?
Well, she's not old.
I am Boaz. Welcome to my field. Thank you.
Do I have your consent to gather after the reapers?
On one condition: that you glean in no other field, but stay fast here.
You improve the look of the crop.
And considering the drought, that would be very helpful.
Have my men been annoying you?
I have managed not to hear them. I will charge them not to trouble you.
You let me know if you lack for anything. The Lord be with you.
How can the Lord be with a Moabitess heathen?
Does she think we are made of stone like her gods--
that her being among us is not a mockery?
You are a Moabitess? Yes.
What are you doing in Judah? I am the widow of a Judean.
You think that makes you one of us? There is a law here...
that we shall treat strangers as we do ourselves, even Moabites.
It is not my favorite law, but I obey it.
Do you obey all your laws so grudgingly?
Our hospitality is not without limits.
Just make sure you worship none of your hot-bellied idols here.
We are very short with idolaters.
Would you then put my head in a pool of poisoned water?
- What do you know of that? - We saw you work justice in the border village.
Who is "we"? My mother-in-law and I.
Naomi, widow of Elimelech. I came with her from across the Jordan.
On this side of the Jordan, we do not coddle murderers of children.
My husband told me that your law...
requires at least two eyewitnesses to any mortal crime.
Where were your witnesses? I will not be preached to by a Moabitess,
especially one whom I suffer to glean in my field.
Suffer no more.
I have a widow's right to glean here. I do not need your consent.
The only kindness I ask is that you and your hirelings leave me to my work.
So be it!
I'll never go back to his field. I'll glean elsewhere.
I'd rather eat grains of sand than his barley.
I don't understand. The folly, the blindness of hating all of the people.
As though Moab were a great serpent and every Moabite a serpent's egg.
You spoke of another kinsman. What is he like?
Tob? The stars are not as distant as that man.
In what way? In every way.
I am sent by the house of Boaz.
- What have you there? - Oil and barley, figs and olives.
- Please return them. - You don't want it?
Neither of you?
Of course, I have no right to speak for your share.
Take it back and thank your master.
Which of the two refused? Both.
What did the young one say? The young one?
"Please return them." Return them, huh?
Well, they'll accept these provisions and more.
Ruth, come. Look.
It's back again, and more of it.
The Lord be with you, Naomi, and welcome home.
Thank you, Boaz.
I'm sorry to hear about your family.
Am I to take this as some kind of apology? For what?
For publicly insulting my daughter, Ruth. As the Lord lives,
you insult me and say I owe you an apology?
I don't like an offer of food thrown back in my face.
I don't like charity thrown in mine. Who gave you the right to tell Ruth she was not welcome?
We were born and raised into that right. I cannot pretend to welcome anyone from her land.
Don't pretend to welcome me. You're a Judean. She's a stranger.
You chose to forget the law that strangers must be welcomed among us.
Be that as it may--
I didn't mean to shout.
This is no way for a man to welcome a kinswoman.
I spoke in anger.
So did I, Boaz. For years, I've carried a warm image of you in my heart.
I'm disappointed to find you changed.
Well, a man is what he is.
Let him be what he wants to be.
In the meantime, no use leaving this food for the ants.
Well, it seems the Moabitess has left us for Tob's acres.
A good thing. Thank the Lord.
Is that Boaz riding up? Yes. Think of the honor.
As though the holy ark itself were coming to my door.
Let old wounds be.
Peace be with you. Peace to you.
Have you come to give back the field that rightfully belongs to me and the water with it?
No, Tob, and I haven't come to hear you complain of it either.
- Then what do you want? - Do you remember our kinswoman Naomi?
Quite well. Who could forget her? And our beloved Elimelech.
Elimelech is dead, he and his sons.
Naomi has come back with a Moabite daughter-in-law, and they need help.
- Then help them. - They won't accept it from me.
I had some hard words with the Moabitess, and you are closer kin than I.
I may be closer kin, but I'm no less a Judean than you.
Just because you go out with your border guard is no reason for me...
to sanction any Moabite you let into our land.
- I don't like Moabites any more than you. - But we can't let them...
glean or beg or go hungry.
I can. But they're our kinsfolk, Tob.
If you won't help them, then let me do it through you.
- You owe Naomi that much. - I owe her nothing.
She has suffered much. Don't waste my time on pity for Naomi.
And as for the Moabitess, you can tell her from me-- You can tell her yourself.
She's gleaning in your field now. I will.
The law protects gleaners, remember. Law or no law.
Where is the Moabitess?
Why, it's Tob.
Peace, Naomi. Peace, Tob.
Come in.
Naomi, you have wounded me. I? How?
You've been here for days, and you didn't let me know.
Well-- Is that any way to treat a kinsman?
And who is this lovely-- My daughter-in-law Ruth.
She's a Moabitess.
You say that as though it were an apology.
Don't you know our sacred teaching that we are to treat strangers as ourselves?
Yes, I know. I'm glad you've not forgotten.
Oh, I have a good memory. In fact, I've thought about you many times.
I was concerned about your family, and now you returned--
after the sad events in Moab-- and you hide yourself.
Well, there's a little matter of pride.
With one's own family? Oh.
Forgive me, but this is no way for the widow of Elimelech to live.
I'm going to send my workmen to repair the roof, patch these walls and work your land.
I'll send food and clothing too.
The years of prosperity have mellowed you.
Even a cabbage ripens.
Well, I was just passing by. I must go now.
Good day, Naomi. Good day, Ruth.
Have peace.
Peace, Tob.
And you feared he would rebuff you.
Why, he's as warm as Boaz is cold.
Maybe one is too cold and the other too warm.
Naomi! Oh, never carry such burdens.
While I'm away, you must let my workmen do it for you.
You are leaving? Not for long. I go to Hebron to buy sheep.
Now, in my absence, you and Naomi must not hesitate to ask my men if you lack for anything.
I have instructed them. Your kindness! I can't begin to thank--
Oh, not a word.
And when I return, I hope you will know even more fully the bounties of kinship in Judah.
Naomi.
Look at the little one.
A baby.
Where we come from, it's being said there is an idolatress among you.
A Moabite priestess. There is no Moabite priestess here.
You do not speak like Judeans. Where do you come from?
From Reuben, near the border of Ammon. What is it you've heard?
I heard this idolatress came with a Judean woman.
Said to be the widow of a man named Elimelech.
He means Naomi. Naomi did bring a Moabitess with her.
What business is it of you in Reuben who comes here?
No business at all. I just mentioned the rumor and nothing more.
Water is scarce. We have none for idolaters.
Why don't you ask your stone god for water?
She's an idolatress. Curse her, Ben-Nadab.
Call the vengeance of God down on her. Idols.
God has said ye shall make no idols,
nor set any image of stone in your land.
If ye despise his statutes and abhor his judgments, ye shall lose your children.
- Your cattle shall be destroyed! - Guilt is written across her face.
- She can say nothing. - Where are your idols?
Take your stone idols and leave our land before God strikes you dead.
You are a hateful woman. You are not worthy to speak God's name.
Leave her alone!
Get along. Don't stare.
When you've got your water, leave.
Don't ever trust this to a woman, Ben-Nadab.
Confess thy iniquity!
Fear the Lord, for he will send his pestilence among you and destroy your idols and cast--
Yes, yes, old man. I know.
God's blessings on thee and you too.
Peace be with you.
Poor old madman.
Thank you, Boaz. Thank you for your kindness.
Come.
Since I bring nothing with me this time, perhaps you'll not turn me away.
We turn nobody away who comes in peace.
Come. Break bread with us. Thank you. I've eaten.
Then sit and join us.
I've been thinking about what happened at the well.
Why? What happened?
Well, uh-- Well, nothing really. We simply met there by chance, and I asked if I could come by.
I should've mentioned it was Boaz who caught the runaway.
The donkey. Yes, well, don't make me a hero.
The beast came running at me, and--
So in gratitude, you invited our kinsman to visit us.
Well, I'm pleased.
Perhaps you'll have some wine with us, Boaz. Excuse me.
I didn't tell her because it would only have worried her.
What did Mahlon tell you about us Judeans?
Enough to bring me here.
Did he explain our hatred of Moab? No.
There was no malice in his heart. He hated nothing except cruelty.
Well, there has been a long, hard history between our countries:
wars, loathing of each other's gods.
Some of us lost parents and brothers to Moab.
Others lost children, as you saw on your way to Bethlehem.
Does it surprise you that that's in our blood, to fear and hate Moabites?
And you are content with that? I was.
Was? I used to think that hate belonged in our blood.
And now? Now I'm not so certain.
But others are though. Only a few--
those who forgot the teachings of our fathers...
and those who are as bitter as I was.
Like the women at the well. Yes.
And that's why I've come here. You must leave Judah, Ruth, at least for a while.
Go north to one of our other tribes, where people are not molested by Moabites,
not inflamed and ready to cast blame on a scapegoat.
Go, Ruth. I will see you and Naomi safely there.
No. Naomi's home is here.
If she and I are strangers in Judah,
we should be even more alien elsewhere.
Beside, would another tribe be any quicker than your people to believe...
why I left Moab and came to this side of the Jordan?
Why did you come here, Ruth?
Because you love Naomi? And?
And because I saw a new light in her beliefs, in her God.
Ruth, I've never seen the people so aroused.
You must not go to the marketplace or even to the well alone.
If I'm to stay here, I must go everywhere alone and unafraid,
or they'll think I'm all they suspect of me.
After a while, perhaps, but not now. Please let me help.
It is not the first time I've offered to help.
You accepted only from Tob. He never threatened.
Nor shall I ever again.
What made you change?
A number of things. Mostly you.
Seeing myself through your eyes. I think I needed that.
- Thank you. - I suppose it would be unseemly of me...
to compete with Tob in ephahs of barley and casks of oil.
But I have the right to ask one thing of you.
Promise me that if you and Naomi ever need help, help of any kind,
you will come to me.
Thank you again. Don't thank me. Promise.
I promise.
You'll be angry, but after all the trouble you've taken, I must go back to my fields.
You cannot have one cup with us, Boaz? I'm late now.
One of Tob's honey cakes, perhaps? Oh, now I must go.
Peace, Naomi. Peace be with you, Ruth.
That is the Boaz I remembered.
Oh, Mother, he's so different from the way he was before.
He's so-- so very likable.
Or is it only his wanting to help...
that makes me think I--
well, makes me feel the way I do?
No, Ruth. It is not that. How can you mistake what it is?
What do you want here? Who gave you the right to trample on my grounds?
Where are the idols? Bring out the idols. There are no idols.
You brought that idol worshipper into our midst.
- Tell her about the wells. - Our cattle are dying because of her.
What are you saying? Why because of her?
God has shown his anger ever since she came. Yes, and if our children suffer,
their blood will be on your head.
We'll all perish unless you rid us of her. The idols are in the house.
Not one more step. If you have complaints,
take them to Shammah and the elders and let them judge.
And leave us alone. Indeed we will make our voices heard by the elders,
and when we're through with our complaints, there'll be very little comfort...
left for you or time for you.
Come! Let us go to Shammah!
Don't fear, Mother. I do fear.
There's no charge greater than idolatry. It's a stoning offense.
I don't know where to turn, what to do.
Mother, I shall go to Boaz.
He said he would help. Yes.
You heard him. He made a promise to come if we needed help.
Yes. Go, my daughter. Ask his help.
You have come to see my master? I have great need to see him.
He was just summoned to the council of elders.
I will take you there. Thank you.
I know what happened. It's shameful.
The judges are as disturbed about it as I am.
We're meeting now.
Fear nothing.
You had better wait for me.
It's not a question of opinion.
It's your duty to convene the elders and sit in judgment of the widow.
Do you agree with that? Yes.
And do you, Boaz? By all means.
The widow Hagah has shamefully violated one of our most--
We're not speaking of Hagah, but of Ruth.
Ruth?
Hagah and her rabble viciously attack two peace-abiding women,
and you're going to sit in judgment of Ruth?
The actions of Hagah and the others are a disgrace. They will be reprimanded.
But the charges that have been brought against the Moabitess are very--
Moabitess! She is no longer a Moabitess.
And I, for one, will not consent to judge a woman...
for fetching water from a public well.
Do not mock us, Boaz.
You younger judges are here only because your fathers gave their blood to uphold our laws.
If this woman is innocent,
if she is not an idolatress, she will be free.
But if she is guilty,
it is our duty to see that she is punished according to the law.
- Innocent or guilty, I will not judge her. - You are going to defy the law?
- You would put us to scorn and divide the city? - I will not judge her!
Boaz, the people count on the wisdom of their elders to seek out truth.
Do not contemn the judges of Judah.
Ruth is the daughter of my kinswoman Naomi.
I cannot-- I will not judge her! How little you fear God.
What if Abraham, when God commanded that he sacrifice Isaac,
replied, "No, Isaac is my only son. I cannot do this"?
Leave Isaac to Abraham and Abraham to God, and leave me to myself!
Blasphemy. Then judge me too.
What if it is true that Ruth has been a priestess in the temple of Chemosh,
as is rumored?
A priestess?
The wife of a Judean who renounced idolatry,
who, of her own free will, chose to come among us...
with her destitute, bereaved mother-in-law--
You ask me to believe that this gleaner in our fields...
was once a priestess of Chemosh?
If it could be proven, would you judge her?
If it can be proven that Ruth was a priestess in the temple of Chemosh,
I will be the first to sit in judgment of her.
Will you swear it? I swear it.
That's all we ask.
I hope it never comes to pass that your oath binds you. It will not.
It's absurd.
There is marketplace gossip that you were once a priestess in the temple of Chemosh.
I was. But what have they decided to do about those who threatened Naomi?
Are they going to judge them? No. To judge you.
And... will you sit with them?
I must.
Let her go in peace.
What happened?
Bo-- Boaz!
He will not help?
I am weary, O God.
Weary of life.
Weary of calamity.
My husband taken from me-- my sons.
My daughter--
I've blighted her life.
Out of love for me,
she is defamed and humiliated.
O Lord, I entreat thee.
Do what you want with me, but spare her,
that her days of grief...
will not be without ending.
Peace be with you.
Who are you?
Jehoam.
Are you a holy man?
We are all holy in the eyes of God.
There will be water for many wells.
Many wells.
Trouble your heart no more.
Be strong through this time,
for from the widow of your son will issue children...
and children's children,
numbering among them a great king and a royal house...
and a prophet whom many will worship as the Messiah.
Can you spare bread for a hungry traveler?
If 3,000 of our people were put to death...
for only once having worshipped a golden calf,
than shall a Moabitess who worshipped Chemosh all her life...
be spared for a worse iniquity?
As the Lord lives, I will sit quiet no longer!
What if she had been a priestess in Moab?
She was not then under the law of our land,
but of another land-- the land that had given her birth--
and that was in the far past.
She is now a true daughter of Judah. We shall soon find out.
Will the Moabitess Ruth deny that she worshipped false gods across the Jordan?
So did Zipporah, the wife of Moses, worship false gods.
Was not her father a priest in the service of an alien god?
If the Lord our God accepts, who are we to refuse?
Wait. We shall see whether the Lord our God accepts.
Did you instruct children in the rituals of Chemosh?
Yes.
Did you teach them that to die for Chemosh was noble and good?
Yes. Did you lead them to the altar to be slain?
Yes.
And did you not then stand by and watch their bodies thrown...
into the flames of Chemosh?
Yes.
When did you last perform these rites?
Speak. Was it a very long time ago?
Years ago?
No. It was within past months.
Is this what Boaz calls "the far past"?
Well, Boaz?
If Boaz has naught to say, then I do.
I have just returned to the city from afield...
to find talk of stoning among us.
Are we so thirsty for blood...
that we must accuse a woman of a crime to which there is no proof?
The proof was in the calamity that fell on us when she came.
Did the rains not wet you, woman? The drought has ended.
Our crops have been spared. We'll have a richer harvest than ever.
Shammah, Judges, people of Bethlehem,
we have been taught that every accused person comes to judgment...
pure of guilt...
until his wrongdoing is proven.
Our law demands at least two eyewitnesses to any crime performed upon our soil.
Where are the two? Where is one?
They are here-- two eyewitnesses.
You are out of our brethren of the tribe of Reuben?
Yes, I am Melzar, son of Raken.
- And you? - I am Seyene, son of Cushan, also of the tribe of Reuben.
Melzar and Seyene, you swear a holy oath to speak in truth?
We do. We do.
Then tell us, Melzar.
Early one morning we chanced by the fields of Naomi.
And there, in the faint light that comes before dawn,
we saw the widow Ruth...
leaving the house of Naomi,
bearing in her arms an idol of stone.
She set it on a mound and fell to her knees...
and worshipped.
What was the idol?
It was Chemosh, the god of Moab.
If it was not yet light, how do you know it was Chemosh?
By the flame burning in its middle.
I pray you, a word to our brother from Reuben.
Speak, Naomi.
You are a son, as we all are sons and daughters of Jehovah.
Yes. Name the 12 tribes of Israel.
Am I here like some criminal to answer the questions--
The widow Naomi questions your being one of us. Answer her.
Why, there's Judah...
and Dan and Reuben...
and Benjamin...
and Asher.
There are many of us who can't name all the tribes.
But we all must know the Ten Commandments. Do you?
How many of them do you know, idolatress?
All.
I would be grateful if you could remember only the ninth.
Do you?
It is "Thou shalt not bear false witness...
against thy neighbor."
Perhaps, Melzar, you have a poor memory.
This, then, requires no memory.
Would you and your brother from Reuben...
bless the name of Jehovah and curse the name of Chemosh?
Well? Will you?
Cursed be the name of Jehovah!
Honor and glory to the name of Chemosh!
Twice over you have doomed yourselves.
You have blasphemed the name of the Lord.
- You have borne false witness against the widow.
Let there be done to you as you would have done to Ruth.
Glory to Chemosh! Glory!
Glory to Chemosh!
Is there any support left for the charge of idolatry against the widow Ruth?
The matter is settled.
Ruth shall stay among us.
Those who threatened her shall ask her forgiveness.
And let none molest her again. None.
Oh. Oh, I'm so happy.
Oh! Thank you, Tob.
Thank you for your belief in me.
I did only what was necessary.
Naomi?
I had to do what I did.
I pledged myself to sit in judgment.
I understand.
Well, Naomi, we have won.
Yes, Tob, and you have my gratitude.
No, no. I won't release you with only that.
I have a boon to ask of you. Of course.
I would be honored if tomorrow you'd come and have a cup of wine with me.
With pleasure. I'll ask Ruth. No, uh-- not Ruth.
I'd like to talk with you alone.
How do you know Ruth loves you?
How do you know she doesn't?
Is she interested in someone else? I cannot speak for her.
But you are trying to.
See here, Naomi. Haven't I courted her? Haven't I repaired your farm?
I've sent her spices, ointments, food, clothes.
She's accepted them all.
I don't believe Ruth measures love...
by the ability to help or provide.
If she did, she'd have very little use for me.
Didn't I defend her when the rabble wanted-- You were eloquent.
We know that, and we thank you for it.
Is she fond of another man?
I've told you, I cannot speak for her.
I think you can.
All that matters is what Ruth feels.
No.
No, it is you. You hate me because of my contempt for your husband.
Well, let me tell you, it doesn't matter what Ruth feels.
She is obliged to become my wife. Obliged?
Are you feigning ignorance,
or have you forgotten the levirate law?
The law that the next of kin of a deceased man...
has the right, even the obligation, to marry his widow.
Well?
I am your nearest male kin.
So you are. Good.
Then you see it.
And when you think it over, you will be happy with my decision.
Now, go back to Ruth and tell her, uh, tactfully...
of my intention to announce our betrothal tomorrow.
Yes.
I will tell her.
I'll tell her.
Oh, Ruth.
I should have remembered the levirate law...
before we ever reached the banks of the Jordan.
And I should have remembered Tob better.
Ruth, you have not been to bed.
I-- I couldn't sleep.
No more could I. I scarcely closed my eyes.
I'll get you something to eat.
Who is it? Huphim, servant of Tob.
Come in.
Peace to you.
My master sends this dress.
He bids you come to the harvest celebration tonight wearing it.
- He asks if you have any word to send him. - Only peace.
That is all?
That is much.
I'm not going to any celebration.
Ruth. You are going.
You must go,
because there is one way, one possible way--
Yes. For the first time, I beg you to do something for me.
Will you promise? Promise what?
Never mind. Just promise.
Trust me. I would rather die than bring you hurt.
But promise. Promise blindly. I promise.
Go to the harvest celebration tonight. I will go with you.
And when the night wears on,
and when we women go home,
stay.
It is a custom for the men to remain by the winnowed grain on this night.
Wait until Boaz goes to sleep.
Mark the place where he lies down.
Then lie beside him.
Naomi, what are you saying? Do you not love him?
Why-- If-- How can you ask that?
Think about it. Do you love Boaz?
Even if I did love him, how could I possibly do what you ask?
Please, Ruth, do not question me.
I know Boaz, and I know you.
Do as I ask. Promise me.
This is an important night for you, Master. Quiet!
My master, you must have a clear head for--
Your betrothed-- and drunk.
Here comes my bride!
Ruth! You're beautiful!
I knew you'd look beautiful in my dress.
Worth all the time you've keep me waiting.
Peace, Naomi.
Well, we have something to celebrate, eh?
I'm going to announce to the council of elders tomorrow morning...
that Ruth is to be my bride.
Happens every festival.
Who--
I was dreaming of you,
and you are here.
I wanted so much to explain.
There is no need.
I have always understood.
I love you, Ruth.
I've loved you from the day we met in my field.
It must have been God's goodness...
that brought me to your field that day.
Perhaps he's been directing me to you all my life.
Ruth. I want you for my wife.
But the levirate law.
Tob is next of kin.
He's going to claim his right to me before the elders in the morning.
I will get him to renounce his right.
But what if he refuses? Never. He will yield.
I will make it worth his while. Have no fear.
If I know Tob, he will come to terms.
He likes property.
It will be light soon.
Go now, my Ruth.
No one must see us together before this is settled.
There must be no more suspicion to hurt you.
I love you.
He asked you to marry him.
How did you divine he would?
I did not divine it. I had help.
The day Boaz said he would sit in judgment, I prayed for you.
A holy man came to the well and told me.
That-- That I would marry Boaz?
He told me that from the widow of my son...
would issue children and children's children,
numbering among them a great king,
a royal house and a prophet...
that many will worship as the Messiah.
From me?
A Moabitess?
Yes, from you, my daughter.
And who but Boaz could father such a family?
Have no doubts.
I believe the holy man, and so must you.
I want to, Mother! I want to!
Shoshanna will be angry with me.
So much happened last night, I forgot about her.
May God forgive me.
There's a law that no day must pass without milking a full animal, lest it suffer.
Is there anything that has not been put to law in Judah?
Yes.
There's no law that limits a cup from running over.
Coming, my little flower. Coming!
I have failed.
Tob will not renounce his claim.
I offered him everything I own.
Even now he's announcing your marriage before the elders.
No. No, it cannot be.
It is. It's the law. The law?
All I've heard since I came here is the law. The law!
What-- What kind of justice binds a widow to a man she can never love? The law!
It is meant to be kind, not harsh.
Meant to keep alive the inheritance of the dead.
But for that law, I would not be here.
My mother was such a widow.
I know that's of small comfort to you, Ruth.
If only there was some way.
Ruth! Come and drink.
Ruth.
I-- I must leave.
My-- My family is going to Tob's wedding.
Go.
Aren't you going? No.
Never a thing like it in all Bethlehem.
Feel. Like the petals of a rose.
Yes. Tob manages to get only the best.
God's will.
But it-- it is lovely.
You are a lucky bride. Such a good man and so rich.
They are both lucky.
Please.
Thank you.
**
Ah, my kinsman Boaz!
I hope I am welcome, Tob.
Welcome? I cannot tell you what satisfaction it gives me to see you here.
Ho there! Wine for Boaz! Wine for everybody!
Eat, drink, dance.
Rejoice with us, for when has Bethlehem seen a more joyous day?
You certainly are cheerful for a groom.
I am cheerful, old Huphim.
I wish I could tell every person here how my heart overflows with joy today.
And as the Lord lives, I believe I will.
**
I found these.
They brought you to our land.
They kept you from harm.
They will keep us strong.
Every happiness.
- ** Silence, all of you! - Tob would speak!
Listen! Listen to me!
Silence, all of you! Tob would speak!
A few thoughts, dear friends, before my bride joins me.
God has been good to the tribe of Judah--
in which Elimelech--
may his soul rest in peace--
and Naomi and myself are kinsmen.
Yes, the Lord has been good to us.
Has he not given Naomi back to us...
and granted us the rains?
And crowning all, has he not turned the footsteps of Ruth to our city...
and may mingle her blood with that of a proud house?
My fair bride and dear Naomi.
Praise for you both has just been on my lips.
Speak, Ruth.
Say if it is not true that your heart is in this land,
that you obey our law and trust in the Lord...
and honor my claim to you.
It is true, Tob, that my heart is in this land.
It is true that I obey the law...
and that my trust is in the Lord.
It is true that I honor your claim to me,
my honorable kinsman.
But it is also true that I do not love you.
Have no fear.
You will, in time. I shall try.
Good. I'm a patient man, and I welcome your truthfulness.
Then I must keep nothing from you.
I must tell you everything that is in my heart.
Of course.
You have the right to know that on the night of the harvest celebration,
I sought out Boaz on the threshing floor.
As you say, woman of Moab.
I have always upheld the law, and because I intend to keep on doing so,
I will permit no wanton to come into my house and bear my name.
Then give up your claim to her!
According to the custom of our fathers,
take off your shoe and give it to me as a sign of renouncement.
For, as next of kin, I will marry her.
Ruth of Moab, widow of Mahlon,
swear with me that nothing passed between us on that night--
or any other time--
except spoken vows of love.
By the holy commandments, I swear it.
We are without blemish in this matter.
Jehovah is witness to this--
our oath between us and between him forever.
You have sworn a holy oath.
Sworn that your word is truth and bound your souls with a bond.
Go in peace, my children.
Go with God's blessings as man and wife.
So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife,
and she bore him a son.
And Naomi took the child and laid it at her bosom...
and became nurse unto it.
And they called the name of the son Obed.
And Obed was the father of Jesse,
and Jesse was the father of David,
the king.