BBB Bible Series: Ruth Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bethlehem

In Ruth 1:1 we are told that Elimelech was a man of Bethlehem. When Naomi returned to Judah, it was to Bethlehem, where some land still remained which was part of Elimelech's estate.

Answer: She could offer them no prospect of a husband

In those days and in that society a woman with no man to speak for her and to care for her, whether husband or father or brother, was in a desperate situation. There was no way for Naomi (or for Naomi and Ruth together) to make a living which did not depend upon the charity of others. Naomi's concern that her Moabite daughters-in-law would find no husband with her or in her homeland was both sincere and real.

Therefore she earnestly advised them both to return to their own people, where they would be accepted.

Answer: death

Among the most beautiful passages in the Bible is Ruth's refusal to be parted from Naomi.
Ruth's words are also sometimes used at weddings.
"Entreat me not to leave you,
Or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people,
And your God, my God.
Where you die, I will die,
And there will I be buried.
The LORD do so to me, and more also,
If anything but death parts you and me."
(Ruth 1:16-17, NKJV)

Answer: who was the owner of the young woman (Ruth)

In the NKJV text his question reads, "Whose young woman is this?" or in other words, from whose household has she come; to whom does she belong? This gives you some insight into the position of a woman in this society: she had no truly independent identity, apart from her responsible male family member.

Answer: Ruth's faithfulness to and care for Naomi

While it is apparent that Boaz took his duty as a kinsman seriously, and that most or all of his actions accord with this, he said only that his kindness was because of Ruth's faithfulness to Naomi, even to the point of leaving her own land and her own people, and coming and living among strangers for Naomi's sake. Nothing in the book of Ruth says anything explicitly about Ruth's appearance, although Boaz' words in Ruth 3:10 may be taken to imply that Ruth was attractive enough to have had her choice among the young men. Boaz appears to have behaved in exemplary fashion throughout the story.

Answer: Until the end of the wheat harvest

Naomi and Ruth arrived back in Bethlehem "at the beginning of the barley harvest" (Ruth 1:22b, NKJV); Ruth 2:23 tells us that Ruth continued to glean in Boaz' fields "...until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest" which implies that, as one would expect, the wheat harvest followed the barley harvest.

Answer: at the gate of the city

The gate of a city or town was a customary place in which to conduct business deals, bring issues for judgement or administration, and even to hold criminal trials (in terms of the religious legislation under which they all lived).
For just one example, see Deuteronomy 21:19, where parents who are unable to deal with a rebellious son are instructed to "...bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city." (NKJV text)

Answer: he found out that marrying Ruth was part of the deal

In terms of the law, the land was tied to other obligations: if he wanted to acquire the land (always a desirable thing, and the reason for his initial agreement), he also had to provide sons in Elimelech's name, i.e. for Elimelech's posterity and inheritance, by marrying Ruth (since Naomi was too old) and having children with her on Elimelech's behalf. He could not have one without the other.
Since he could not 'redeem' the land without incurring the liability of another man's children, he opted out.
In the event of a son being born to Ruth, the child would legally be Mahlon's son, and Elimelech's grandson, and would inherit the land, in spite of the kinsman having 'bought' it from Naomi.

Answer: the kinsman took off his sandal and gave it to Boaz

The removal of a sandal as a sign of 'sealing a deal' appears nowhere else in the Bible, yet it is recorded here explicitly as being the custom of the time.
It is probable that it was done on several other occasions, yet without comment, simply because it was accepted practice and 'went without saying'.
Note: The removal of a defaulting kinsman's sandal by an offended widow, as described in Deuteronomy 25:5-10, is a different custom - one of 'naming and shaming' rather than one confirming a transaction.

Answer: to avoid shaming him, because he had refused his duty

The unnamed man was Naomi's closest kinsman; therefore the duty fell upon him to marry Ruth and through her to provide sons for Elimelech's and Mahlon's posterity. Boaz was meticulous in first offering this man the opportunity to obtain the full benefit (access to Elimelech's land) from doing his duty, but the man refused, preferring to pass this duty on to Boaz, which Boaz was willing to undertake. It is evident in the story that this man refused to do his duty, and this is the most likely reason why his name has been omitted: either to avoid 'naming and shaming' him, or to withhold from him the honour of having his name recorded.

It is at the least extremely unlikely that his name had been simply forgotten when people less important to the story are named, and the other two incorrect options are complete fabrications.