A friend and former student, Aaron Cummings, writes: “If Ruth is ‘adopted’ as a daughter to Boaz, then her story becomes the reversal of the original story of Moab (Gen. 19). Lot’s younger daughter successfully seduced her father while he slept, and she conceived Moab. Ruth, Elimelech’s younger daughter in law, fails to seduce her ‘father’ while she sleeps. He is honorable and persuades her to behave righteously. In essence, we have the restoration of the Moabite people pictured here.”

Ruth “redeems” Moab not only by reversing the seductions of Numbers 25 but the seductions of Genesis 19.