The Book of Ruth: An Annotated Bibliography (review)

Abstract

Hebrew Studies 38 (1997) 172 Reviews cruel fate of Israel at the hands of the Assyrians, Wolfers makes a startling paradigm shift in this book's interpretation. I suspect that not many will be won over to this new perspective for interpreting Job. Wolfers' insights and arguments, nevertheless, may open more texts in Job to a socio-political perspective. For Wolfers, the greatest contribution of the book of Job is a recasting of ancient Israel's theology. God abrogated the covenant with Israel, for in addition to Israel's disobedience, God's own existence had been placed in jeopardy by being tied to Israel. The God of Abraham needed to radically redirect his relationship with Israel in order to become the universal God of all humanity. John E. Hartley Azusa Pacific University Azusa. CA 91702 THE BOOK OF RUTH: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY. By Mishael Maswari Caspi. Books of the Bible 7. Pp. xiv + 133. New York: Garland Publishing, 1994. Cloth, $28.00. This book offers an annotated bibliography on the biblical-book of Ruth. It marks the fifth volume of a projected series on every book of the Tanach and the Protestant canon. Volumes on Psalms, Daniel, 1 Corinthians, and Revelation are already out, and ones on the Apocrypha may also appear eventually. The "Series Preface" (p. vii) states its purpose: to provide libraries with valuable bibliographies for a wide spectrum of users, in other words, "teachers, professional clergy, the laity, undergraduate and graduate students." It aims for "selective but serviceable" content by treating everything available but not "every thing [sic] ever published" (p. viii). The book has two main parts. An introduction (pp. ix-xiv) by Annie Dale Sherman ("with Mishael M. Caspi") offers a wide-ranging essay on preliminary matters (e.g., Ruth's composition, literary features, themes, and critical problems). The rest of the book (pp. 1-133) presents 240 bibliographic entries ordered alphabetically by authors' last names, each assigned a number in order from 1 to 240. Entries include books, journal articles, chapters of books, and articles in major reference works (e.g., The Jewish Encyclopedia [#13], and R. Alter and F. Kermode, The Literary Hebrew Studies 38 (1997) 173 Reviews Guide to the Bible [#197D. All items date to the twentieth century, but the majority originate after World War II. After each citation an annotation follows which summarizes the item's content, at times quoting key statements by authors or suggesting the type of reader which the source might interest. None offers critique, and there is no cross-referencing of items, even when articles specifically respond to each other (e.g., #20, #194, and #195). There is something here for practically everyone! Scholarly items, by far the dominant category, cover textual criticism (e.g., #58, #68, and #127), midrashic and talmudic interpretations (e.g., #40 and #128), Targums (e.g., #22, #140, and #191), and countless technical matters on Ruth (e.g., #27, #65, and #188). Other entries will interest Bible translators (e.g., #156 and #201), participants in Jewish-Christian dialogue (#66), or ministry practitioners seeking creative uses for the book (e.g., #38, #126, #209, and #210). An entry from the journal Ching Feng even compares Ruth to a Chinese play of the Yuan Dynasty (#135). Entry authors reflect a host of religious backgrounds, in confonnity to the series' stated design. In my view, one should evaluate a volume of this type in tenns of its completeness, quality, and usefulness. On the first criterion, the book's coverage seems to be excellent, except for the omission of Adele Berlin's influential treatment of Ruth in her Poetics and Interpretation of Biblical Narrative ([Sheffield: Almond, 1983], pp. 83-110). Further, readers will greatly appreciate the annotations, especially those about often inaccessible items like dissertations (e.g., #100 and #227), more specialized journals (e.g., Salmanticensis [#6] and ['Antiquite Classique [#67]), and items in languages which they do not read. (Most entries are in English, French, modem Hebrew, and Gennan, but works in Spanish and Dutch also appear .) This positive assessment is tempered, however, by the observation that the book's most recent entries date to 1992 (only #95 and #169). As for userfriendliness, readers...