Contracts and Care of Oneself in the Book of Ruth

Abstract

This essay utilizes Foucault’s concept of the “technology of the self” to argue the ethical content of Ruth’s actions. In this way, my essay challenges reading the book of Ruth in a way that supports the Western and Christian technology of self and moral principle of self-sacrifice. Paying careful attention to the three episodes of contract-making in the book of Ruth (1:16-17, 3:9-13, 4:1-12), it is evident that Ruth’s actions demonstrate profound resourcefulness and care of oneself rather than self-sacrifice. This hermeneutical lens of “care of oneself” is constituted in the three elements of immanence, vigilant introspection and distance. The character of Ruth possesses the virtue of חֶ֔סֶד, repeatedly and secretly transgresses norms and expectations and creates an ethic that benefits and transforms her self and others.