Naomi the Unknown Trickster

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7833/124-1-2235

Keywords:

Naomi, Deception, Trickster, Ruth, Boaz

Abstract

Little has been known about Naomi’s deception in the book of Ruth. Some have claimed that Ruth actually deceived Boaz. Others have argued that Naomi caused Ruth to deceive Boaz. Naomi’s deception is so elaborately hidden in the narrative that it is difficult to detect. However, several incidents in the narrative appear to provide evidence that she was continuing to deceive her victims. On the one hand, therefore, one fell for the trick. On the other hand, another was able to escape the trick with someone's help and even meet the end of a good turnaround.

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Author Biography

Hoseung Lee, University of Pretoria

Research fellow at Department Old Testament and Hebrew Scriptures, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; and Adjunct Professor of Old Testament, Department Theology, Chongshin University, Seoul, South Korea

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Published

2025-10-22

How to Cite

Lee, H. (2025). Naomi the Unknown Trickster. Scriptura: Journal for Biblical, Theological and Contextual Hermeneutics, 124(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.7833/124-1-2235

Issue

Vol. 124 No. 1 (2025)

Section

Articles

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