Ruth 1:16-17 – Where You Go

After the death of her husband and sons, Naomi decides to go home to Bethlehem. She tells her daughters-in-law that they should return to Moab.

Orpah takes Naomi’s advice and returns to Moab. Naomi urges Ruth to do the same.

Ruth’s Plan

But Ruth has other plans and makes them clear to Naomi.

The Jewish Sages view Ruth as the model convert to Judaism.

What in these verses teach us that Ruth wanted to convert? Maybe she is only making a strong statement of loyalty to Naomi.

Naomi’s Message

Naomi’s message to Orpah and Ruth (Ruth 1:8-13) is that they are better off to stay in Moab. That is the land where they grew up. It’s the culture they know.

Naomi tells them that she has no prospects of being able to support them in the land of Israel.

Orpah accepts this message and returns to Moab (Ruth 1:15).

However, Ruth is determined to stay with Naomi.

At this point she could simply say, “No. I’m going with you.”

Or she could be a bit more emphatic and say, “There’s nothing for me in Moab. I’d rather go with you.”

Why does she spell out in so much detail what she will do?

Daat Mikra Explains Ruth 1:16-17

Ruth makes 5 promises about her future actions and ends with an oath using the special four-letter name of God, the Tetragrammaton.

Let’s begin by getting a surface level understanding of Ruth’s words, based on the Daat Mikra commentary.

Ruth 1:16 Explained

Don’t implore me – The word “implore” is the translation of the Hebrew 3-letter root pey-gimmel-ayin.

This root often has a negative connotation of an encounter that damages one or more people.

Daat Mikra writes that Ruth was both insulted and wounded by Naomi’s suggestion that she should return to Moab.

Don’t implore me to abandon you – I am asking to remain attached to you, not to abandon you.

to return from after you – When you tell me follow after Orpah, you are asking me to stop following after you. I do not want to do that.

where you will go, I will go – To the place you go, I also will go with you.

and where you will lodge, I will lodge – If you lodge in a house, there I will lodge with you. But, if you lodge outdoors, there I will lodge with you.

This phrase also includes the idea that whatever suffering or affliction comes on you, I will bear it with you. I am prepared for whatever fate that the two of us will encounter.

Daat Mikra suggests that Ruth is telling Naomi she is even willing to be a vagabond with Naomi and travel from place to place to find sustenance.

your people are my people; and your God is my God – Ruth’s statement echoes back to what Naomi said about Orpah: she returned to her people and to her god.

Ruth is telling Naomi that she stands by her decision to join with Naomi’s people and to accept on herself the authority of Naomi’s God and the yoke of His commandments.

Ruth 1:17 Explained

Where you will die – That is to say, where you will die, in the land of Judah.

and there I will be buried – In the place where you die, there I will be buried.

Ralbag in his commentary adds that Ruth’s intention was that even after Naomi’s death, she would not return to her people and her go.

So should the Lord do to me and so should He add – This is a common way to express an oath in the Bible.

Often an oath is stated using God’s name Elohim. However, in this instance, Ruth uses the explicit (Tetragrammaton) 4-letter name of the God of Israel, often translated as Lord.

This usage indicates that Ruth is accepting on herself the yoke of God’s commandments. Ruth is not talking about any vague concept of “god,” but of the God of the Jewish people.

rather only death shall separate between me and you – Ruth is expressing how adamant she is that her decision is final. She has decided that the rest of their lives should be spent together. Ruth will not separate herself from Naomi for any reason.

Ruth – The Model Convert

Rabbi Steinsaltz writes:

[Ruth] serves as a model convert for future generations. Her attachment to God, the Israelite people, and its ways of life has become a symbol of the experience of a true convert. He or she must feel that the conversion is not temporary, and that it does not depend on location or convenience. Rather, the change of status must be due to total identification with Israel.

Now let’s look at how Ruth gained this status as the model convert.

The Deeper Meaning of Ruth 1:16-17

Rashi has a long comment on these verses, based on the Gemara Yevamot 47b and Midrash Ruth Rabbah 2:22-24.

In Megillat Ruth these two verses are presented as a short speech made by Ruth.

The Sages understand that these verses are Ruth’s half of the conversation between Naomi and Ruth. The author of Megillat Ruth chose to condense their conversation by omitting Naomi’s statements and only presenting Ruth’s responses.

Here is how Rashi explains our verses:

For where you will go, I will go – From here our Rabbis said: a person who comes to convert, we inform him of some of the punishments, so that if he decides to back out, he can back out.

From the words of Ruth, you can learn what Naomi said to her.

[Naomi said:] “It is forbidden for us to go outside the Shabbat boundary.” [Ruth] said to her, “Where you will go, I will go.”

[Naomi said:] “It is forbidden for a woman to be alone with a man who is not her husband.” [Ruth] said to her, “Where you will lodge, I will lodge.”

[Naomi said:] “Our nation is separated from the rest of the nations by 613 commandments,” [Ruth said,] “Your people are my people.”

[Naomi said:] “Idolatry is forbidden to us.” [Ruth said,] “Your God is my God.”

[Naomi said:] “Four categories of death penalties were handed over to the Jewish Court.” [Ruth said,] “Where you will die, I will die.”

[Naomi said:] “Two burial plots were handed over to the Jewish Court, one for those stoned or burned, and one for those decapitated or strangled.” [Ruth] said to her, “And there I will be buried.”

That’s the end of Rashi’s comment.

Here’s part of R. Steinsaltz’s comment on the Gemara Yevamot 47b:

In other words, Naomi introduced Ruth to some of Jewish law to convince her that converting could involve significant consequences.

Ruth willingly accepted what Naomi taught her and became the model convert.

Further Reading

If you are interested in digging deeper into their conversation, Torah Temimah on Ruth 1:16-17 explains some of the reasons why Naomi mentioned these particular laws.

This article is part of a series on Megillat Ruth. I’ve also written an overview of Ruth and an outline of the book.