The Significance of Šadday in Ruth 1, 20-21
Nshimbi Emmanuel Kabamba, S.J.*
A
bstract: Just as there has been an apparent evolution of traditional Jewish faith
through history, so has there been an evolution of the divine name accompanying each religious epoch. Arguably, under the Priestly (P) tradition, Elohim
might be associated with the God of creation (cf. Genesis 9), [’Ēl]-Šadday with the God
of the patriarchs (cf. Genesis 17), and Yahweh might be associated with the God of the
people of Israel from the time of Moses (cf. Exodus 6ff).1 But there can also be such
a thing as “Biblical False Friends.” This paper seeks to investigate the significance of
Šadday in the Book of Ruth, and its relevance to our faith in the light of other divine
names in the same book.
I
ntroduction: The root šdy has at least 48 occurrences in the OT. The name basically
occurs in two different forms. One form is without ’ēl and the other form is with ’ēl.
The form with ’ēl has 7 occurrences in the OT (Genesis 17, 1; 28, 3; 35, 11; 43, 14; 48,
3; Exodus 6, 3; Ezekiel 10, 5). The rest of the occurrences are without ēl (Genesis 49,
25; Numbers 24, 4. 16; Ezekiel 1, 24; Psalms 68, 15; 91, 1; Job 5, 17; 6, 4. 14; 8, 3. 5; 11,
7; 13, 3; 15, 25; 21, 15. 20; 22, 3. 17. 23. 25. 26; 23, 16; 24, 1; 27, 2 .10. 11. 13; 29, 5; 31,
2. 35; 32, 8; 33, 4; 34, 10. 12; 35, 13; 37, 23; 40, 2; Ruth 1, 20. 21; Isaiah 13, 6; Joel 1,
15).2 On the whole, “the older form is probably Šaddai, the only one found in Hebrew
poetry, and that El-Šaddai is a more formal designation”.3 Its presence in theophoric
names in Numbers 1, 5. 6. 12 is worth commenting on. Ammi-shaddai (Numbers 1,
12) in particular has been attested in an Egyptian figurine dateable to about 1300 BC.4
However, “In consciously archaizing books, such as the sixth century [...] Ruth and
the fifth century [...] Job, Šaddai is very common, precisely because these books were
placed in an early setting.”5
Our primary interest in this article is to investigate the significance of Šadday in the
Book of Ruth. This significance shall be enriched by an analysis of other divine names
that occur in the same book. By and large, we shall employ the synchronic method
in our investigation.
1
Cf. W. R. GARR, “The Grammar and interpretation of Exodus 6:3”, in John J. Collins, ed. Journal of Biblical Literature 111 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
Society of Biblical Literature, 1992), 400.
2
Abraham Even-Shoshan, A New Concordance of the Bible: Thesaurus of the Language of the Bible: Hebrew and Aramaic Roots, Words, Proper Names, Phrases
and Synonyms (Jerusalem: Kiryat Sefer Publishing House, 1990), 1116.
3
Biblical William F. Albright, “The names Shaddai and Abram”, in Erwin R. Goodenough, ed. Journal of Biblical Literature 54 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Society of
Literature, 1935), 180.
4
Tryggve N. D. Mettinger, In search of God: The Meaning and Message of the Everlasting Names (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988), 69.
5
Albright, “The names Shaddai and Abram”, 188.
*
132
Fr. Nshimbi, S.J. is a Jesuit priest from Zambia-Malawi province. He does doctoral studies in
scripture at the Pontificio Instituto Biblico.
Hekima Review, No. 48, May 2013
The Significance of Šadday in Ruth 1, 20-21
1. TRANSLATION OF RUTH 1, 20-21
20
And then she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi, call me Mara, because Šadday
has caused me to be very bitter.
21
“I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why should you call
me Naomi? For the Lord has testified against me, and Šadday has caused evil to me.”
1.1 Notes
V 20. According to the BHS critical apparatus many manuscripts have the feminine
ending h instead of a for the word ar”m’. ar”m’ means ‘bitter’ and ymi[\n” means
‘pleasant’. There is an evident play on lexemes here.6 yD;v; will be the subject of our
discussion below.
V 21. The BHS shows that the LXX renders “ybi hn”[‘” with “evtapei,nwse,n me”
taking it as a D (Piel) form. But the MT reading is a G (Qal) form. Thus we have
rendered the phrase as “testified [lit. answered] against me” based on other uses in the
OT (cf. Exodus 20, 16; Deuteronomy 5, 20; 2 Samuel 1, 16) which carry some juridical
connotations.7
2. DIVINE NAMES IN RUTH
2.1 Šadday
Campbell has suggested that in the Book of Ruth Šadday is used with the “intent to
place the Ruth story in the amphictyonic period, but it is also noteworthy that [...] [the
author] uses it with the knowledge of its appropriateness to the context.”8 The name
Šadday occurs twice in the Book of Ruth, once in Ruth 1, 20 and once in Ruth 1, 21. In
Ruth 1, 20 the lexeme is used in a negative sense. Naomi states that it is Šadday who
has caused bitterness to her. So people should no longer call her Naomi, the pleasant
one; but they should call her Mara, the bitter one. The cause of Naomi’s bitterness has
been well attested in what precedes her declaration.
The bitterness that Naomi associates with Šadday has nothing to do with leaving
Bethlehem of Judah due to famine. For she states that she went away full (1, 21). The
fullness that she refers to probably alludes to her husband and her two sons with
whom she went to Moab.9 She is now bitter because Šadday has taken away all of
them from her during their sojourn in Moab. The use of Šadday in v. 21 thus also has
a negative connotation. Literary, Naomi states that “Šadday has caused evil to me.”
Here we have a development or expansion of the concept of Šadday that we have
already had in v. 20. And it would appear that at v 21 particularly she has succumbed
6
Frederic W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC 9; Dallas, Texas: Word Books, 1996), 88.
7
Cf. Edward F. Campbell, Ruth: A New Translation with Introduction, Notes, and Commentary (AncB; Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1975) 62, 77.
8
Campbell, Ruth, 77.
9
Kenneth L. Barker—Kohlenberger III, John R., Old Testament (EBC; Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1994), 371.
Hekima Review, No. 48, May 2013
133
Nshimbi Emmanuel Kabamba, S.J. .
to the conventional wisdom (cf. Deuteronomy 28, 1-2. 15; Job 11, 13-20) which would
associate her misfortune with sinfulness and fortune with righteousness.10
“Šadday is related to the Akkadian word šadû (“mountain”) so that the
epithet would mean ‘God, the one of the mountain(s),’ or more freely, ‘the God of
the mountain(s).’”11 If Šadday has been known as the God of the mountains12 it
makes a lot of sense to state that the family of Ruth went to stay up in the mountains
of Moab. And so Šadday would be representative of the deity of that particular
mountainous area, Moab.13 It should be noted here that the root šdy can further be
understood as meaning breasts14; and as a deity, Šadday would mean the God with
breasts. Suffice to state that a link may be drawn between breasts and mountains.15
Just as mountains protrude from the earth, so do breasts protrude from the body of
a woman. But perhaps the point of emphasis here would be the feminine aspect
of God. And granted that the Book of Ruth, even as its title suggests, is a book
whose main protagonists are women (cf. Ruth 1, 19-22),16 it is understandable that
Šadday can refer to a God with the feminine aspect of breasts. God is god of entire
humanity, male and female, encompassing characteristics of both.
Besides the meaning of mountain and breasts, the root šdy can also mean
field (cf. Ruth 1, 1), although the Hebrew correspondence for field would be śdy/
śdh17. Thus Šadday has been referred by some as deity of the fields who is a
hunter.18 In biblical literature, animals of ‘the field’ are wild animals. This may
draw association with the deity Šadday who is a hunter of game or wild animals.
As it were, a hunter is supposedly an enemy of wild animals for he is primarily
interested in killing wild animals. This may explain why in the Book of Ruth this
deity is not associated with charity or anything that is good. But lament.19 Being
a deity of the field who is a hunter, Šadday has hunted down the husband of Ruth
and two of her sons.
The root šdy also alludes to a god who plays the demon.20 It has been
suggested that originally, the reference was to šaddayîm deities who were stripped
of their divinities and reduced to demons. Such can also shed more light to the
mention of this deity who assumes the role of the demon in bringing disaster upon
Naomi in the Book of Ruth. Likewise, it may be suggested that it is this particular
deity that was sent by the council of gods to come down and try Job by afflicting
10
11
of Biblical 12
Barker, Old Testament, 371.
Lloyd R. Bailey, “Israelite ’Ēl Šadday and Amorite Bêl Šadê”, in Morton S. Enslin, ed. Journal of Biblical Literature 87 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Society
Literature, 1968), 434.
Georg Steins, “yD;v;”, in Johannes G. Botterweck, et al, eds. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament 14 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 2004), 421.
13
Steins, “yD;v;”, 444.
14
Steins, “yD;v;”, 422.
15
Albright, “The names Shaddai and Abram”, 184.
16
Cf. Tod Linafelt, Ruth and Esther (BO; Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 1999), 17-18.
17
E. Burrows, “The meaning of El Šaddai”, in J. M. Creed—G. R. Driver, eds. Journal of Theological Studies 41 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1940), 155.
18
Steins, “yD;v;”, 420.
19
Campbell, Ruth, 77.
20
Steins, “yD;v;”, 422.
134
Hekima Review, No. 48, May 2013
The Significance of Šadday in Ruth 1, 20-21
him with all sorts of calamities.21 Šadday also stems from the root šdd to signify
one invested with violent power.22
2.2 Yahweh
The occurrence of Yahweh in the book of Ruth, rendered as ‘Lord’ in our
translation, is telling. Yahweh occurs 18 times (1, 6. 8. 9. 13. 17. 21 (x2); 2, 4 (x2).
12 (x2). 20; 3, 10. 13; 4, 11. 12. 13. 14). Twice Yahweh appears alongside Šadday
in Ruth 1, 21. In this verse, it would appear that Yahweh has sympathetic qualities,
although he as a juridical witness has supposedly permitted the evil that Šadday
has executed against Naomi. In asserting that “The Lord has answered [against] me”
Naomi may be proleptically looking forward to what Yahweh is going to do for her.
She serves as the model of faith in times of crisis.
That Yahweh has displayed a sympathetic role in the Book of Ruth may not
be overstated. For instance, he is associated with the end of famine in Bethlehem
and so Naomi may return to her homeland (1, 6). He is the God that Naomi evokes
when she seeks blessings for her daughters in law who had dealt kindly with her
sons (1, 8. 9). Ruth professes her faith in Yahweh as she pledges allegiance to
Naomi (1, 17). Further, Yahweh is associated with greetings and blessings in the
field of Boaz (2, 4); and he is called upon to reward and protect Ruth (2, 12). He
is blessed (2, 20; 4, 14), and evoked in association with Ruth’s blessing (3, 10; 4, 11.
12) and redemption (3, 13); and he lets Ruth conceive (4, 13).
There is an exception to our observations in 1, 13 where Yahweh’s hand
has reportedly gone against Naomi who claims to be bitter with the turn of events.
Nonetheless, as Bush suggests, “In v 13 [...] [Naomi] attributes the cause of her
complaint to God somewhat obliquely”.23 That this theme is taken up once again
and clarified in Ruth 1, 20-21 may not be accidental; and there Šadday makes the
only appearance in the book and he does not assume any sympathetic role.
2.3 Elohim
Ruth 1, 15.16. and 2, 12 merit our comment because they mention another
divine name called Elohim. The lexeme appears once in 1, 15, twice in 1, 16
and once in 2, 12. Ruth 1, 15 associates Elohim with the God of Orpah, Ruth’s
sister in law who returns to her people in Moab. “Since the religion of Moab was
polytheistic, as was that of all of Israel’s neighbours, it is possible that the plural
h’yh,l{a/ should be understood literally, ‘her gods’.”24 Alternatively, Orpah could
have been returning to her people who worship a kindred God (cf. Judges 12, 2);
and in the same way, Ruth could be speaking of her kindred God in v 16.25 Thus in
Ruth 1, 16, Elohim is uttered by Ruth the Moabite in her supplication to stay on with
Naomi and go with her to Bethlehem of Judah. The state is symbolic of Ruth’s pre21
Cf. Erich Zenger, Das Buch Ruth (ZBK 8; Zürich, Theologischer Verlag, 1986) 43.
22
Albright, “The names Shaddai and Abram”, 181.
23
Bush, Ruth, Esther, 93.
24
Bush, Ruth, Ester, 93.
25
John Gray, Joshua, Judges, Ruth (NCBC; Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1986), 388.
Hekima Review, No. 48, May 2013
135
Nshimbi Emmanuel Kabamba, S.J. .
conversion period. Her final conversion and integration26 into the Israeli religion
comes to light in the following verse (1, 17) where instead of calling upon Elohim,
she calls upon the name of Yahweh. Ruth 2, 12 however shows that Elohim is not
a distinct God from the God of Israel per se. Elohim is the God of Israel, the God
of creation, but his specific name is Yahweh. Here Elohim, whose name is Yahweh,
is associated with reward and protection, besides being a descriptive tool of Ruth’s
faith.27
Conclusion: In the Book of Ruth, Šadday is portrayed in negative light over
against Yahweh and Elohim who are portrayed in positive light. By placing
Šadday alongside Yahweh, the author of Ruth has demonstrated two different
divine aspects that those who have gone through good and bad times in life
should not wonder at. Although Yahweh blesses, dark sides in life associated
with Šadday are inevitable. God, who is a merismus of both Yahweh and Šadday
is a God for people who are happy and suffer alike. And the lesson here may
as well be perseverance in times of trouble or crisis. When all is said and done,
this is what Christianity holds for us. It is not only about “Alleluia” but it is also
about faithfully carrying one’s cross in life. Only then does one live the fullness
of life as was the case with Job, and most of all, Naomi, who did not give up faith
despite tribulations.
Bibliography
Articles from Biblical Journals
Albright, William F., “The names Shaddai and Abram”, in Erwin R. Goodenough, ed. Journal
of Biblical Literature 54 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Society of Biblical Literature, 1935), 173-204.
Bailey, Lloyd R., “Israelite ’Ēl Šadday and Amorite Bêl Šadê”, in Morton S. Enslin, ed.
Journal of Biblical Literature 87 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Society of Biblical Literature, 1968), 434-438.
Burrows, E., “The meaning of El Šaddai”, in J. M. Creed—G. R. Driver, eds. Journal of
Theological Studies 41 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1940), 152-161.
Garr, Randall W., “The Grammar and interpretation of Exodus 6:3”, in John J. Collins, ed. Journal of Biblical Literature 111 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Society of Biblical
Literature, 1992), 385-408.
26
Campbell, Ruth, 75.
27
Cf. Barker, Old Testament, 372.
136
Hekima Review, No. 48, May 2013
The Significance of Šadday in Ruth 1, 20-21
Commentaries
Barker, Kenneth L—Kohlenberger III, John R., Old Testament (EBC; Grand Rapids, M i c h i gan: Zondervan, 1994).
Bush, Frederic W., Ruth, Esther (WBC 9; Dallas, Texas: Word Books, 1996).
Campbell, Edward F., Ruth: A New Translation with Introduction, Notes, and Commentary
(AncB; Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1975).
Gray, John, Joshua, Judges, Ruth (NCBC; Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1986).
Linafelt, Tod, Ruth and Esther (BO; Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 1999).
Zenger, Erich, Das Buch Ruth (ZBK 8; Zürich: Theologischer Verlag, 1986).
Books
Mettinger, Tryggve N. D., In search of God: The Meaning and Message of the Everlasting
Names (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988).
Dictionaries
Even-Shoshan, Abraham, A New Concordance of the Bible. Thesaurus of the Language of the Bible: Hebrew and Aramaic Roots, Words, Proper Names, Phrases and Synonyms (Jerusalem: Kiryat Sefer Publishing House, 1990).
Steins, Georg, “yD;v;”, in Johannes G. Botterweck, et al, eds. Theological Dictionary of the
Old Testament (vol. 14) (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004), 418-446.
Hekima Review, No. 48, May 2013
137