By: Fr. Edward MurphyPublished in 1950 by The Bruce Publishing Company. No imprimatur. 214 pages.Book is in fair condition. Has a significant amount of staining on the page edges. Some wear and tear around the cover.-From the treasure house of biblical lore comes this powerful story of Ruth, the great-grandmother of David and forbearer of the Messiah, charged with all the emotional conflicts which the classic tale embodies. In Ruth, daughter of the pagan Moabites, who left her native land to accompany the aged Noemi back to the land and God of Israel, the author sees a beauteous link between the Jews and the Gentile world, and a presage of the all-embracing love of Him who was to come.The story begins in Bethlehem where the young shepherd, Mahalon, dreams on the hillside, listening to the heavenly music of the wind in the cave - music that fades when the famine drives the Israelites into the pagan land of Moab whose god is Chemosh. It is into this land of darkness that the patient Noemi of the Bible story, and her husband, Elimelech, and their sons, go. Here they unexpectedly prosper under the patronage of the high priest, Banais. Here, too, Chelion finds in the noble Orpha the love that was lost to him when his beloved Miriam died in the famine, while Mahalon finds the soul of the music he heard in the cave - Ruth.But the newfound joy is turned to disaster by the fanatical Bahila who is driven to murder in a fit of pagan zeal. Banais' favor, also, turns to wrath when he learns they are spreading the faith of Israel. The original story in the Bible has many lacunas and the facile pen of Father Murphy could not resist the challenge of the "might-have-beens." It is upon their return to Bethlehem that Noemi and Ruth give full expression to the virtues which characterize their Bible story. Here Ruth is persecuted for her Moabitic background. Even the disconsolate Boaz who loves her comes to suspect her when she is secretly captured by the Moabite army, not knowing of the torture she bore in silence or her role in the deliverance of Israel.Throughout her trial, Ruth has only Noemi's trust as she awaits patiently a sign of God's Will...a sign that comes to direct her to a happiness affirmed by a renewal of the music in the cave. Ruth's story has been told by thousands of writers with varying degrees of success. Father Murphy brings reverence, sympathy, and understanding to the task of making it move with the force of a deep, slow river. It is a drama rich in emotion and suspense, told with a great spiritual strength as well as story interest, vitality, and timeliness.
