CHAP. XI. The Marriage of Ruth.

AFTER Ruth was returned to her mother-in-law, Noemi said to her: My daughter, I will seek rest for thee, and will provide that it may be well with thee. This Booz, with whose maids thou wast joined in the field, is our near kinsman and behold, this night he winnoweth barley in the threshing-floor. Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put on thy best garments, and go down to the barn-floor: but let not the man see thee, till he shall have done eating and drinking. And when he shall go to sleep, mark the place wherein he sleepeth: and thou shalt go in, and lift up the clothes wherewith he is covered towards his feet, and shalt lay thyself down there and he will tell thee what thou must do. She answered: Whatsoever thou shalt command, I will do. And she went down to the barn-floor, and did all that her mother-in-law had bid her. And when Booz had eaten, and drunk, and was merry, he went to sleep by the heap of sheaves: and she came softly, and uncovering his feet, laid herself down. And behold, when it was now midnight the man was afraid, and troubled: and he saw a woman lying at his feet: and he said to her: Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thy handmaid: spread thy coverlet over thy servant, for thou art a near kinsman. And he said: Blessed art thou of the Lord, my daughter; and thy latter kindness has surpassed the former: because thou hast not followed young men either poor or rich. Fear not therefore, but whatsoever thou shalt say to me I will do to thee. For all the people that dwell within the gates of my city know that thou art a virtuous woman. Neither do I deny myself to be near of kin; but there is another nearer then I. Rest thou this night: and when morning is come, if he will take thee by the right of kindred, all is well; but if he will not, I will undoubtedly take thee, as the Lord liveth : sleep till the morning. So she slept at his feet till the night was going off. And she arose before men could know one another: and Booz said: Beware lest any man know that thou camest hither. And again he said:

Spread thy mantle wherewith thou art covered, and hold it with both hands. And when she spread it and held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it upon her. And she carried it, and went into the city, and came to her mother-in-law. Who said to her: What hast thou done, daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. And she said: Behold, he hath given me six measures of barley; for he said: I will not have thee to return empty to thy mother-in-law. And Noemi said: Wait, my daughter, till we see what end the thing will have. For the man will not rest until he have accomplished what he hath said.

Then Booz assembled the chiefs of the town, and summoned Ruth's nearest kinsman, and gave him the choice of marrying Ruth, and of purchasing from Noemi the land which had belonged to her husband. This the kinsman refused to do, lest he should injure his own family; and Booz then, before the assembled people, took Ruth to be his wife. From this marriage sprang Obed, who was the grandfather of King David.

CHAP. XII. The Birth of Samuel. Heli and his Sons.

SOME time after the marriage of Ruth and Booz, there dwelt in Mount Ephraim Elcana, an Israelite, of whose two wives, one, Anna, had no children. Mourning over her lot, she at length went to offer special prayers to God at Silo that He would grant her a son. There she fell upon her knees, praying silently and fervently, and vowing to God that if He would give her a child, he should be consecrated to the service of God from the day of his birth. Her silent prayers, in which she moved her lips, though she uttered no words, were observed by Heli the priest, who thought her drunk with wine, from the strangeness of her manner, and he sharply reproved her. Then she told him her true state; and he bade her go in peace, and trust that God would grant her petitions.

After a while God heard her prayers, and gave her a

one

son, and they called him Samuel, which means, asked of God." And when the child was weaned, she took him to the house of God in Silo, and presented him to Heli, as an offering to Almighty God. And there the child grew up, ministering before the Lord, and clad in a white garment, a token at once of his innocence and the sacred work to which he was set apart. From time to time his father and mother visited him, and brought him a little coat, the work of his mother's hands. And God blessed Elcana and his wife, and gave them three more sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew, and pleased both God and men.

Heli the priest himself had two sons, Ophni and Phinees, young men of dissolute lives, who abused their privileges as sons of the priest, and seized for their use the flesh of the animals that were sacrificed before they were duly offered to God. Their father was too weak and foolish to restrain them, and drew down the anger of God upon his own head, as well as upon his sons. As the young men continued their abominable practices, a prophet was sent by God to Heli, to warn him of the terrible punishment with which his neglect of his duty to his sons would be visited; and telling him that in one day they should both of them die, and that his family should come to utter beggary.

Still Heli could not bring himself to do his duty; and the child Samuel was instructed by God in a vision to repeat to the aged priest the awful sentence that the Almighty had pronounced upon him. In those days God had ceased to send open visions to his people, and every fresh revelation of the Divine will was doubly precious to the pious soul. And it came to pass one day when Heli lay in his place, and his eyes were grown dim, that he could not see: before the lamp of God went out, Samuel slept in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. And the Lord called, Samuel. And he answered: Here am I. And he ran to Heli, and said: Here am I; for thou didst call me. He said: I did not call; go back, and sleep. And he went, and slept. And the Lord called Samuel again. And Samuel arose,

and went to Heli, and said: Here am I; for thou calledst me. He answered: I did not call thee, my son; return, and sleep. Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: neither had the word of the Lord been revealed to him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose up, and went to Heli, and said: Here am I; for thou didst call me. Then Heli understood that the Lord called the child: and he said to Samuel: Go, and sleep: and if He shall call thee any more, thou shalt say: Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth. So Samuel went, and slept in his place. And the Lord came, and stood: and He called as He had called the other times, Samuel, Samuel. And Samuel said: Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth: and the Lord said to Samuel: Behold, I do a thing in Israel: and whosoever shall hear it, both his ears shall tingle. In that day, I will raise up against Heli all the things I have spoken concerning his house: I will begin, and I will make an end. For I have foretold unto him, that I will judge his house for ever, for iniquity; because he knew that his sons did wickedly, and did not chastise them. Therefore have I sworn to the house of Heli, that the iniquity of his house shall not be expiated with victims nor offerings for ever. And Samuel slept till morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to tell the vision to Heli. Then Heli called Samuel, and said: Samuel, my son. And he answered: Here am I. And he asked him: What is the word that the Lord hath spoken to thee? I beseech thee, hide it not from me. May God do so and so to thee, and add so and so, if thou hide from me one word of all that were said to thee. So Samuel told him all the words, and did not hide them from him. And he answered: It is the Lord: let Him do what is good in His sight. And Samuel grew; and the Lord was with Him; and not one of his words fell to the ground.