I’m afraid there’s no way to write this column without sounding like a nerd of the first order. But let’s face it. I am, alas, a nerd of the first order. Specifically, I’m a Bible nerd. If possible, ...

If the biblical Ruth came to America today, what would happen? In the biblical story, Ruth was welcomed onto the fields of Boaz, where she gleaned what the regular harvesters had left behind. Boaz ...

Thanks for all the excellent e-mails about the Song of Songs. Several of you argued that the maiden’s “navel” is not her navel, if you get my (southward) drift. My brief research didn’t settle the ...

I love the story of Ruth in the Old Testament book that bears her name. Naomi and her husband and two sons were from Bethlehem. Because of a famine, they relocated to Moab, a neighboring country where ...

The narrative of the Book of Ruth is poignant: One can almost feel the tragic atmosphere in the circle of three bereaved women and hear the soft voice of young widow Ruth as she declares her loyalty ...

The new one-act opera “Ruth” begins with a sequence of three jarring, dissonant chords from the ensemble, marking the three deaths that start off the biblical book of the same name. “It couldn’t be ...

Paul Prather says the Bible is endlessly interesting because of its allusions, and the long stretch of history. Wavebreakmedia Getty Images/iStockphoto I’m afraid there’s no way to write this column ...