"Whither thou goest" (songs from the book of RUTH)

WHITHER THOU GOEST

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RUTH 1:16-17 ARE THE MOST famous verses from the book of Ruth and some of the most famous verses in the entire Bible. Essentially the verses, spoken by Ruth, are a declaration of fidelity, suggesting God's own faithfulness (chesed=loving kindness) to the Jewish people.
    The fact that Ruth is not only not Jewish, but a Moabitess (belonging to the scorned people of Moab), suggests a new universalism in the biblical view. Not entirely unusual, of course, since (as we know in the P text of Genesis) God was the God of all the earth before he became the God of the Jews.
    Still, the writer goes out of his way to emphasize the fact that Ruth is a "Moabitess." Yet it is this Moabitess who represents God's faithfulness best, at the same time bringing out the best in others too, such as Boaz, thus becoming the ancestress of King David, and (through David) of Jesus, a point made in the genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew, 1:5.
    In fact, the text of this short book is a paradigm (or model) of how people in a just society behaves, each faithful to the other and each fulfilling the Law (Torah) as it is written.
    Note, however, the implicit polytheism in the text, as well as the localized idea of divinity; that is, God is identified with a specific nation ("thy people shall be my people, thy God my God"). Of course this can be interpreted in different ways, but it is generally agreed among most scholars that monotheism developed slowly in Hebrew thought, the universal God of the P text (Genesis, chapter 1) only a later development. In fact, the concept of God in the book of Ruth is also apparent in the famous Psalm 137, as in v. 4 ("How can we sing the songs of the LORD in a strange land?").

    Below are several songs based on this text, with transcriptions. The Les Paul and Mary Ford recording is better heard in the 78rpm record above than in the 45rpm record below.

Whither thou goest I will go, wherever thou lodgest I will logdge. Thy people shall be my people, my love, whither thou goest I will go. For as in the story long ago, that same sweet love story now is told. Thy people shall be my people, my love, whither thou goest I will go. As in that story long ago, whither thou goest I will go. Thy people shall be my people, my love, whither thou goest I will go, whither thou goest I will go.

Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee, whither thou goest I will go. Where thou lodgest I will lodge, thy people shall be my people and thy God shall be my God. The Lord do so to me and more also if aught but death part thee and me. or to return from following after thee, whither thou goest I will go. Where thou lodgest I will lodge, thy people shall be my people, and thy God shall be my God. The Lord do so to me and more also if aught but death part thee and me.

Entreat me not to leave thee. Don't ask me to go back. Thy God shall be my God. Thy people shall be my people. Where thou dieth, I will die.