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This article utilizes research concerning assimilation as a heuristic analytical tool through which to understand some of the factors that may have influenced Ruth's and Naomi's assimilation (or re-assimilation in Naomi's case, having returned to Judah) within the Biblical book of Ruth. Initially, analysis of research concerning assimilation, research which originally emerged within the U.S. but has since developed on a larger and more sophisticated scale, is undertaken before the article turns to evaluate the narrative within the book of Ruth in light of the literature from social and cultural anthropology. Such literature considers the impact that family, friendship, and religious networks have on immigration and assimilation. It is suggested that the concept of "ethnic translation" rather than assimilation is more appropriate to the experience represented within the narrative. Furthermore, it is argued that Ruth's assimilation, or ethnic translation and Naomi's return migration and re-assimilation (or ethnic re-translation) are assisted greatly by family networks and by religious participation. While primarily a study of Hebrew Bible narrative, the interdisciplinary nature of the article enables it to serve as a springboard for larger reflections, especially in light of the new concept of ethnic translation.

This book focuses on the expressions used to describe Job's body in pain and on the reactions of his friends to explore the moral and social world reflected in the language and the values that their speeches betray.A key contribution of this monograph is to highlight how the perspective of illness as retribution is powerfully refuted in Job's speeches and, in particular, to show how this is achieved through comedy. Comedy in Job is a powerful weapon used to expose and ridicule the idea of retribution. Rejecting the approach of retrospective diagnosis, this monograph carefully analyses the expression of pain in Job, focusing specifically on somatic language used in the deity attack metaphors, in the deity surveillance metaphors, and in the language connected to the body and social status. These metaphors are analysed in a comparative way using research from medical anthropology and sociology which focuses on illness narratives and expressions of pain.Job's Body and the Dramatised Comedy of Moralising will be of interest to anyone working on the Book of Job, as well as those with an interest in suffering and pain in the Hebrew Bible more broadly.

This article explores narratives wherein themes of hospitality, sexual violence against women, and migration coalesce. The presence of migration and the theme of ‘guest’ and ‘host’ make Genesis 19, and in the linked tradition in Judges 19, particularly apt for analysis that uses modern literature coupling hospitality and migration as a heuristic tool. Indeed, as well as being thematic, hospitality may also function in the narratives as a metaphor for immigrants and host communities. In Genesis 34, the metaphor of hospitality and the consequences of hospitality broken are also important thematically as is the desire for revenge. The article argues that in all three cases, group boundaries reach a new level of significance in response to migration, but are violently concretised through acts of sexual exploitation.