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Hagiography2 traditions

JudaismChristianity

Ruth

A Moabite woman who remained loyal to her mother-in-law Naomi and became the great-grandmother of King David. Her story is a testament to loyalty and God's inclusion of Gentiles.

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Related parallels

Ruth as a comparative study.

The Good Stranger
These narratives collectively challenge insular definitions of righteousness by elevating the moral agency of the ethnically or religiously marginalized. In Luke, the Samaritan supersedes the priest and Levite; in Ruth, the Moabite integrates into the Davidic line; in the Qur'an, Pharaoh's wife exemplifies faith against her household. Scholars debate whether these texts function primarily as ethical parables or as theological corrections to covenantal exclusivity.

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