THE BOOK OF RUTH AND THE
ENTERED APPRENTICE DEGREE
By A. R. Eddie, P.J.G.D.,
Published in Masonic Bulletin, BCR, May, 1974
At the time the foundations of our Masonic rituals were being laid, Freemasonry
was a purely Christian organization. Therefore (although there are undoubtedly traces
here and there of occult and other elements) a good deal of our Work was originally
based on the Old Testament. In this respect the Book of Ruth relates particularly to the
Entered Apprentice Degree, and (in my opinion) reading of that Book could be of value
to any Entered Apprentice, (whatever his faith) in preparing to be examined for progress
to the next degree. Perhaps this article may tend to enhance that value of clarifying to
some extent the biblical wording and by showing how a study of the Volume of the
Sacred law may be a pleasurable part in the self-education of any Freemason, whatever
degree he may have attained.
As an opener, let us consider the fourth chapter of Ruth, verse 7, which deals with
the ancient Israeli custom of confirming a bargain by removing a shoe. This is referred to
during the American work in the Entered Apprentice Degree as an explanation for an
item of the candidate's mode of preparation, and although it does not appear in the
wording of the Canadian Ritual, in most Lodges it is recited during opening in the
Entered Apprentice Degree, which the newly admitted Freemason hears prior to being
Passed. (In Scotland the candidate confirms his Obligation by taking off a slipper and
handing it to the R.W.M.).
Ruth was the great-grandmother of King David, and the above-mentioned passage
occurs in the story of how this came about. To understand the story completely however,
two other old Hebrew customs should be borne in mind, namely: "LEVIRATE". The
Hebrew custom of a man being obliged to buy the property and take over the widow of a
brother who had died without leaving a son. It then became his duty to get a son by the
widow "to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance". (Note: The term
"brother" should not necessarily be taken literally; it may have meant a near, or probably
the nearest, male relative).
"HALISAH" (Hebrew: "act of untying the shoe"): This was a testimony to the
refusal of a man to marry his brother's widow, demonstrating that the surviving brother
(or nearest kinsman) could "opt out" of his obligation. This happened in Ruth's case.
The initial characters in the story are Naomi, and Ruth her daughter-in-law.
Naomi, with her husband Elimelech and their sons Chilion and Mahlon had migrated in
time of famine from Bethlehem to Moah, where Mahlon married Ruth, a woman of the
country. Subsequently Elimelech and both sons dies, leaving no children. Thereupon
Naomi determined to return home, and Ruth, with great constancy towards, and affection
for Naomi, left her own people and accompanied her to Bethlehem. There she attracted
the attention of Boaz, a wealthy man "of the kindred of Elimelech".
Boaz, obviously with levirate in mind, said to Ruth: "And now it is true that I am
they near kinsman; howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I .. if he will perform unto thee
the part of a kinsman, well let him .. but if he will not, then will I do the part".
On being charged by Boaz to do his duty by purchasing Elimelech's estate and
taking over his widow, the kinsman at first agreed, but then demurred when Boaz added
that Ruth was part of the transaction. His change of heart apparently was caused by the
fact that whereas Naomi was an Israelite and beyond the age of child-bearing, Ruth was
young and a foreigner, and presumably he did not want her future children competing
with his own for his inheritance. "Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, buy it for thee.
So he drew off his shoe".
The V. S. L. goes on:
"And Boaz said unto the elders and unto all the people, ye are witnesses this day
that I have bought all that was Elimelech's and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the
hand of Naomi.
Moreover Ruth the Moabites, the wife of Mahlon have I purchased to be my wife,
to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance...
"So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife; and when he went in unto her the Lord
gave her conception, and she bare him a son.
"...and they called is name Obed, he is the father of Jesse, the father of David".
Boaz therefore was the great-grandfather, and Ruth the great-grandmother of
David, who was the father of Solomon.
And that is a small part of the story behind the story of the Entered Apprentice
Degree.