006_kim_589-601 19/02/15 10:36 Pagina 599 THE AGENT OF ḤESED IN NAOMI’S BLESSING (RUTH 2,20) 599 If the relative clause were taken as a statement regarding YHWH, it would be difficult to relate it with the blessing in the main clause. Why would the author have Naomi praise YHWH’s previous acts at this point? The praise of YHWH for his faithfulness at this point would take the read- ers by surprise. The oddity becomes more conspicuous if we consider YHWH’s role in this story. Though we may acknowledge the presence of “a continuous divine activity” throughout the story 43, YHWH never in- trudes on human affairs or takes a leading role in them. Even Ruth’s first encounter with Boaz is not described as YHWH’s direct intervention but a mere chance (2,3). In addition, neither the narrator nor the participants readily praise YHWH except in the final stage of the story (4,14). The blessing in Ru 2,20 functions as a watershed between Naomi em- bittered and Naomi restored. It marks the transition from her agony over her current situation to her anticipation of restoration. The most important factor that triggered the transition is Ruth’s revelation of the name of the person who performed the acts of ḥesed to her. Naomi already had previ- ous knowledge that the same person had a potential to dramatically change their lives. In such a context, a word about Boaz’s action, rather than YHWH’s, can be expected from Naomi’s mouth. Therefore, the sub- ject of the relative clause (= the agent of ḥesed) can better be identified with Boaz. There are two other cases in which the word ḥesed is used in the Book of Ruth. Earlier in the book (1,8) it is Orpah and Ruth who performed ḥesed to both the living (Naomi) and the dead (their husbands and Elimelech). ydm[w ~ytmh-~[ ~tyf[ rvak dsx ~km[ hwhy hf[y May YHWH show faithfulness to you just as you did to the dead and me. (1,8) Significantly, the phrase “the living and the dead” also appears in Naomi’s blessing of Boaz (2,20). Later in the narrative (3,10), Boaz praises Ruth for her acts of ḥesed. […] !wvarh-!m !wrxah $dsx tbjyh ytb hwhyl ta hkwrb May you be blessed by YHWH, my daughter. You have shown your last faithfulness to be better than the first […] (3,10) Just as Boaz’s blessing of Ruth is followed by the grounds for it in Ru 3,10, the relative clause in Ru 2,20 can best be interpreted as the grounds for which Naomi blesses Boaz. Moreover, the other two occurrences (1,8; 43 THOMPSON, “New Life”, 203.