On the Threshold: Liminality in the Stories of the Concubine of Gibeah and Ruth

Abstract

This article proposes an intertextual-synchronic reading of the book of Ruth and the story of the concubine of Gibeah in Judges 19. Although previous scholars have compared these two stories, they have ignored the theme of liminality, which is critical to their proper understanding. After highlighting the literary similarities between these two stories, I discuss these stories’ different manifestations of liminality—identic, temporal, and spatial. This highlights the shared central question of both stories: How can the female protagonist, a stranger to her surroundings, cross the threshold to a secure space—home? Can she traverse the precarious night and see the light of day? I illustrate how the stories act as foils to each other by representing opposite portrayals of societal behavior and final outcomes for the female protagonist. I conclude by showing how this new reading lets us better see the moral message of each story.