1. Hebrew Bible laws, customs and stories
The Ethics of Land
Hebrew Bible laws,
customs and stories

2. Leviticus 25.4 
But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
25.5 That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.
25.11 A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.

3. Leviticus 25.23
The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants.
Deuteronomy 24:14
Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:
 15At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.

4.  Deuteronomy 24:19
When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.
 20When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
 21When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.

5. Depictions in Art Renaissance to Contemporary
The Story of Ruth
Depictions in Art
Renaissance to Contemporary

6. Bening 1525

7. Marian 1625

8. Boaz and Ruth
Rembrant 1635

9. Boaz pouring barley for Ruth Rembrandt

10. Carolsfeld, Naomi and Ruth

11. Carolsfeld, Boaz meets Ruth

12. Dore 1865

13. Steinhardt, Undated

20. Tissot c. 1900

23. Chagall 1960
Ruth and her daughters-in-law

24. Chagall
Ruth brings grain
to Naomi

25. Chagall
Boaz awakes

26. Chagall
Ruth at Boaz’ feet

27. Chagall

28. McBee 2001

29. Contemporary, Ruth and Naomi

31. Millet, 1857, The Gleaners

32. The Gleaners, by Jean Francois Millet
When The Gleaners was first exhibited in 1857, it met with mixed reviews within the art world. Some commentators attacked its depiction of the rural poor, which on the one hand served as an unwelcome reminder of the marginalized poor (a threat to society) . . .who had no place within the artistic realm.
Part of the shock value of Millet’s painting was undoubtedly due to the fact that in the past gleaning had usually been represented in art through the Old Testament tale of Ruth And not, as it was now, as a statement on rural poverty.
Taken from a commentary on “Behind the Picture” posted on the web:

33. Millet, The Angelus

34. Millet, The Faggot Carriers

35. Millet, Planting Potatoes

36. Millet, The Threshers

37. Millet
Girl with Brush Wood

38. Millet, Haystacks

39. Millet, Man with Hoe

40. Millet, The Shepherdess

41. Jules Breton [French Realist Painter, 1827-1906] Song of the Lark

42. Jules Breton
Brittany Girl

43. Breton, The Communicants

44. Breton, Vintage

45. Breton, Calling in the Gleaners

48. Breton
The Gleaner

49. Compare