In Ruth, Tod Linafelt offers an interpretation of the book which he calls unsettling in that he refuses to settle on a single meaning in a book so fraught with complexity and ambiguity. Ambiguity built into grammar, syntax and vocabulary carries over into the larger issues of characterization theology and the book's purpose. He also argues that Ruth intended to be read as an interlude between Judges and Samuel. Esther by Timothy Beal focuses on a story of anti-Judaism in an ancient world that raises contemporary questions about sexism, ethnocentrism, and national identity. Beal questions the text without assuming that there will be univocal answers allowing for complexity, perplexity and the importance of accidents.