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About this book: Ruth

Ruth is a short story set in the days of the judges, a bright thread in a dark period. A famine drives Naomi's family from Bethlehem to Moab, where her husband and both sons die, leaving her with two daughters-in-law. Naomi returns home, and Ruth, a Moabite widow, refuses to leave her, binding herself to Naomi's people and Naomi's God. Gleaning in the fields to survive, Ruth meets Boaz, a kind landowner and a relative of Naomi's late husband. Through Naomi's careful planning and Boaz's integrity, he takes on the role of redeemer, buys the family land and marries Ruth. Their child becomes the grandfather of King David. The book is a quiet portrait of loyalty, generosity and God's hidden care in ordinary events. Christians have often seen in Boaz a picture of redemption, and in Ruth a sign that God's people include outsiders.

Author
Unknown; Jewish tradition names Samuel, though the book does not say.
Date
The story is set in the era of the judges; scholars date the writing anywhere from the early monarchy to after the exile.
Audience
Israel, who would value the story of David's ancestry and of a foreigner welcomed into the people of God.

Themes

Loyal loveRedemptionGod's quiet providenceWelcoming the outsider

Outline

  1. 1:1–1:22Loss in Moab and Ruth's vow
  2. 2:1–2:23Gleaning in Boaz's field
  3. 3:1–3:18Ruth at the threshing floor
  4. 4:1–4:22The redeemer, marriage and a line to David

Key verses

Ruth 1:16-17 →Ruth 2:12 →Ruth 4:14 →
About this chapterDuring the time of the judges, a famine drives Elimelech and Naomi from Bethlehem to Moab with their two sons. There Elimelech dies, the sons marry Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah, and then the sons die as well. Hearing that the Lord has provided food in Judah, Naomi decides to return and urges her daughters-in-law to stay. Orpah returns to her family, but Ruth clings to Naomi and pledges loyalty to her people and her God. They arrive at Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest, and Naomi, bitter about her losses, asks to be called Mara.

During the time of the judges, a famine drives Elimelech and Naomi from Bethlehem to Moab with their two sons. There Elimelech dies, the sons marry Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah, and then the sons die as well. Hearing that the Lord has provided food in Judah, Naomi decides to return and urges her daughters-in-law to stay. Orpah returns to her family, but Ruth clings to Naomi and pledges loyalty to her people and her God. They arrive at Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest, and Naomi, bitter about her losses, asks to be called Mara.

Themes

  • Loss and famine
  • Ruth's loyalty
  • Bitterness and return

Key verses

Audio Bible · Ruth 1

Listen while you go about your day.

Ruth 1

Berean Standard Bible22 verses · 3 min read

1In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the land of Moab. 2The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah, and they entered the land of Moab and settled there. 3Then Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons, 4who took Moabite women as their wives, one named Orpah and the other named Ruth. And after they had lived in Moab about ten years, 5both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and without her husband. 6When Naomi heard in Moab that the LORD had attended to His people by providing them with food, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to leave the land of Moab. 7Accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road leading back to the land of Judah. 8Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you to your mother’s home. May the LORD show you loving devotion, as you have shown to your dead and to me. 9May the LORD enable each of you to find rest in the home of your new husband.” And she kissed them as they wept aloud 10and said, “Surely we will return with you to your people.” 11But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb to become your husbands? 12Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons, 13would you wait for them to grow up? Would you refrain from having husbands? No, my daughters, it is much more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.” 14Again they wept aloud, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. 15“Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; follow her back home.” 16But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” 18When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped trying to persuade her. 19So Naomi and Ruth traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women of the town exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” 20“Do not call me Naomi, ” she replied. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has dealt quite bitterly with me. 21I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? After all, the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me.” 22So Naomi returned from the land of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. And they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Verses in Ruth 1
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