At a glance
| Name meaning | "drunk; satisfied" (Hitchcock's); Easton glosses the name simply as "a friend" |
| Era / period | "In the days when the judges judged" (Ruth 1:1), before Israel's monarchy; Easton places it perhaps c. 126 years before David's birth |
| Role | A Moabite widow whose loyalty to Naomi leads to marriage with Boaz and a place in the royal + messianic line |
| Key books | Ruth; also named in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5) |
| One-line significance | A Gentile woman whose faith and loyalty make her great-grandmother of King David and an ancestor of Jesus, a standing emblem of chesed (covenant kindness) and of God's inclusion of outsiders |
Who Ruth was
Ruth (id H7327; Greek G4503) was a Moabite woman, an outsider to Israel, who married Mahlon, son of Elimelech and Naomi of Bethlehem, after famine drove that family into Moab (Ruth 1:1-4). The people catalog catalogs 13 occurrences of her name. After the deaths of Elimelech and his two sons, Ruth refused to leave her widowed mother-in-law Naomi, returned with her to Bethlehem, and there married Boaz, a kinsman-redeemer (Ruth 2–Ruth 4). She became the mother of Obed, grandfather of David (Ruth 4:17).
Easton's entry highlights "the unselfishness, the brave love, the unshaken trustfulness" of one who, "though not of the chosen race," was, like Tamar and Rahab before her, "privileged to become the ancestress of David, and so of great David's greater Son" (citing Ruth 4:18-22; Matthew 1:3, Matthew 1:5). Her confession to Naomi, "Your people will be my people, and your God my God" (Ruth 1:16), is among the most-quoted statements of loyalty in Scripture.
Story arc (life, chronological + cited)
- Famine + marriage in Moab, Elimelech moves his family from Bethlehem to Moab; his sons marry Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth (Ruth 1:1-4).
- Bereavement, Elimelech, Mahlon, and Chilion all die, leaving Naomi and her two daughters-in-law widowed (Ruth 1:3-5).
- The pledge of loyalty, as Naomi prepares to return to Judah, she urges both women to go home; Orpah turns back, but Ruth clings to her: "where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God" (WEB, Ruth 1:16) (Ruth 1:14-17).
- Return to Bethlehem, the two arrive "in the beginning of barley harvest" (Ruth 1:22); Naomi, embittered, asks to be called Mara ("bitter," Ruth 1:20-21).
- Gleaning in Boaz's field, to support them, Ruth gleans and, "as it happened," comes to the field of Boaz, a relative of Elimelech, who shows her marked kindness (Ruth 2:1-17).
- The threshing floor, following Naomi's counsel, Ruth approaches Boaz at night and asks him to act as kinsman-redeemer (Ruth 3:1-9).
- Redemption + marriage, a nearer kinsman declines his right, so Boaz redeems Elimelech's land and takes Ruth as wife before the elders at the gate (Ruth 4:1-12).
- Obed born, Ruth bears Obed, "the father of Jesse, the father of David" (Ruth 4:13-17); the book closes with David's genealogy (Ruth 4:18-22).
Role & significance
Easton describes the book as "remarkably rich in examples of faith, patience, industry, and kindness," and as a window into Israel's land system, the workings of the Mosaic provisions for distressed families, and the method of transferring property. Ruth's story turns on the institution of the go'el, the kinsman-redeemer who buys back family land and raises up an heir (Ruth 4:1-12), a pattern Christian theology often reads as foreshadowing redemption in Christ.
Her larger canonical significance is genealogical and theological: a Moabite, from a people frequently at odds with Israel, becomes great-grandmother of David and is named in the opening genealogy of the Gospels (Matthew 1:5), one of only a handful of women there. This reference frames her, factually, as a Gentile woman whose loyalty and faith place her in the royal and messianic line, illustrating God's care for those who trust him (Easton) and the reach of his redemptive purpose beyond ethnic Israel.
Key relationships
| Person | Relationship | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Naomi | Mother-in-law; the object of Ruth's loyalty | Ruth 1:14-18 |
| Mahlon | First husband (son of Elimelech + Naomi) | Ruth 1:4; Ruth 4:10 |
| Boaz | Second husband; kinsman-redeemer | Ruth 2:1; Ruth 4:13 |
| Orpah | Sister-in-law, who returns to Moab | Ruth 1:14 |
| Elimelech | Father-in-law (deceased) | Ruth 1:2-3 |
| Obed | Son; grandfather of David | Ruth 4:17 |
| David | Great-grandson | Ruth 4:17, Ruth 4:22 |
| Jesus | Descendant (named in the genealogy) | Matthew 1:5 |
Key places
| Place | Significance | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Moab | Ruth's homeland; where the family settles in famine | Ruth 1:1-4 |
| Bethlehem (in Judah) | Naomi's home, to which Ruth returns; setting of the gleaning + marriage | Ruth 1:19, Ruth 1:22 |
| The field of Boaz | Where Ruth gleans and meets Boaz | Ruth 2:2-3 |
| The threshing floor | Where Ruth appeals to Boaz as redeemer | Ruth 3:6-9 |
| The gate of Bethlehem | Where Boaz publicly redeems + marries her | Ruth 4:1-11 |
Key passages
| Passage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Ruth 1:16-17 | Ruth's pledge: "Your people will be my people, and your God my God" |
| Ruth 2:2-12 | Ruth gleans in Boaz's field; he commends her loyalty + shelters her |
| Ruth 3:1-13 | The threshing-floor appeal; Boaz agrees to act as redeemer |
| Ruth 4:1-12 | Boaz redeems the land + marries Ruth before the elders |
| Ruth 4:13-17 | Obed is born; "Naomi has a son"; the line to David |
| Matthew 1:5 | Ruth named in the genealogy of Jesus |
Contested / interpretive points
Genre and purpose of the book. The book of Ruth is read in different ways, and the readings carry different assumptions about date and aim.
| View | Position | Held by |
|---|---|---|
| Historical narrative | A factual account from the period of the Judges, supplying David's ancestry; Easton reports the Jewish tradition that Samuel was its author | Traditional Jewish + Christian view; Easton |
| Theological short story / novella | A consciously crafted narrative (whatever its historical kernel) shaped to teach chesed, providence, and the inclusion of a Moabite in Israel | Many literary + critical scholars |
| Post-exilic "inclusion" tract | A later composition read by some as a counter-voice to the exclusion of foreign wives in Ezra–Nehemiah | A segment of critical scholarship (debated; date is itself contested) |
Date of composition. Linked to the genre question, the book's date is debated, proposals range from the early monarchy (consistent with Samuel-era authorship and the David genealogy) to the post-exilic period (on linguistic grounds). This reference notes the range without resolving it.
The threshing-floor scene (Ruth 3). Interpreters differ over how to read the night encounter and its idiom (e.g., "uncover his feet"): most take it as a culturally framed, honorable appeal for redemption + marriage; a minority read more sexual overtones into the language. This reference notes the discussion and follows the majority, redemption-appeal reading as the text's plain sense., this reference states the facts of the narrative as written and lays the genre and dating questions out side by side, endorsing none.