Ruth

Identity

Ruth is the Moabite widow who left her homeland to follow her mother-in-law Naomi to Bethlehem in the days of the Judges. She married Boaz, a kinsman-redeemer, and became the great-grandmother of King David and, through him, an ancestor of Christ (Matthew 1:5).

Name and titles

'Ruth' — probably from a root meaning 'friendship' or 'companion.' She is called 'a virtuous woman' by Boaz (Ruth 3:11) — the same Hebrew phrase used at Proverbs 31:10.

Historical period

• c. 1150 BC (traditional) — The Book of Ruth is set 'in the days when the judges ruled' (Ruth 1:1).
• Same period — Naomi's family moves from Bethlehem to Moab because of famine.
• Ten years later — Naomi's husband and both sons die; Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem.
• Same year — Ruth pledges her covenant: 'whither thou goest, I will go' (Ruth 1:16).
• Barley harvest — Ruth gleans in the field of Boaz.
• Same season — Boaz redeems Naomi's field and takes Ruth to wife (Ruth 4).
• c. 1149 BC — Their son Obed is born — grandfather of David.

Scripture appearances

• Ruth 1:16 (KJV) 'Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:'
• Ruth 2:12 (KJV) 'The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.'
• Ruth 3:11 (KJV) '…all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.'
• Ruth 4:13 (KJV) '…the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son.'
• Ruth 4:17 (KJV) '…and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.'
• Matthew 1:5 (KJV) 'And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth…' (in the genealogy of Christ).

Connected Places

• Bethlehem — Naomi's town and Boaz's field.
• Moab — Ruth's homeland, east of the Dead Sea.

Connected People

• David — her great-grandson.
• Christ Jesus — her most famous descendant.
• Naomi — her mother-in-law.
• Boaz — her kinsman-redeemer and husband.
• Obed — her son, David's grandfather.

Salvation history role

• The Moabite in the genealogy of Christ — proof that from the beginning God's plan of salvation was for the whole world.
• The model of covenant loyalty at every level: to a mother-in-law, to a homeland by adoption, to a God she chose.
• The type of the Church — Gentile, drawn in by love, welcomed and redeemed.

Christian tradition

• The Book of Ruth is one of the five Megilloth (scrolls) read at Jewish feasts — specifically at Shavuot / Pentecost.
• Read at many Christian weddings.
• Ruth is one of the four women (with Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba) named in Matthew's genealogy of Christ.

Household reflection

Ruth teaches the household that Christian loyalty is a covenant of love, not a duty of blood. She was not born into Israel; she chose it. The convert's covenant is as strong as the native's — often stronger.

Read Ruth 1:16 at a household wedding, an adoption, or when a member of the household comes into the faith.

Room connections

Where this entry meets the household in the wider house of CrossAIHub.

• Read (Library) — Read the whole book of Ruth (only four chapters) in one sitting.
• Pray (Chapel) — Pray Ruth 1:16 as a household covenant.
• Family (Kitchen Table) — At a household wedding or adoption, read Ruth 1:16 aloud.
• Sing (Choir Room) — Sing 'Blest Be the Tie That Binds' (John Fawcett, 1782).
• Learn (Workshop) — Study the kinsman-redeemer laws (Leviticus 25) alongside Ruth 3-4.

Further reading

The Book of Ruth in the KJV.

Matthew 1:5 — Ruth in the genealogy of Christ.

Elsewhere in the Atlas

• Bethlehem
• David
• Christ Jesus
• Mary, mother of Christ
• Return to the atrium — the Atlas's main room.