Where it fits

Ruth is the eighth book of the Bible, with four chapters. It is set “in the days when the judges judged” (1:1), the same dark period as the book before it, but its tone could hardly be more different. The author is unknown, and the book was probably written down later. In the Hebrew Bible it is placed among the Writings and read each year at the Feast of Weeks. Read straight through, it takes about 12 minutes.

The big story

A famine drives Elimelech and Naomi from Bethlehem to Moab with their two sons. Moab was an old rival of Israel and, under the law, off-limits to some of its people (Deuteronomy 23:3). The sons marry Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. Then all three men die. Naomi decides to return home and tells her daughters-in-law to stay in Moab. Orpah goes back, but Ruth stays and makes one of the best-known promises in the Bible: your people will be my people, and your God my God (1:16). Back in Bethlehem, Naomi is bitter and asks to be called Mara, which means “bitter” (1:20).

Ruth goes to glean in the fields, picking up leftover grain the law set aside for the poor (Leviticus 19:9–10), and “happens” to end up in the field of Boaz, a relative of Naomi's late husband (2:3). Boaz treats her kindly and protects her. Naomi sees a way for the family to be restored. Under Israelite custom, a close relative could redeem a family's land and carry on a family name (Leviticus 25:25; Deuteronomy 25:5–10). Following Naomi's plan, Ruth approaches Boaz at the threshing floor at night (3). Boaz agrees, but there is a closer relative, who declines at the town gate (4:1–6). Boaz marries Ruth, and they have a son, Obed, who becomes the grandfather of David (4:13–22).

Three ideas to hold on to

1. Loyal love changes lives. The key Hebrew word, hesed, means faithful, committed kindness. Ruth shows it to Naomi, Boaz shows it to Ruth, and God shows it to them all (1:8; 2:20; 3:10).
2. God works in ordinary events. God never speaks in Ruth, and there are no miracles. Yet Ruth “happens” on the right field (2:3), and a famine, a death, and a harvest all fit into his purposes.
3. Outsiders belong to God's people. A Moabite woman is welcomed and becomes the great-grandmother of David (4:17).

Passages people ask about

• Ruth 1:8–18. Ruth's choice to stay, and her promise to Naomi.
• Ruth 2:1–16. Boaz's generosity to a foreign gleaner, and his blessing that she would be rewarded by the God under whose wings she had come to take refuge (2:12).
• Ruth 3:1–13. The night at the threshing floor. Readers differ about the scene's tone, but Boaz responds with honor and affirms her character (3:10–11).
• Ruth 4:1–12. Redemption at the town gate.
• Ruth 4:13–22. A birth, a blessing for Naomi, and a family line leading to David.

How it points to Jesus

Boaz is a redeemer, a relative who steps in to rescue a family from loss. Christians have long seen him as a picture of Jesus, who redeems us as a family member who takes on our need (Hebrews 2:11–15). Ruth also appears in Jesus' own family line, one of four unexpected women named in Matthew's genealogy (Matthew 1:5), and the story ends in Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. Ruth's inclusion points to the gospel's promise to people of every nation.

A common misunderstanding

Ruth is often called a love story, and it does end in a marriage. But the book's center is the friendship and loyalty between two women, and the way Boaz uses his strength to protect a vulnerable stranger. The women of Bethlehem say Ruth is better to Naomi than seven sons (4:15), high praise in a culture that prized sons. The love story is real, but it is one thread in a bigger story about faithfulness.