Who is ruth

Moab, to the east of Jerusalem across the Jordan River. Ruth is one of the most famous women of the Bible — which is strange when you realize she was not an Israelite at all, but a Moabite woman, a foreigner, an outsider.

Left alone when her husband died, she had one great asset: a shrewd old Jewish mother-in-law who loved her, and whom she loved. They stuck together through thick and thin — mostly thin at first, but things got better when Ruth met Boaz, a rich man who seemed to have fallen in love with her at first sight. Boy meets girl, boy loves girl. The question was, how to get him to propose…. She was an outsider. But she married an Israelite and joined his family while they were living in Moab.

When this happened, her mother-in-law Naomi decided she had no alternative but to return to her homeland, and to the village her family came from — Bethlehem. Map 5 at Bible Maps shows how far Moab is from Bethlehem- a long journey for an older woman. Fond as she was of her two daughters-in-law, Naomi prepared to say good-bye to both of them. But one of them, Ruth, showed unexpected loyalty and insisted on staying with her. Where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God my God.

Where you die, I will die and there I will be buried. Ruth and Naomi by painter Sandy Freckleton Gagon. The two women returned to Bethlehem together. Naomi knew the people there, what they were like, who might help them. Read Bible Text Chapter 1. People Home Ruth. Add this:. Did you know…? Ruth is one of just two women along with Esther in the Hebrew Bible who have books named after them. She is one of four if we include the books of Susanna and Judith.

Ruth was an ancestor of both King David and Jesus. Ask a Scholar. Immigrants and Foreigners in the Bible The Hebrew Bible contains a variety of views about foreigners and their relationship to Israel and to God, reflecting the fact that Israel was in nearly constant contact with foreign peoples.

Levirate Marriage Levirate marriage is a response to the dilemma posed by the death of a childless man and the plight of his widow. Ruth as a Fairy Tale The book of Ruth can be read as a fairy tale: Ruth the hero goes on a quest, is tested, and is ultimately rewarded for her love and devotion.

Sexual Harassment in the Book of Ruth Though sexual harassment in the workplace sounds like a contemporary phenomenon, the book of Ruth describes a dramatic example of it. HarperCollins Dictionary Bethlehem. Judah, Kingdom of. Moab, Moabites. Related Passages Ruth Matt Ruth Elimelech's Family Goes to Moab 1In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the Ruth The Marriage of Boaz and Ruth 1No sooner had Boaz gone up to the gate and sat down there than the next-of-kin, of whom Boaz had spoken, came passing by.

Deut Levirate Marriage 5When brothers reside together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a str Browse by subject - click on a letter below. Ruth was awed by his kindness, asking what she could have done to earn his favor. He replied:. May the Lord reward what you have done!

May you receive a full reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge. When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law that night, she told her where she had worked in the fields that day. Naomi responded with joy, saying of Boaz:. This man is a near relative of ours, one of our redeemers. Then Naomi instructed Ruth to go see Boaz on the threshing floor that night.

So Ruth did as Naomi bade her to, and went down to the threshing floor and uncovered his feet where he lay. Boaz awoke at midnight to see Ruth laying at his feet and was startled:. Spread the wing of your cloak over your servant, for you are a redeemer. You have been even more loyal now than before in not going after the young men, whether poor or rich.

Now rest assured, my daughter, I will do for you whatever you say; all my townspeople know you to be a worthy woman. Now, I am in fact a redeemer, but there is another redeemer closer than I.