Ruth

Technical Profile

• Name Meaning: Uncertain; often linked with “friend/companion,” highlighting relational loyalty
• Period/Era: Divided Kingdom (narrative set in the time of the judges)
• Main References: Ruth 1–4
• Key Connections: Naomi (mother-in-law); Boaz (kinsman-redeemer husband); Obed (son); David (descendant)

Who was Ruth?

Ruth was a Moabite woman who became the wife of an Israelite, Mahlon, and was widowed in Moab.
She chose to accompany Naomi back to Bethlehem and attached herself to Naomi’s people and God.
Living among Israelites, she sought protection and provision through customary family redemption.
She became the great-grandmother of David through her marriage to Boaz.

Key Events & Achievements

• Return to Bethlehem: She left Moab with Naomi and committed herself to Israel’s people and God.
• Provision through gleaning: She gleaned in Boaz’s fields, receiving favor and protection under Israelite practice.
• Marriage and lineage: Boaz redeemed and married her, and their son Obed continued the line leading to David.

Life Lesson & Legacy

Ruth’s account portrays steadfast loyalty and lawful integration of a foreigner into Israel’s community through kinship and covenantal belonging.

Key Verse

"But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”" — Ruth 1:16, NIV