The Story of Ruth—Part 1

By Peter Amsterdam

The book of Ruth is one of the historical books in the Old Testament and one of the two books of the Bible that are named after a woman, the other being the book of Esther. In four chapters, the book of Ruth tells the story of how a Moabite woman came to be the great-grandmother of King David, the greatest king of Israel.

The story starts by telling us:

In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there (Ruth 1:1–2).

During the time of the Judges (1200 BC to 1020 BC) Elimelech and Naomi, an Israelite family from Bethlehem, moved to the nearby country of Moab to temporarily ride out the famine in Moab and return home when it was finished. Some time after immigrating to Moab, Elimelech died. Naomi and her sons remained in Moab, and the two sons married Moabite women. Around ten years later, the sons died, leaving the two Moabite wives, Orpah and Ruth, as widows, and Noami was left without her sons and husband (Ruth 1:3–5).

Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah (Ruth 1:6–7).

Upon hearing that the famine in the land had subsided, Naomi decided to return to the land of Judah. On the way, Naomi, possibly reflecting on her experience of moving to a foreign country which resulted in her being in an alien land with virtually nothing, thought about her two daughters-in-law who would be entering a land that was foreign to them, just as she had done so long ago.

So Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me” (Ruth 1:8). Naomi sacrificially instructed the two daughters-in-law to return to their mothers’ homes in Moab, as it would be more likely that they would find new husbands among their own people. That was Naomi’s first blessing on the women.

Her second blessing was “The LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” (Ruth 1:9). Naomi was releasing them from any responsibility they had to her as their mother-in-law. After pronouncing this blessing, Naomi kissed them, and they collectively wept together.

They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me” (Ruth 1:10–13).

The daughters-in-law loyally stated that they would remain with their mother-in-law and committed to moving to Bethlehem, where they would be foreigners. Naomi, however, looked at things pragmatically. She was past childbearing age, and even if she weren’t, if she bore new sons, would the women wait until her sons were grown and then marry them?

Orpah decided to return to Moab to remarry (Ruth 1:14–15), while Ruth chose to stay with Naomi. Naomi tried to convince Ruth to return to Moab as well.

But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and 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 will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you” (Ruth 1:16–17).

Ruth committed to giving up her culture, language, family, and the possibility of a future family to stay with Naomi. From this point forward, she would be joined to Naomi’s people permanently. “When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more” (Ruth 1:18).

Upon hearing Ruth’s commitment, Naomi agreed that she could accompany her to Bethlehem. The story goes on to recount their journey to Bethlehem:

And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” (Ruth 1:19–22).

We don’t know how long their journey took nor how far it was, but it was probably a trip of 45 to 90 miles (72 to 144 kilometers), depending on the route they took. All we know is that they made the journey, and their arrival was the talk of the town. It had been ten years since Naomi and her husband had left Bethlehem, and now she had returned as a widow with a Moabite daughter-in-law. Naomi’s outlook upon her return to Bethlehem was despair. In her view, the Almighty had dealt bitterly with her, and she questioned why God had brought all this calamity upon her.

But the story doesn’t end there.

Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter” (Ruth 2:1–2).

The two women arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest, which would have been in late March or early April. The book of Leviticus commanded that when crops were harvested, some of the produce was to be left for the poor (Leviticus 19:9–10). Ruth suggested that she could go into the fields in Bethlehem to glean the grain in the field of someone who would allow her to do so. “So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech” (Ruth 2:3).

Boaz was a prominent man in Bethlehem and was from the same clan as Elimelech, described as a worthy man (Ruth 2:1). Boaz knew his workers and apparently those who gleaned the fields as well, and he noticed Ruth and recognized her as new.

Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers’” (Ruth 2:4–7).

Having gotten a good report from the foreman, Boaz spoke to Ruth directly.

Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn” (Ruth 2:8–9).

Referring to her as my daughter might have been a reference to how much younger she was than him. It could also reflect that she was now under his protection and was to work alongside his women workers.

Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” (Ruth 2:10–12).

Ruth, astounded by Boaz’s kind words, asked why he was showing her, a Moabite, such kindness. Boaz explained that he knew what she had given up and prayed that God would repay her for the sacrifices she had made. Ruth was deeply touched by what Boaz had said and how he had treated her, especially since she was a foreigner. “Then she said, ‘I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants’” (Ruth 2:13).

When it was time for the workers to eat, Boaz invited Ruth to sit with him and offered her bread, which was then dipped in wine vinegar, likely a sauce of some kind to soften the hard bread. “So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over” (Ruth 2:14). Ruth had some leftovers, which she took home to Naomi.

When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her” (Ruth 2:15–16).

Once Ruth went back to gleaning, Boaz told his harvesters to actively help her. They were also told not to insult, shame, or humiliate her. Ruth worked nonstop until it was evening. The day’s work yielded an ephah of barley, which was the equivalent of six gallons. This amount would last the two women for several weeks (Ruth 2:17–18).

And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers” (Ruth 2:19–20).

Naomi wanted to hear all the details about Ruth’s successful day working. After Ruth gave her the details and told her about Boaz, Naomi responded by praising the Lord for His kindness. Even though she had felt as if the Lord had stopped caring for her, she now realized that God’s kindness toward her and Ruth was being shown through the kindness of Boaz.

Boaz was one of their guardian-redeemers, a close family member who was responsible to buy back family land which might be or had been sold to ensure that it did not pass out of the family. (See Leviticus 25:25; Deuteronomy 25:5–10.) Over time it came to be understood that the redeemers ought to also take responsibility for caring for needy relatives.

Naomi went on to speak to Ruth about the benefits of continuing on with Boaz’s workers, where she would be safe, as she’d be working with his young women: “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted” (Ruth 2:21–23). So Ruth continued working until the barley and wheat harvests came to an end, which was about a three-month period.

Originally published October 2022. Adapted and republished February 2026. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.

Posted in: audio, bible, peter amsterdam

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