Ruth

Ruth (Hebrew: רוּת) was a Moabite woman who lived around 1100 BC. She is an ancestral figure of King David, one of Israel’s greatest heroes.

Ruth was originally the daughter-in-law of Naomi, a Jewish woman. Naomi and her husband, Elimelech, were from Bethlehem in the tribe of Judah. During a famine in Israel, they took their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, to live as foreigners in the land of Moab. Their two sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. Later, the family suffered tragedy: first the father died, then the two sons also died. This left only three childless widows, resulting in Elimelech having no heir.

Naomi heard that the Lord had again blessed His people by providing food, so she decided to return to her homeland in Judah. Her daughters-in-law wanted to go with her to the land of Judah. Naomi urged them to return to their mothers’ homes in Moab and prayed that the Lord would show them kindness, so they might find new husbands among their own people. As a result, Orpah “returned to her people and her gods,” but Ruth, with sincerity and determination, committed herself to the worship of the Lord, firmly resolved to follow Naomi.

After returning to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law, Ruth fell in love with Boaz while gleaning in his field alongside his female servants. Boaz later took Ruth as his wife in his capacity as a kinsman-redeemer, and their son, Obed, became the grandfather of the famous King David.