Illustration created for this project.
Ruth — the Moabite
A Moabite widow whose loyalty to Naomi brought her to Bethlehem, where she married Boaz and became an ancestor of David and of Jesus.
What we know — and how we know it
Bible — stated in scripture (with verse) · 2
Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 1
Origin & birthplace
BibleA Moabite widow whose loyalty brought her to Bethlehem, where she married Boaz.
Ruth 1:16; 4:13
Family & lineage
BibleThrough her son Obed she became the great-grandmother of King David — and an ancestor of Jesus.
Ruth 4:17; Matthew 1:5
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Boaz
Death & legacy
ScholarlyThe kinsman-redeemer and levirate customs the book turns on are well attested in ancient Israelite and Near Eastern law.
Ancient Near Eastern legal custom
Where in scripture
RuthMatthew
Ruth 1:4Ruth 1:14Ruth 1:16Ruth 1:22Ruth 2:2Ruth 2:8Ruth 2:21Ruth 2:22Ruth 3:9Ruth 4:5Ruth 4:10Ruth 4:13Matthew 1:5
Family
In their own words — 9 recorded sayings
“But Ruth said, Give up requesting me to go away from you, or to go back without you: for where you go I will go; and where you take your rest I will take my rest; your people will be my people, and your God my God. Wherever death comes to you, death will come to me, and there will be my last resting-place; the Lord do so to me and more if we are parted by anything but death.” — Ruth 1:16-17
“And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Now let me go into the field and take up the heads of grain after him in whose eyes I may have grace. And she said to her, Go, my daughter.” — Ruth 2:2
“Then she went down on her face to the earth, and said to him, Why have I grace in your eyes, that you give attention to me, seeing I am from a strange people?” — Ruth 2:10
“Then she said, May I have grace in your eyes, my lord, for you have given me comfort, and you have said kind words to your servant, though I am not like one of your servants.” — Ruth 2:13
“And her mother-in-law said to her, Where did you take up the grain today, and where were you working? May a blessing be on him who gave such attention to you. And she gave her mother-in-law an account of where she had been working, and said, The name of the man with whom I was working today is Boaz.” — Ruth 2:19
“And Ruth the Moabitess said, Truly, he said to me, Keep near my young men till all my grain is cut.” — Ruth 2:21
“And she said, I will do all you say.” — Ruth 3:5
“And he said, Who are you? And she answering said, I am your servant Ruth: take your servant as wife, for you are a near relation.” — Ruth 3:9
…and 1 more recorded sayings.
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).
Journeys
Ruth: from Moab to Bethlehem
A famine sends a family east to Moab; loyalty brings a Moabite widow back to Bethlehem, into the line of David.
- Bethlehem — Elimelech's family leaves in famine
- Moab — Ruth marries into the family, then is widowed
- Bethlehem · harvest — Returns with Naomi; marries Boaz
Places in their life
Photo: Makeandtoss — CC0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
Photo: Neil Ward — CC BY 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
In art
