Book of Ruth

The Book of Ruth is part of the Writings, the third and final division of the Hebrew Bible, and is one of the Five Megillot. In standard printed Hebrew Bibles, it is placed between the Song of Songs and Lamentations. The text was likely composed in Biblical Hebrew during the Persian period. The narrative is set in the time of the biblical judges and follows a family from Bethlehem—Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their sons Mahlon and Chilion—who emigrate to Moab. After Elimelech dies, the sons marry Moabite women: Mahlon weds Ruth and Chilion weds Orpah. When both sons also die about ten years later, Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem. She urges her daughters-in-law to stay in Moab; Orpah reluctantly leaves, but Ruth refuses, pledging unwavering loyalty with a famous declaration that her people and God will become Naomi’s. The two arrive in Bethlehem at the start of the barley harvest. To support them, Ruth gleans in fields that happen to belong to Boaz, a wealthy relative of Naomi’s husband. Boaz treats her kindly, having heard of her devotion to Naomi. Following Naomi’s plan, Ruth approaches Boaz at the threshing floor at night, asking him to act as a redeeming kinsman. Boaz agrees but notes a closer relative has first claim. At the city gate, Boaz presents the matter to this unnamed relative, who relinquishes his right. Boaz then marries Ruth, and they have a son, Obed, who becomes the grandfather of King David. The book concludes with a genealogical appendix tracing David’s lineage back to Judah. In Judaism, Ruth is seen as a paradigmatic convert, and rabbinic sources derive several laws of conversion from her statements. The book is traditionally chanted during the pilgrimage festival of Shavuot. Scholars debate whether it is historical fiction or a historical short story; its anonymous authorship is traditionally ascribed to Samuel, but its inclusive attitude toward foreigners suggests a fifth-century BCE origin, when intermarriage was controversial.