Bible Dictionary
Ruth The Book of
The Book of Ruth recounts Naomi and Ruth’s return from Moab, Ruth’s marriage to Boaz, and the birth of Obed, who became an ancestor of David. It highlights faithfulness, kindness, providence, and redemption within ordinary family life.
Definition
The Book of Ruth recounts Naomi’s return from Moab with Ruth, Ruth’s marriage to Boaz, and the birth of Obed, from whom David descended. It is a brief narrative rich in examples of faith, patience, industry, kindness, and God’s care for those who trust him.
Biblical Usage
The book preserves the history of Ruth and Boaz and explains the family line leading to David. Its narrative displays the care of God through ordinary family events and records the place of a Moabite woman in the ancestry of Israel’s king.
Historical Background
The story concerns a period perhaps 126 years before David’s birth. It was formerly connected with Judges and now stands as a separate book in the Hebrew Bible. Jewish tradition attributed its authorship to Samuel.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Was originally a part of the Book of Judges, but it now forms one of the twenty-four separate books of the Hebrew Bible. The history it contains refers to a period perhaps about one hundred and twenty-six years before the birth of David. It gives (1) an account of Naomi’s going to Moab with her husband, Elimelech, and of her subsequent return to Bethlehem with her daughter-in-law; (2) the marriage of Boaz and Ruth; and (3) the birth of Obed, of whom David sprang. The author of this book was probably Samuel, according to Jewish tradition. “Brief as this book is, and simple as is its story, it is remarkably rich in examples of faith, patience, industry, and kindness, nor less so in indications of the care which God takes of those who put their trust in him.”