One of the profiles in People of the Bible, with every point tied to a chapter and verse you can check.
What Ruth is known for
- Her promise to stay with Naomi wherever she went
- Gleaning grain in the fields of Boaz to support Naomi
- Marrying Boaz, her late husband's relative, who acted as redeemer
- Being the great-grandmother of King David
- Being named in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew's Gospel
Ruth’s life in order
Famine and loss
Ruth 1:1–5
During a famine, Elimelech, his wife Naomi and their two sons leave Bethlehem for the land of Moab. The sons marry Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth, but within about ten years Elimelech and both sons die, leaving three widows.
Ruth's choice
Ruth 1:6–18
When Naomi decides to return home, she urges both daughters-in-law to stay in Moab and remarry. Orpah tearfully goes back, but Ruth refuses to leave, binding herself to Naomi, her people and her God.
Return to Bethlehem
Ruth 1:19–22
The two women arrive in Bethlehem at the start of the barley harvest. Naomi tells the townspeople that she has come back empty, and asks to be called Mara, a name linked to bitterness.
Gleaning in Boaz's field
Ruth 2:1–23
Ruth goes out to gather leftover grain, a provision the law allowed for the poor and foreigners, and happens to work in the field of Boaz, a relative of Elimelech. Boaz has heard of her loyalty to Naomi, protects her and makes sure she gathers plenty.
At the threshing floor
Ruth 3:1–18
Naomi sends Ruth to Boaz at night on the threshing floor to ask him to act as a family redeemer. Boaz praises her character and agrees, but explains that a closer relative has the first right.
Boaz redeems
Ruth 4:1–12
At the town gate, before the elders, the closer relative declines to redeem Elimelech's land if it means marrying Ruth. Boaz takes on both responsibilities, and the witnesses bless the marriage.
The birth of Obed
Ruth 4:13–22
Ruth and Boaz have a son, Obed, and the women of Bethlehem rejoice with Naomi. The book closes with a short genealogy showing that Obed became the grandfather of David.
Remembered in Jesus's family line
Matthew 1:5
Centuries later, Matthew's Gospel names Ruth in the genealogy of Jesus. She is one of only a few women listed there, alongside Tamar, Rahab, the wife of Uriah and Mary.
What does the name Ruth mean?
The meaning of the name Ruth is uncertain. Some connect it with a Hebrew word for friend or companion, but scholars do not agree on its origin.
Key verses
“But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.””
“May the LORD repay your work, and may you receive a rich reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have taken refuge.””
“The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse, the father of David.”
“Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,”
Verse text: Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain.
What Ruth’s story shows
Loyalty that costs something
Ruth could have gone home to her own family. Choosing to stay with Naomi meant poverty, hard work and life as a foreigner, which is why her commitment has been admired for so long.
Kindness answered by kindness
Boaz noticed how Ruth had cared for Naomi and responded with generosity of his own. The book shows ordinary decency passing from one person to the next.
Outsiders welcomed in
Ruth was a Moabite, from a people often in conflict with Israel, yet she became part of David's family. Many readers see the book as a quiet reminder that belonging is not limited by birth.
Hope after grief
The story begins with three funerals and ends with a newborn in Naomi's arms. It does not rush past loss, but it shows a way forward through it.
What is a kinsman-redeemer?
In ancient Israel, a close relative could act as a redeemer, buying back family land or supporting a relative in need so that the family line and property were not lost. Boaz takes on this role in Ruth 3 and 4.
The book also draws on the custom of a relative marrying a widow to continue her late husband's name. Scholars discuss how these practices related to the laws in Leviticus 25 and Deuteronomy 25.
Ruth in Jewish and Christian tradition
In Jewish practice the book of Ruth is traditionally read at Shavuot, the festival linked to the wheat harvest. In the Hebrew Bible it sits among the Writings, while Christian Bibles place it after Judges because of its setting.
Christian readers often highlight Ruth's place in the genealogy of Jesus and see Boaz as a picture of redemption. Both traditions value her as a model of faithfulness.