Ruth
"Whither thou goest, I will go" — the outsider who chose loyalty.
Old Testament · c. 1100 BC · Ruth, Matthew · Also known as Ruth the Moabitess
About Ruth
Ruth was a Moabite woman who married into an Israelite family. When her husband died, she refused to leave her widowed mother-in-law, Naomi, and went with her to Bethlehem. Gleaning barley in the fields of Boaz, she found kindness, then a husband, and became the great-grandmother of King David — and part of the family line of Jesus.
Moab was a neighbouring nation often at odds with Israel. That makes Ruth’s place in Israel’s royal line remarkable. Israel’s law commanded farmers to leave the edges of their fields for "the poor and stranger" — the practice that let Ruth glean.
The story
Three widows
Naomi’s family moved to Moab in a famine. Her two sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. Then Naomi’s husband died, and both sons. Three widows stood on a road with nothing.
Ruth 1:1-5
Whither thou goest
Naomi urged them to go home. Orpah kissed her and left. Ruth clung to her: "Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God."
Ruth 1:6-18
Gleaning in Boaz’s field
Ruth gleaned leftover barley behind the harvesters, and "her hap was to light on" a field belonging to Boaz, a relative of Naomi’s husband. Boaz blessed her: "a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust."
Ruth 2:1-12
At the threshing floor
Following Naomi’s plan, Ruth went to Boaz at night and asked him to "spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman" — a request to redeem the family. Boaz honoured her and did it publicly.
Ruth 3:1-4:10
Great-grandmother of a king
Ruth and Boaz had a son, Obed. "He is the father of Jesse, the father of David." Matthew names Ruth in the genealogy of Jesus — a Moabite outsider at the heart of the story.
Ruth 4:13-22; Matthew 1:5
Key moments
- Widowed in Moab: Three women, no husbands. (Ruth 1:5)
- Chooses Naomi: "Thy God my God." (Ruth 1:16-17)
- Gleans in Boaz’s field: Kindness from a stranger. (Ruth 2:12)
- Redeemed by Boaz: A near kinsman steps up. (Ruth 3:9)
- Obed is born: Grandfather of David. (Ruth 4:17)
Questions about Ruth
In meetBible these answers are given in Ruth’s voice. They are written by hand and checked against Scripture.
Why didn’t you go home to Moab?
My words are recorded: "Intreat me not to leave thee… whither thou goest, I will go… thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: where thou diest, will I die." Scripture records the commitment, not a list of reasons — but notice it includes Naomi’s God, not only Naomi.
Who was Boaz?
Boaz was "a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech" — Naomi’s late husband. That made him a near kinsman, someone who could "redeem" the family: buy back its land and carry on its name. He showed me kindness in the field long before that, and then acted honourably and publicly.
What is gleaning?
God’s law told Israel’s farmers not to harvest every last bit: "thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger." Gleaners like me followed the reapers and gathered what was left. As a poor foreign widow, I was exactly who that law was for.
Connected people
- Naomi: Mother-in-law
- Boaz: Husband & redeemer
- David: Great-grandson
- Jesus: Descendant
- Orpah: Sister-in-law
Read it yourself
Start with Ruth 1–2.