The Book of Ruth, Chapter by Chapter

We want to take you through the book of Ruth chapter by chapter. If you have not read our study on Judges we suggest you start there. Because Ruth happens “in the days when the judges ruled” (1:1). Judges ended with Israel at its worst. “Every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Ruth shows us that even in those days there were people who were faithful. We will tell you what each chapter is about and how it fits into the message of the book. And how it points us to the one God that is revealed in Jesus Christ.

Ruth is a short book. Only 4 chapters. There are no wars and no miracles. No one sees an angel. God does not speak out loud one time in the whole book. But God is working in every chapter. A famine. A death. A field. A night at the threshingfloor. A meeting at the city gate. And at the end a baby is born who will be the grandfather of King David.

There are three things we want you to take away from this study. Ruth is about the kindness of God. He takes care of his people even when they cannot see it. Ruth is about faith. A woman from Moab left her gods and came to trust in the God of Israel. And Ruth is about redemption. Boaz the kinsman redeemer points us to Jesus Christ. We will explain these points as we go through the book. But we want you to keep them in mind as we begin.

The book is named after Ruth the Moabitess. It is one of only two books in the Bible named after a woman. The other is Esther. We are not told who wrote it. The Jews believed Samuel wrote it.¹ The book ends with the name of David (4:17, 22). So it was written at least as late as the time of David. The Jews read the book of Ruth every year at the feast of weeks. Which is Pentecost.² Because the story happens during the harvest between Passover and Pentecost (1:22; 2:23). We will see why that matters.

The book is easy to break up. There are four chapters and each one is a scene.³ Chapter 1 is on the road from Moab to Bethlehem. Chapter 2 is in the field. Chapter 3 is at the threshingfloor. And chapter 4 is at the city gate. Notice how the book moves. It starts with death and emptiness. It ends with a wedding and a baby. Naomi says “I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty” (1:21). By the end the women tell her this baby will be “a restorer of thy life” (4:15). We will follow the chapters as they are. And then we will look at the family line at the end of chapter 4 by itself.

There are a few Hebrew words we need to know to understand this book. We will explain them as they come up. The most important are chesed (“kindness”) and goel (“kinsman” or “redeemer”). Just like in our other studies we will be using the KJV for our scripture quotations. And we will let you know where you can find the work of the scholars we reference.

Ruth 1:1–5: Famine in the House of Bread

“Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land” (v.1). A man from Bethlehemjudah took his wife and two sons to Moab. Notice the names.⁴ Bethlehem means house of bread. And there was no bread there. The man’s name was Elimelech. Which means my God is king. In a book that comes right after “there was no king in Israel” this family had a name that said God is king. But they left the land God gave them. And they went to Moab.

Moab was not a friendly place. The Moabites came from Lot (Genesis 19:37). They hired Balaam to curse Israel. And their women led Israel into idol worship at Baalpeor (Numbers 25:1–3). Their god was Chemosh (Numbers 21:29). Elimelech died there. His sons married Moabite women. Orpah and Ruth. They lived there about 10 years (v.4). Then the two sons died too. “And the woman was left of her two sons and her husband” (v.5). Naomi had nothing. No husband. No sons. No land. And she was in a foreign country.

Ruth 1:6–14: Naomi Sends Them Home

Then Naomi heard “that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread” (v.6). There was bread in the house of bread again. So she started back. Her two daughters in law went with her. But on the road Naomi told them to go back to their mothers. “The LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me” (v.8). The word for kindly is chesed. It is one of the most important words in the Old Testament.⁵ It means loyal love. Kindness that keeps going when it does not have to. It is the word God uses for himself in Exodus 34:6. “Abundant in goodness.” We will see this word three times in Ruth (1:8; 2:20; 3:10). And it is the heart of the whole book.

Naomi told them she had no more sons for them to marry. “It grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me” (v.13). Orpah kissed her and went back. “But Ruth clave unto her” (v.14). The word for clave is the same word in Genesis 2:24. A man shall “cleave unto his wife.” Ruth held on.

Ruth 1:15–18: Ruth’s Confession

Naomi told Ruth to go back like Orpah did. “Thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods” (v.15). Notice that. Going back to Moab meant going back to the gods of Moab. Then Ruth answered.

This is one of the greatest confessions of faith in the Bible. Ruth left her country and her family and her gods. “Thy God my God.” Not the gods of Moab. Not Chemosh. The God of Israel. Then she swore by his name. “The LORD do so to me.” She used the name YHWH. A woman from Moab called on the name of the LORD. Just like Rahab the Canaanite in Joshua 2. And just like Rahab she would end up in the family line of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5).

Some will say that Ruth should not have been allowed into Israel. Because Deuteronomy 23:3 says “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.” The Jewish teachers said this law was for Moabite men and not for women.⁶ But notice what made the difference with Ruth. She did not come as a Moabite. She came as one who chose the God of Israel. Boaz said she came to trust under the wings of the LORD (2:12). Paul tells us that in Christ “there is neither Jew nor Greek” (Galatians 3:28). Faith opens the door that birth closed.

Ruth 1:19–22: Call Me Mara

Naomi and Ruth came to Bethlehem. The whole city was moved and the women said “Is this Naomi?” (v.19). Naomi said “Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty” (vv.20–21). Naomi means pleasant. Mara means bitter. Notice that she did not say there was no God. She said God did this. The Almighty. The LORD. She still believed God was in control. She just could not see any good in it.

But notice how the chapter ends. “And they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest” (v.22). Naomi said she came home empty. But she was not empty. She had Ruth. And it was harvest time. God was already working.

Ruth 2:1–7: Her Hap Was to Light

“And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz” (v.1). The writer tells us about Boaz before Ruth even knows he exists. Ruth asked Naomi if she could go glean in the fields. The law of Moses said that when a man harvested his field he had to leave the corners and what fell on the ground for the poor and the stranger and the widow (Leviticus 19:9–10; Deuteronomy 24:19). Ruth was all three.

“And her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz” (v.3). In English hap means chance. It sounds like luck. But the writer is telling us with a smile. It was not luck. It was God. Out of all the fields in Bethlehem she happened to walk into the field of the one man who could redeem them. “And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem” (v.4). Right on time. He greeted his workers “The LORD be with you.” And they answered “The LORD bless thee” (v.4). Even in the days of the judges there was a man in Bethlehem who brought the LORD into his business.

Ruth 2:8–16: Under His Wings

Boaz told Ruth to stay in his field. He told the young men not to touch her. And he told her to drink from what the young men drew (vv.8–9). Ruth fell on her face. “Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?” (v.10). Boaz said he had heard everything she had done for Naomi. And he blessed her.

Notice the picture. Ruth had come to trust under the wings of the LORD. Like a bird that runs under its mother’s wings. Jesus used the same picture. “How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings” (Matthew 23:37). Keep this verse in mind. We will see the word wings again in chapter 3.

At mealtime Boaz let her eat with his reapers. He gave her parched corn and she ate until she was full and had some left over (v.14). Then he told his young men to let her glean among the sheaves. “And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her” (v.16). She was gleaning what was left over. But Boaz made sure there was more left over on purpose. That is grace. Ruth thought she was working for it. But Boaz was giving it to her.

Ruth 2:17–23: Our Next Kinsman

Ruth gleaned until evening and beat out about an ephah of barley (v.17). That was a lot for one day. Naomi asked where she worked. And when she heard the name Boaz everything changed. “Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead” (v.20). There is that word again. Chesed. Naomi said in chapter 1 that the LORD dealt bitterly with her. Now she says he has not stopped his kindness. Then she said “The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen” (v.20).

The word for kinsman is goel. It means a redeemer. A close relative who had the right and the duty to buy back what a family lost. If a man had to sell his land his near kinsman could buy it back (Leviticus 25:25). If he was sold as a slave his kinsman could redeem him (Leviticus 25:47–49). Naomi saw hope for the first time. Ruth kept gleaning with Boaz’s maidens until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest (v.23). That takes us right up to the feast of weeks.

Ruth 3:1–5: Naomi’s Plan

Now Naomi started looking out for Ruth. “My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?” (v.1). In chapter 1 Naomi prayed that her daughters in law would find rest in the house of a husband (1:9). Now she was going to do something about it. Boaz was winnowing barley at the threshingfloor that night. Naomi told Ruth to wash and put on her best clothes. Wait until Boaz ate and lay down. Then go uncover his feet and lie down. “And he will tell thee what thou shalt do” (v.4). Ruth said “All that thou sayest unto me I will do” (v.5).

Ruth 3:6–13: Spread Thy Skirt

Ruth did what Naomi said. At midnight Boaz woke up and found a woman at his feet. He asked who she was. And Ruth answered.

The word for skirt is kanaph. It is the same word as wings in 2:12.⁷ Boaz prayed that the LORD would reward Ruth because she came under his wings. Now Ruth asked Boaz to spread his wing over her. She was asking him to be the answer to his own prayer. It was a request for marriage. God uses the same words in Ezekiel 16:8 when he talks about taking Israel as his own. “I spread my skirt over thee … and thou becamest mine.”

Some have read this scene as something improper. But notice how Boaz answered.⁸ “Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich” (v.10). There is chesed again. Ruth was not chasing a young man for herself. She was asking the kinsman to redeem Naomi’s family. Then Boaz said “all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman” (v.11). The word for virtuous is chayil. It is the same word used for Boaz in 2:1. “A mighty man of wealth.” And it is the same word in Proverbs 31:10. “Who can find a virtuous woman?” In many Hebrew Bibles the book of Ruth comes right after Proverbs. Ruth is the virtuous woman.

But there was a problem. “There is a kinsman nearer than I” (v.12). Boaz would not go around the law. If the nearer kinsman would redeem then let him. If not Boaz would do it. “As the LORD liveth” (v.13).

Ruth 3:14–18: Six Measures of Barley

Ruth left before it was light so no one would talk. Boaz filled her veil with 6 measures of barley (v.15). She went home and told Naomi everything. Boaz said “Go not empty unto thy mother in law” (v.17). Remember Naomi said “the LORD hath brought me home again empty” (1:21). Now Boaz says do not go empty. God was filling her back up. Then Naomi said “Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day” (v.18). Ruth had done her part. Now she had to wait on her redeemer.

Ruth 4:1–6: The Nearer Kinsman

Boaz went to the city gate. That is where legal business was done. The nearer kinsman came by. Boaz called him “Ho, such a one” (v.1). In Hebrew it is like saying Mr. So and So. The writer does not even give us his name. Boaz got 10 elders as witnesses (v.2). He told the kinsman that Naomi was selling Elimelech’s land. Did he want to redeem it. The man said “I will redeem it” (v.4). More land sounded good.

Then Boaz told him the rest. “What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance” (v.5). The man who bought the land had to marry Ruth. And their first son would carry on the name of Elimelech’s family. This is like the law in Deuteronomy 25:5–6 that we saw in our Deuteronomy study.⁹ The land would not stay in his own family. It would go to Ruth’s son. Now he changed his mind. “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance” (v.6). He was willing to gain. He was not willing to give.

Ruth 4:7–12: The Shoe

In those days when someone gave up a right they took off a shoe and gave it to the other person (v.7).¹⁰ So the nearer kinsman took off his shoe. Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people “Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s … Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance” (vv.9–10). Boaz paid the price.

The people blessed them. “The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel” (v.11). And “let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah” (v.12). Notice that. Tamar was a Canaanite woman in Genesis 38. And through her came Pharez. Now a Moabite woman is coming into the same family.

Three Things a Kinsman Redeemer Had to Be

There are three things we want to point out about the kinsman redeemer. First he had to be kin. A stranger could not redeem (Leviticus 25:25). Second he had to be able. He had to have the price. Third he had to be willing. The nearer kinsman was kin and he was able. But he was not willing. Boaz was all three.

Now notice who the Bible calls our Redeemer. “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God” (Isaiah 44:6). The word redeemer there is goel. The same word as kinsman in Ruth. The LORD himself is the Redeemer. Not a second person sent by him. The LORD. “Beside me there is no God.” Isaiah 54:5 says “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel.”¹¹

But to be our kinsman redeemer God had to become kin. Hebrews tells us how. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same” (Hebrews 2:14). “Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren” (Hebrews 2:17). He became kin when God was manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). He was able. We were redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18–19). And he was willing. Jesus said “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself” (John 10:18). The one God became our near kinsman. And he paid the price to redeem us.

Ruth 4:13–17: A Son Born to Naomi

“So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife … the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son” (v.13). Ruth was married to Mahlon for about 10 years with no children. Now the LORD gave her a son. The women of Bethlehem said to Naomi “Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel” (v.14). The book that started with Naomi bitter ends with the women blessing the LORD.

“And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him” (v.15). In a culture where sons were everything they said Ruth was better than 7 sons. Naomi took the baby and nursed him. And the women said “There is a son born to Naomi” (v.17). The woman who said she came home empty now held a baby in her arms. They named him Obed. Which means servant. “He is the father of Jesse, the father of David” (v.17).

Ruth 4:18–22: From Pharez to David

The book ends with a family line. “Now these are the generations of Pharez” (v.18). Notice the phrase. These are the generations. That is the toledot we talked about all through our Genesis study. Ruth picks up the line of Judah right where Genesis 38 left it. Pharez. Hezron. Ram. Amminadab. Nahshon. Salmon. Boaz. Obed. Jesse. David. 10 names. The last word of the book is David.

Matthew picks up this same list in the family line of Jesus. “And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; And Jesse begat David the king” (Matthew 1:5–6). Rahab the Canaanite and Ruth the Moabitess are in the family line of Jesus Christ. Judges ended with “there was no king in Israel.” Ruth ends with the name of the king. God was preparing the answer while Israel was at its worst. And from David would come the King of kings.

We have gone through Ruth chapter by chapter. Here is what we can conclude. First Ruth is about the kindness of God. The word chesed runs all through the book. Naomi thought God was against her. But the whole time he was working. In a famine and a field and a city gate. Through people who did the right thing when no one was watching. God never spoke out loud in this book. But he never stopped working. “All things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28).

Second Ruth is about faith. Ruth left the gods of Moab and said “thy God my God” (1:16). She came to trust under the wings of the LORD (2:12). And God brought her into the family of David and the family line of Jesus Christ. The Jews read this book at the feast of weeks. And it was on the day of Pentecost that the Spirit was poured out and the gospel went out to every nation. “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call” (Acts 2:39). Ruth was one of the first of those who were afar off.

Third Ruth points us to our Redeemer. Boaz was kin and able and willing. The nearer kinsman was not. The law could not redeem us. Only someone who was kin to us and able to pay and willing to give himself. Isaiah tells us that the LORD himself is our Redeemer and “beside me there is no God” (Isaiah 44:6). And he became our kinsman when he came in the flesh as Jesus Christ. He spread his wing over us. And he paid the price.

Ruth starts with a famine in the house of bread. And it ends with a baby in the house of bread. Many years later another baby would be born in Bethlehem. From the line of Boaz and Ruth and David. The Bread of life (John 6:35). Our near kinsman and Redeemer. Ruth ends with the name of David. The next book tells us how Israel got its first king. And how God raised up David to take his place. That is where 1 Samuel begins.