Ruth, book of

An Old Testament book that tells the story of a romance between a foreign widow and the relative of her mother-in-law, Naomi, in the time of the judges. The story took place sometime between 1300 and 1010 BC.

Naomi and her husband, Elimelech, and their two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, went to live in Moab during a famine in Israel. After the famine was over, Naomi’s husband died, and she wanted to return home. Ruth, a Moabite woman, was married to Mahlon, who also died. Ruth pledged her loyalty to Naomi and returned to Bethlehem with Naomi. To get food, Ruth gleaned grain in the fields of Boaz, a relative of Naomi. Boaz saw the young widow working hard in the field and began asking questions about her. Eventually Boaz and Ruth were married and had a son, Obed. Ruth was the great-grandmother of King David and is one of the ancestors of Jesus.