The BibleGospel Companion

Ruth

רוּת · rut · H7327Ῥούθ · Rhouth · G4503“drunk; satisfied” Hitchcock's 186913 mentions in 2 books, most in Ruth (12)

Who she was

Ruth was a Moabite woman who married Mahlon, the son of Elimelech and Naomi, who had moved to Moab from Bethlehem due to a famine (Ruth 1:1–4). After the deaths of Elimelech, Mahlon, and Chilion (Naomi's other son), Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem (Ruth 1:6–7). Ruth, despite Naomi's urging to return to her own people, insisted on staying with her mother-in-law, demonstrating remarkable loyalty and faith in the God of Israel (Ruth 1:14–18). In Bethlehem, Ruth worked in the fields, gleaning grain to support herself and Naomi (Ruth 2:2–3). She caught the attention of Boaz, a wealthy relative of Elimelech (Ruth 2:8–16). Following Naomi's advice, Ruth approached Boaz at the threshing floor, asking him to fulfill the role of a kinsman-redeemer (Ruth 3:1–9). Boaz, impressed by Ruth's character and loyalty, agreed to marry her after a closer relative declined to do so (Ruth 4:1–12). Ruth and Boaz had a son named Obed, who became the grandfather of King David (Ruth 4:13–17). As an ancestor of David, Ruth is also mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5). Her story exemplifies God's grace, providential care, and the inclusion of Gentiles in His plan of redemption.

Article: STEPBible, Tyndale House Cambridge · CC BY 4.0

Family

SpouseMahlon, BoazChildrenObed
Family relations: STEPBible, Tyndale House Cambridge · CC BY 4.0

Every mention

13 references, counted from STEPBible, Tyndale House Cambridge · CC BY 4.0 · verse text: World English Bible (public domain)
RuthChapter 1: 4 mentionsChapter 2: 4 mentionsChapter 3: 1 mentionChapter 4: 3 mentions12 mentions
Ruth 1:4They took for themselves wives of the women of Moab. The name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other was Ruth. They lived there about ten years.Ruth 1:14They lifted up their voices and wept again; then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth stayed with her.Ruth 1:16Ruth said, “Don’t urge me to leave you, and to return from following you, for where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God.Ruth 1:22So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.Ruth 2:2Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Let me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I find favor.” She said to her, “Go, my daughter.”Ruth 2:8Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go to glean in another field, and don’t go from here, but stay here close to my maidens.Ruth 2:21Ruth the Moabitess said, “Yes, he said to me, ‘You shall stay close to my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’”Ruth 2:22Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maidens, and that they not harm you in any other field.”Ruth 3:9He said, “Who are you?” She answered, “I am Ruth your servant. Therefore spread the corner of your garment over your servant; for you are a near kinsman.”Ruth 4:5Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must buy it also from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead on his…Ruth 4:10Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, I have purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from…Ruth 4:13So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and he went in to her, and Yahweh enabled her to conceive, and she bore a son.
MatthewChapter 1: 1 mention1 mention
Matthew 1:5Salmon became the father of Boaz by Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed by Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse.

What the dictionary says

A friend, a Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, whose father, Elimelech, had settled in the land of Moab.

Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
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Sources