Ruth
A Moabite woman who stayed with her widowed mother-in-law Naomi, came with her to Bethlehem and married Boaz. She was the great-grandmother of David, and Matthew names her in the genealogy of Jesus.
Ruth was a Moabite, married to one of the sons of Naomi while the family lived in Moab. When her husband died she refused to leave Naomi: “Your people will be my people, and your God my God” (Ruth 1:4, 14–17). At Bethlehem she supported them both by gleaning. Boaz, a relative of her husband’s family, redeemed the family’s land and married her (Ruth 2:2–3) (Ruth 4:9–13). The elders at the gate wished that she might be like Rachel and Leah, “which both built the house of Israel” (Ruth 4:11).
Her son Obed was the grandfather of David (Ruth 4:17). Matthew includes her by name in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5). Her story is told in Ruth and Boaz.
In the timeline
- about 1100 BC, traditional dateRuth and Boaz
A Moabite widow follows her mother-in-law Naomi to Bethlehem, gleans in the fields of Boaz and marries him. Their son Obed is the grandfather of David, and Matthew names Ruth in the genealogy of Jesus.