Bible Character Explorer
Period of the Judges • c. 1100 BC
Ruth
The Loyal MoabiteThe Moabite widow whose loyalty and faith placed her in the lineage of David and Jesus
"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 1:16 (KJV)
Overview
Ruth was a Moabite woman who married into an Israelite family that had moved to Moab during a famine. After her husband and father-in-law died, she chose to return to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law Naomi rather than remain among her own people. Her story, told in the short book that bears her name, is one of loyalty, providence, and redemption, culminating in her marriage to Boaz and her place in the genealogy of David and ultimately Jesus Christ.
Gospel Connection
Ruth's story pictures the gospel in miniature: a foreigner with no claim on Israel's covenant is brought in through grace, loyalty, and the willing redemption of a kinsman-redeemer. Boaz's redemption of Ruth required a relative who was both willing and able, exactly the qualification Jesus Christ meets for humanity: he became our kinsman by taking on flesh, and he was willing and able to pay the price no one else could pay. Ruth's inclusion in the messianic genealogy in Matthew 1 is a quiet but deliberate signal that the gospel was always intended to reach beyond Israel to the nations.
Discover More
See how this life points to Christ in the Gospel Connection section above.