RutKapitel 1

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In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to live for a time in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.

The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They came to the country of Moab and settled there.

Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons.

The sons married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years,

and then both Mahlon and Chilion died as well, so the woman was left without her two children and without her husband.

Then she set out with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard there that the LORD had come to the aid of his people and given them food.

So she left the place where she had been living, and her two daughters-in-law with her, and they set out on the road back to the land of Judah.

But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's house. May the LORD show you kindness, as you have shown to the dead and to me.

May the LORD grant that each of you find rest in the home of a husband." Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud.

They said to her, "No, we will go back with you to your people."

But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Can I still bear sons who could become your husbands?

Turn back, my daughters. Go. I am too old to have a husband. And even if I thought there was hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and bore sons—

would you wait for them until they grew up? Would you keep yourselves from marrying for their sake? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, for the LORD's hand has gone out against me."

At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.

"Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her."

But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or to turn back from following you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God.

Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me ever so severely if anything but death separates you and me."

When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.

So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred, and the women said, "Can this be Naomi?"

"Do not call me Naomi," she told them. "Call me Mara,* because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. *Footnote: Naomi means "pleasant"; Mara means "bitter."

I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me;* the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me." *Footnote: Or "the LORD has testified against me."

So Naomi returned, and with her was Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.

Uppslag

Sammanfattning3

Kapitel 1

Main Theme: Ruth’s faithful choice to follow her mother-in-law Naomi and Naomi’s God, despite loss and uncertainty.

Content: Due to a famine during the time of the judges, Elimelek, Naomi, and their two sons leave Bethlehem and settle in Moab. There Elimelek dies, and the sons marry Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. But after ten years, the sons also die. When Naomi hears that the Lord has given His people bread again, she decides to return home. While Orpah stays in Moab, Ruth makes her famous pledge: "Your people shall be my people, and your God my God." They arrive in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest, and Naomi asks to be called Mara because the Lord has made her life bitter.

Key Words/Images:

Famine/Bread: The famine drives the family from the "House of Bread" (Bethlehem), but the Lord’s care brings them back.
To Return (שׁוּב): A key word that is repeated—both a physical journey home and a spiritual turning back to the Lord’s people.
Hesed (Faithful Love): Naomi blesses her daughters-in-law, asking that the Lord show them hesed as they showed kindness to the dead and to her.
Mara (Bitterness): Naomi’s new name expresses her pain and sense of God’s judgment.
Ruth’s Covenant Pledge: Ruth’s words mark a radical choice of belonging to Israel’s God and people.

Om Rut

Ruth

About the book: The Book of Ruth is one of the historical books in the Old Testament and tells the beautiful story of the Moabite woman Ruth, her loyalty to her mother-in-law Naomi, and how she became part of God's people. The book takes place during the time of the judges and culminates with Ruth becoming the great-great-grandmother of King David.

Main theme: God’s faithful care (hesed) is shown through human loyalty and the role of the kinsman-redeemer, where a foreign woman is incorporated into God's people and into David’s lineage.

Summary of Contents

Naomi’s Tragedy and Return (Chapter 1)
Ruth Gleans Grain in Boaz’s Field (Chapter 2)
Ruth at the Threshing Floor and Boaz’s Promise (Chapter 3)
Boaz Redeems Ruth and the Birth of Obed (Chapter 4)

Key Themes

Hesed (faithful love): Both Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi and Boaz’s kindness toward Ruth demonstrate hesed—the faithful, covenantal love.
The Kinsman-Redeemer (go'el): Boaz acts as the redeemer who restores Elimelech’s family line and secures the inheritance, serving as a picture of God’s saving action.
God’s Providence: God guides events so that Ruth "by chance" comes to Boaz’s field, turning tragedy into blessing.
Inclusion of Foreigners: A Moabite woman is incorporated into God’s people and becomes an ancestor in the lineage of David and the Messiah.
From Emptiness to Fullness: Naomi’s bitterness and emptiness are transformed into joy through Ruth’s faithfulness and the birth of Obed.

Historisk kontext

Historical and Cultural Context for Ruth 1

Characters

Elimelech (אֱלִימֶלֶךְ, "My God is king") was a man from Bethlehem in Judah, described as an "Ephrathite" – a designation for inhabitants of the Ephratah area around Bethlehem (cf. Gen 35:19; Mic 5:2). Naomi (נָעֳמִי, "my pleasantness" or "the agreeable one") is his wife. Their sons Mahlon (מַחְלוֹן, possibly "sickness") and Chilion (כִלְיוֹן, possibly "weakness" or "wasting away") have names that can later be read symbolically in light of their early deaths.

Ruth (רוּת) is a Moabite woman. The etymology of her name is uncertain but may be related to רְעוּת ("friendship") or the verb רָוָה ("to satisfy" or "to water"). Orpah (עָרְפָּה) is the other Moabite daughter-in-law; her name may be connected with עֹרֶף ("nape of the neck"), which takes on symbolic meaning when she turns her back to Naomi.

Places

Bethlehem in Judah (בֵּית לֶחֶם יְהוּדָה) is located about 8 km south of Jerusalem in the Judean highlands. The name means "house of bread" – an ironic contrast to the famine that drives the family away. The addition "in Judah" distinguishes this place from Bethlehem in Zebulun (Josh 19:15).

The fields of Moab (שְׂדֵי מוֹאָב) refer to the high plateau east of the Dead Sea, in present-day Jordan. The journey from Bethlehem to Moab involved descending to the Dead Sea (about 400 m below sea level) and then ascending to the Moabite plateau (about 900 m above sea level) – a demanding route estimated at 50–80 km. Traditionally, Moab had an ambivalent relationship with Israel; the Moabites were related through Lot (Gen 19:37), yet also historical enemies.

Events and Customs

Famine as a driver of migration was a known phenomenon in ancient Israel, where agriculture depended on annual rainfall. The high plateau of Moab often received more stable precipitation and could have better harvests when Judah suffered from drought.

Marriage between Israelites and Moabites was controversial. Deut 23:3–6 forbids Moabites from entering the assembly of the Lord, yet this chapter presents these marriages without direct condemnation. Later Jewish tradition debated whether the prohibition applied only to men or also to women.

Naomi’s release of her daughters-in-law (vv. 8–9) reflects that widows without sons normally returned to their father’s house ("your mother’s house" is an unusual expression, possibly hinting at the female sphere in marriage arrangements). Naomi’s blessing and kiss mark a formal dissolution of family obligations.

Key Terms

Hesed (חֶסֶד, v. 8) is a central biblical term denoting faithful love, loyal kindness, or covenant loyalty. Naomi acknowledges that her daughters-in-law have shown hesed both toward their deceased husbands and toward herself. This concept becomes key to the entire book’s theology.

Yevamah (יְבִמְתֵּךְ, v. 15) is translated "your sister-in-law" and is related to levirate marriage (yibbum), where a brother’s widow was to be taken as wife by the surviving brother to raise offspring for the deceased (Deut 25:5–10). Naomi’s argument in vv. 11–13 plays on this custom – she has no more sons to offer.

Shaddai (שַׁדַּי, vv. 20–21), often translated "the Almighty," is an ancient divine name associated with the patriarchal narratives. Naomi’s use of this name in her lament underscores her experience of God’s sovereign yet painful intervention in her life.

Chapter-Specific Observations

The time reference "at the beginning of barley harvest" (בִּתְחִלַּת קְצִיר שְׂעֹרִים, v. 22) places the arrival in March–April, a period of renewed hope and food after winter. This creates a literary contrast to the famine that opened the chapter.

Naomi’s name change from נָעֳמִי ("pleasantness") to מָרָא ("bitter," v. 20) is a wordplay summarizing the chapter’s theme of loss and suffering. Her use of both יהוה and שַׁדַּי in her lament (vv. 20–21) emphasizes that she holds God responsible for her fate.

Ruth’s declaration (vv. 16–17) contains a poetic structure with four parallel statements culminating in an oath by the Lord’s name – remarkable for a Moabite woman.

Personer6

Orpah2 Ruth3 Naomi7 Chilion2 Mahlon2 Elimelech2

Alla personer →

Nyckelord9

Naomi — A woman from Bethlehem who was married to Elimelek and mother to Mahlon and Kiljon. After her husband and sons died, she became a widow and returned to Bethlehem with her daughter-in-law Ruth.
Ruth — A Moabite woman who was married to Naomi's son Mahlon. After his death, she followed Naomi back to Bethlehem and became part of her family. She later married Boaz and became an ancestor of King David.
Boaz — A wealthy man from Bethlehem who was a relative of Naomi's late husband, Elimelek. He showed kindness to Ruth and eventually married her, securing a future for both her and Naomi.
Elimelek — Naomi's deceased husband who moved his family to Moab because of famine in Bethlehem.
Kiljon — Naomi's younger son who was married to Orpa. He died in Moab along with his brother Mahlon and father Elimelek.
Mahlon — Naomi's older son who was married to Ruth. He also died in Moab, leaving Ruth a widow.
Orpa — Another Moabite woman, married to Naomi's son Kiljon. After his death she chose to remain in Moab, while Ruth followed Naomi back to Bethlehem.
Gleaning — A practice where landowners allowed the poor and widows to gather leftover grain and other crops after harvest. Ruth used this practice to provide food for herself and Naomi.
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