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Naomi Becomes a Widow
1In the dayswhen the judgesruled,there wasa faminein the land.And a certain manfromBethlehemin Judah,with his wifeand twosons,wentto residein the landof Moab.2The 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, and they entered the land of Moab and settled there.…

Treasury of Scripture

Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.

the judges

Judges 2:16
Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.

Judges 12:8
And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

ruled [heb] judged

Genesis 12:10
And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the faminewas grievous in the land.

Genesis 26:1
And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.

Genesis 43:1
And the faminewas sore in the land.

Beth-lehem-Judah

Judges 17:8
And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could finda place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.

Judges 19:1,2
And it came to pass in those days, whenthere was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah…

BethlehemBeth-LehemBethlehemjudahBethlehem-JudahBeth-Lehem-JudahCountryDwellJudahJudgedJudgesJudgingLiveMoabRuledSojournTimeTogetherWifeBethlehemBeth-LehemBethlehemjudahBethlehem-JudahBeth-Lehem-JudahCountryDwellJudahJudgedJudgesJudgingLiveMoabRuledSojournTimeTogetherWife1.Elimelech, driven by famine into Moab, dies there
4.Mahlon and Chilion, having married wives of Moab, die also
6.Naomi, returning homeward
8.dissuades her two daughters-in-law from going with her
14.Orpah leaves her, but Ruth with great constancy accompanies her
19.The two come to Bethlehem, where they are gladly received

In the days when the judges ruled
This phrase sets the historical context for the Book of Ruth. The period of the judges was a time of social and religious upheaval in Israel, characterized by a cycle of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance. This era is detailed in the Book of Judges, where Israel repeatedly turned away from God, leading to periods of foreign domination. The judges were leaders raised by God to deliver Israel from its oppressors. This time was marked by moral relativism and a lack of centralized leadership, as noted inJudges 21:25, "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes."

there was a famine in the land
Famines were not uncommon in the ancient Near East and often signified divine displeasure or a test of faith. In the context of Israel, a famine could be seen as a consequence of the nation's disobedience to God, as outlined inDeuteronomy 28:15-24, where God warns of drought and famine as a result of turning away from His commandments. This famine sets the stage for the narrative, prompting the movement of the family from Bethlehem to Moab.

And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah
Bethlehem, meaning "house of bread," is ironically the setting of a famine. It is a small town in Judah, significant in biblical history as the birthplace of King David and later, Jesus Christ (Micah 5:2,Matthew 2:1). The mention of Judah highlights the tribal affiliation, emphasizing the family's connection to the lineage of David, which is central to the messianic prophecy.

with his wife and two sons
The family unit is central to the narrative, highlighting themes of loyalty, kinship, and survival. The mention of the wife and sons sets up the personal and familial challenges that will unfold. The family structure also reflects the patriarchal society of ancient Israel, where lineage and inheritance were passed through male descendants.

went to reside in the land of Moab
Moab was located east of the Dead Sea and was often in conflict with Israel. The Moabites were descendants of Lot (Genesis 19:37) and had a complicated relationship with the Israelites, sometimes hostile, as seen inJudges 3:12-30. The decision to move to Moab indicates the severity of the famine and the desperation of the family. Moab's inclusion in the narrative foreshadows the integration of Ruth, a Moabite, into the Israelite community, which is significant for the genealogy of David and ultimately, Jesus Christ.

1.Judges
This period refers to the time in Israel's history when judges led the people, a time marked by cycles of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance.

2.Famine
A severe shortage of food that affected the land of Israel, prompting the movement of people in search of sustenance.

3.Bethlehem
A town in Judah, known as the future birthplace of King David and Jesus Christ. The name means "house of bread," which is ironic given the famine.

4.Moab
A neighboring nation east of the Dead Sea, often in conflict with Israel. The Moabites were descendants of Lot.

5.Elimelech
The man from Bethlehem who moved his family to Moab. His name means "My God is King."Trust in God's Provision
Despite difficult circumstances, believers are encouraged to trust in God's provision rather than seeking solutions outside His will.

Faithfulness in Hard Times
The account sets the stage for Ruth's faithfulness, reminding us to remain steadfast in our commitments even when life is challenging.

God's Sovereignty
The events inRuth 1:1 remind us that God is sovereign over history, using even famines and migrations to fulfill His purposes.

Community and Support
The move to Moab highlights the importance of community and support systems during times of crisis.

Cultural and Spiritual Challenges
Living in Moab presented cultural and spiritual challenges, similar to the challenges Christians face in a secular world.1.What is the meaning of Ruth 1:1?

2.How does Ruth 1:1 illustrate God's sovereignty during the time of the judges?

3.What lessons can we learn from the "famine in the land"?

4.How does Ruth 1:1 connect to God's provision in Matthew 6:31-33?

5.In what ways can we trust God during our own "famine" seasons?

6.How does Ruth 1:1 encourage reliance on God amidst societal instability?

7.What historical events led to the famine mentioned in Ruth 1:1?

8.How does Ruth 1:1 reflect God's sovereignty in times of hardship?

9.What does Ruth 1:1 reveal about the spiritual state of Israel during the judges' period?

10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Ruth 1?

11.How does the timeline in Ruth 1:1 align with or contradict other biblical accounts of the era of the judges?

12.How does Boaz's marriage to Ruth fulfill the law?

13.How historically plausible is the famine mentioned in Ruth 1:1, given the agricultural conditions and trade routes of that time?

14.What are the key events in Ruth's story?In the days when the judges ruled

• The narrative opens in “the days when the judges ruled” (Ruth 1:1), a turbulent period between Joshua and King Saul.

•Judges 21:25 describes the era: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

• Spiritual drift, social instability, and cyclical oppression (Judges 2:11-19) frame the background of Ruth, showing why daily life could feel uncertain and perilous.

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There was a famine in the land

• Famine was one of the covenant disciplines God warned about when Israel turned from Him (Leviticus 26:18-20;Deuteronomy 28:23-24).

• Earlier famines tested Abraham (Genesis 12:10) and Isaac (Genesis 26:1). Here, the scarcity signals both physical hardship and a spiritual wake-up call.

• The setting readies us for themes of God’s providence: scarcity in chapter 1 will be answered by harvest in chapter 2.

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And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah

• Bethlehem, meaning “house of bread,” ironically lacks bread. God often works through such contrasts (Micah 5:2;Matthew 2:1).

• The verse spotlights an ordinary, unnamed Israelite—later identified as Elimelech—reminding us that God’s redemptive plans often begin with everyday people (1 Samuel 16:1).

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With his wife and two sons

• The family unit underscores covenant continuity; God’s promises move through households (Genesis 17:7;Psalm 103:17-18).

• Mentioning the wife and sons foreshadows the coming losses and the central role the women will play in God’s story.

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Went to reside in the land of Moab

• Moab lay east of the Dead Sea, outside Israel’s borders. Moabites descended from Lot (Genesis 19:37) and often opposed Israel (Numbers 22–25;Deuteronomy 23:3-6).

• Leaving the Promised Land for Moab reflects desperation and raises questions about faith versus pragmatism.

• Yet God will use this move to weave Ruth—a Moabite—into Messiah’s lineage (Matthew 1:5), showing His sovereignty over choices and circumstances (Romans 8:28).

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summary

Ruth 1:1 sets a vivid scene: during the chaotic era of the judges, a divinely sent famine drives an Israelite family from breadless Bethlehem to foreign Moab. Every detail—the timing, the hunger, the family, the journey—prepares us to witness God’s faithful providence. Even in national unfaithfulness and personal crisis, the Lord is orchestrating redemption that will reach all the way to Christ.

(1)When the judges ruled.--Literally,when the judges judged.This note of time is by no means definite. As we have seen, some have proposed to connect the famine with the ravages of the MidianitesJudges 6:1); or, supposing the genealogy to be complete (which is more likely, however, to be abridged, if at all, in the earlier generations), then since Boaz was the son of Salmon (Salma,1Chronicles 2:11) and Rahab (Matthew 1:5), whom there can be no reasonable grounds for supposing to be other than the Rahab of Jericho, the events must be placed comparatively early in the period of the judges.

Beth-lehem.--See note onGenesis 35:19. Judah is added by way of distinction from the Bethlehem in the tribe of Zebulun (Joshua 19:15). . . .

Verse 1. -Now it came to pass. Or, more literally, "And it came to pass." The "And" is somewhat remarkable, standing at the commencement of the Book. But as it is also found at the commencement of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Ezekiel, Esther, and Ezra, its use, though inartistic, must be amenable to some literary law. The Books specified, even including Ezekiel, are historical They are parcels of history, each narrating events that had their genesis in more or less significant antecedent occurrences. This historical genesis, so very different from an "absolute commencement" of things, is indicated, though probably in unreflective spontaneity, by the copulative "And."In the days when the judges ruled. Or, more literally, "when the judges judged." In primitive times there was no function that was more important for society than that of judiciously settling disputes between man and man. Every such settlement, besides conferring a benefit on society, and in particular on the individuals at variance, would increase the moral influence and social elevation of the judge. By and by his moral and social superiority would, in favorable circumstances, grow into authority, specifically judicial on the one hand, and generically political, or semi-political, on the other. When military prowess and skill in strategy were added, a ruler, champion, or leader would be the result. Many such leaders rose up among the Hebrews ere yet society was compactly organized. They were vanously endowed; but most of them were only very partially equipped for the judicious administration of the affairs of the commonwealth. All, however, were calledjudges; and the discharge of their high duties was denominatedjudging, even when it was entirely inconspicuous as regards judicial ability or judicious determinations. The Hebrew word forjudge isשֹׁפֵטshofet; and it is an interesting evidence of the very close kinship of Hebrew and Phoenician, that in Carthage the chief magistrate, as we learn from Livy and other Roman writers, was calledsufes (originally, as we see from the inflection,sufet).That there was a famine. An admirable though free rendering. In the original the structure of the whole statement is exceedingly primitive and "agglutinative" -And (it)was in the days of the judging of the judges,and (there)was a famine.In the land. Namely, of Israel. The non-specification of the particular country referred to is evidence that the writer was living in it, as one at home. Josephus says that it was under the judgeship of Eli, the high priest, that the famine spoken of occurred ('Antiquities,' 5:9, 1). But here the historian speaks "without book," and without any particular plausibility. Several expositors, such as Bishop Patrick, have antedated, by a very long way, the calculation of Josephus They would assign the famine to the period when the Midianites and Amalekites came up, "as grasshoppers for multitude, to destroy the land," so that Israel was greatly impoverished (seeJudges 6.). But it is in vain to multiply guesses. The date of the famine is not given, and it is futile to make inquisition for it.And a certain man. The interpolation of the individualizing word "certain" is quite uncalled for, and now quite archaic. The simplicity of the original is sufficient, "And a man.Of Bethlehem-judah. Or, as it might be still more literally represented, "of Bethlehem, Judah." Them is no such single name as Bethlehem-judah. There is only the apposition, for discrimination's sake, of one geographical name to another, just as we may say, in English,Boston,Lincolnshire, orAlexandria,Dumbartonshire. The localization of the main name is thus effectually indicated. There is another Alexandria in Egypt; there is another Boston in the United States of America; and there was in Palestine another Bethlehem, namely, in the canton of Zebulun (seeJoshua 19:15). Bethlehem, Judah, lies about six miles to the south of Jerusalem. "Its appearance," says Dr. Porter, "is striking. It is situated on a narrow ridge, which projects eastward from the central mountain range, and breaks down in abrupt terraced slopes to deep valleys on the north, east, and south. The terraces, admirably kept, and covered with rows of olives, intermixed with the fig and the vine, sweep in graceful curves round the ridge, regular as stairs" ('Syria and Palestine,' D. 199). The valleys below are exceptionally fertile, and have been so from time immemorial. Hence indeed the nameBeth-lehem, orBread-house. Its modern name isBeit-lahm, orFlesh-house.Went to sojourn in the land of Moab. We have no word in English that exactly, corresponds to the verbגּוּר renderedsojourn. The cognate noun is uniformly translated, in King James's version,stranger, and meansforeigner. The verb meansto dwell as a foreigner, but its root-idea is yet undetermined. The Latinperegrinari admirably corresponds. The man of Bethlehem, Judah, went forth from his own country to "peregrinate" (Greek,παροικῆσαι) "in the land of Moab;" literally, "in the fields of Moab," that is, "in the pastoral parts of the territory of Moab." It was not a very great way off, this land of his "peregrination." Its blue mountains, rising up luridly beyond the silver thread of the Jordan and the gleaming expanse of the Dead Sea, are distinctly visible from the Mount of Olives and the heights about Bethlehem.He, and his wife, and his two sons. The resumptive he is employed for the purpose of linking on to him, in his "peregrination, the other members of the little household. He emigrated "along with his wife and two sons." He had fought hard to keep the wolf of hunger from his door, but was like to be beaten. One after another the props of his hope that better days would soon dawn had been swept from under him, and he saw no alternative but to leave for a season the land of his fathers.

Parallel Commentaries ...


In the days
בִּימֵי֙(bî·mê)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 3117:A day

when the judges
הַשֹּׁפְטִ֔ים(haš·šō·p̄ə·ṭîm)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 8199:To judge, pronounce sentence, to vindicate, punish, to govern, to litigate

ruled,
שְׁפֹ֣ט(šə·p̄ōṭ)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 8199:To judge, pronounce sentence, to vindicate, punish, to govern, to litigate

there was
וַיְהִ֗י(way·hî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961:To fall out, come to pass, become, be

a famine
רָעָ֖ב(rā·‘āḇ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7458:Famine, hunger

in the land.
בָּאָ֑רֶץ(bā·’ā·reṣ)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776:Earth, land

And a certain man
אִ֜ישׁ(’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376:A man as an individual, a male person

from
מִבֵּ֧ית(mib·bêṯ)
Preposition
Strong's Hebrew

Bethlehem
לֶ֣חֶם(le·ḥem)
Preposition | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1035:Bethlehem -- 'place of bread', a city in Judah, also a city in Zebulun

in Judah,
יְהוּדָ֗ה(yə·hū·ḏāh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3063:Judah -- 'praised', a son of Jacob, also the southern kingdom, also four Israelites

with his wife
וְאִשְׁתּ֖וֹ(wə·’iš·tōw)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 802:Woman, wife, female

and two
וּשְׁנֵ֥י(ū·šə·nê)
Conjunctive waw | Number - mdc
Strong's 8147:Two (a cardinal number)

sons,
בָנָֽיו׃(ḇā·nāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1121:A son

went
וַיֵּ֨לֶךְ(way·yê·leḵ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1980:To go, come, walk

to reside
לָגוּר֙(lā·ḡūr)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 1481:To turn aside from the road, sojourn, to shrink, fear, to gather for, hostility

in the land
בִּשְׂדֵ֣י(biś·ḏê)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 7704:Field, land

of Moab.
מוֹאָ֔ב(mō·w·’āḇ)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4124:Moab -- a son of Lot,also his descendants and the territory where they settled


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OT History: Ruth 1:1 It happened in the days when (Ru Rut.)