Ruth
Chapter 1
The Foreign Girl
There was a famine in the land during the time of the Judges, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah left with his wife and two sons to live in the country of Moab.
The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and his two sons Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, in the tribe of Judah. A little later, after they had settled in Moab,
Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, died. She was left with her two sons,
who married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other named Ruth. After living in Moab for about ten years,
Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left bereft of her husband and two sons.
Having heard that the Lord had come to help his people by giving them food, Naomi prepared to return home.
With her two daughters-in-law, she set out for Judah.
It was then that Naomi said to her daughters-in-law: “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s house. And may the Lord be kind to you, as you have been to your dead and me.
May he also grant each of you rest in the home of another husband.” She kissed them goodbye. But they wept aloud
and said to her: “No, we will go back with you to your people.”
Naomi said: “Return home, my daughters. Why should you accompany me when I have no more sons to become your husbands?
Return home, my daughters. I am now too old to marry again. Even if I hope to have a husband tonight and give birth to sons,
would you remain unmarried, waiting for them to grow up? No, my daughters! I won’t share my lot with you; it is too bitter. The Lord’s hand has been raised against me!”
Again, they sobbed and wept. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.
Naomi said: “Look, your sister-in-law returns to her people and gods. You, too, must return. Go after her.”
Ruth replied: “Don’t ask me to leave you, for I will go wherever you go and stay where you stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.
Where you die, I will die and be buried. May the Lord deal with me severely if anything but death separates us.
Realizing that Ruth was set on going with her, Naomi stopped urging her.
So the two kept going until they reached Bethlehem. Their arrival caused excitement in the town. Women asked: “Can this be Naomi?”
She said to them: “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara, because the Lord has made my life bitter.
I went away full but returned empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me suffering?”
Thus, Naomi returned from Moab with her Moabite daughter-in-law and arrived in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was starting.
Commentaries
The Foreign Girl.
The first chapter is divided into three parts (1-5; 6-18; 19-22). In the first section, the author introduces the characters and the hardships they face, including hunger and death, which will contrast with the book’s happy ending, where Ruth, Naomi’s widowed daughter-in-law, marries Boaz. The second section describes their journey from Moab to Bethlehem, highlighting Ruth’s powerful declaration of love and loyalty to Naomi. The third section covers their arrival in Bethlehem and the warm welcome they receive.
How can we find God amidst our tragedies? Do we show compassion to the weak and vulnerable, like Ruth did with her mother-in-law, Naomi? Can we truly love unconditionally and share in the life and destiny of those we care about? Ruth is a foreigner—she is a Moabite. How do we treat foreigners? Do we recognize their rights and give them the opportunity for a better life? Do we welcome them and value the qualities they bring?
The mention of the barley harvest sets the stage for the next episode.