Of all the familiar and well-loved stories of the Bible, that of Ruth, and her touching devotion to her mother-in-law Naomi, is one of the most charming, while it contains broader implications than might appear on the surface.
The first scene of this ancient drama is laid in the land of Moab, to the east of the Dead Sea. Ordinarily the people of Israel had no dealings with the Moabites (Deuteronomy 23:3), but under the stress of famine the old feud was ignored, and Elimelech and his wife Naomi left Bethlehem to settle in Moabite territory with their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, who soon married Moabite women.
The famine which had precipitated Naomi's departure from Judah came finally to an end, and since she was now without husband and sons, she decided to return to her native land, suggesting that her young daughters-in-law should remain in Moab, where doubtless, she felt, they would soon remarry, and "find rest . . . each ... in the house of her husband" (Ruth 1:9).
