Closely associated with "the days when the judges ruled" (Ruth 1:1) in Israel is the vivid account recorded in the book of Ruth, in which the leading characters are Ruth herself and her mother-in-law, Naomi. Although Naomi and her husband, Elimelech, came originally from Bethlehem in Judah, they and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, had settled in Moab to the east of the Dead Sea, and the two young men had married Moabite wives, named Ruth and Orpah respectively. In due course both Elimelech and his sons passed on, leaving Naomi and her two daughters-in-law. This situation sets the scene for this idyll of constancy and loving cooperation.
When Naomi decided to return to the land of her birth, Ruth and Orpah offered to accompany her; but while Orpah was eventually dissuaded from doing so, nothing could shake Ruth's determination and touching constancy. "Intreat me not to leave thee," she cried, "or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.... The Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me" (Ruth 1:16, 17).
Together Ruth and Naomi made their way to Bethlehem, arriving there at the start of the barley harvest. There they settled in the vicinity of an estate owned by a wealthy farmer, Boaz, a close relative of Elimelech, Naomi's husband. Eager to do all that she could to contribute to the meeting of Naomi's needs. Ruth offered to glean in a nearby field following the reapers.
