Ruth, The Gleaner

by: Logan Marshal

In the time of the Judges in Israel, a man named Elimelech was living in the town of
Bethlehem, in the tribe of Judah, about six miles south of Jerusalem. is wife!s name was
"aomi, and his two sons were Mahlon and #hilion. $or some years the cro%s were %oor,
and food was scarce in Judah& and Elimelech with his family went to live in the land of
Moab, which was on the east of the 'ead (ea, as Judah was on the west.

)here they stayed ten years, and in that time Elimelech died. is two sons married
women of the country of Moab, one named *r%ah, the other named +uth. But the two
young men also died in the land of Moab& so that "aomi and her two daughters,in,law
were all left widows.

"aomi heard that -od had again given good harvests and bread to the land of Judah, and
she rose u% to go from Moab bac. to her own land and her own town of Bethlehem. )he
two daughters,in,law loved her, and both would have gone with her, though the land of
Judah was a strange land to them, for they were of the Moabite %eo%le.

"aomi said to them: /-o bac., my daughters, to your own mothers! homes. May the Lord
deal .indly with you, as you have been .ind to your husbands and to me. May the Lord
grant that each of you may yet find another husband and a ha%%y home./

)hen "aomi .issed them in farewell, and the three women all we%t together. )he two
young widows said to her:

/0ou have been a good mother to us, and we will go with you, and live among your
%eo%le./

/"o, no,/ said "aomi. /0ou are young, and I am old. -o bac. and be ha%%y among your
own %eo%le./

)hen *r%ah .issed "aomi, and went bac. to her %eo%le& but +uth would not leave her.
(he said:

/'o not as. me to leave you, for I never will. 1here you go, I will go& where you live, I
will live& your %eo%le shall be my %eo%le& and your -od shall be my -od. 1here you die,
I will die, and be buried. "othing but death itself shall %art you and me./

1hen "aomi saw that +uth was firm in her %ur%ose, she ceased trying to %ersuade her&
so the two women went on together. )hey wal.ed around the 'ead (ea, and crossed the
river Jordan, and climbed the mountains of Judah, and came to Bethlehem.

"aomi had been absent from Bethlehem for ten years, but her friends were all glad to see
her again. )hey said:

/Is this "aomi, whom we .new years ago2/

"ow the name "aomi means /%leasant./ 3nd "aomi said:

/#all me not "aomi& call me Mara, for the Lord has made my life bitter. I went out full,
with my husband and two sons& now I come home em%ty, without them. 'o not call me
!4leasant,! call me !Bitter.!/

)he name /Mara,/ by which "aomi wished to be called means /bitter./ But "aomi
learned later that /4leasant/ was the right name after all.

)here was living in Bethlehem at that time a very rich man named Boa5. e owned large
fields that were abundant in their harvests& and he was related to the family of Elimelech,
"aomi!s husband, who had died.

It was the custom in Israel when they rea%ed the grain not to gather all the stal.s, but to
leave some for the %oor %eo%le, who followed after the rea%ers with their sic.les, and
gathered what was left. 1hen "aomi and +uth came to Bethlehem, it was the time of the
barley harvest& and +uth went out into the fields to glean the grain which the rea%ers had
left. It so ha%%ened that she was gleaning in the field that belonged to Boa5, this rich
man.

Boa5 came out from the town to see his men rea%ing, and he said to them, /)he Lord be
with you/& and they answered him, /)he Lord bless you./

3nd Boa5 said to his master of the rea%ers: /1ho is this young woman that I see gleaning
in the field2/

)he man answered: /It is the young woman from the land of Moab, who came with
"aomi. (he as.ed leave to glean after the rea%ers, and has been here gathering grain
since yesterday./

)hen Boa5 said to +uth: /Listen to me, my daughter. 'o not go to any other field, but
stay here with my young women. "o one shall harm you& and when you are thirsty, go
and drin. at our vessels of water./


)hen +uth bowed to Boa5, and than.ed him for his .indness, all the more .ind because
she was a stranger in Israel. Boa5 said: /I have heard how true you have been to your
mother,in,law "aomi, in leaving your own land and coming with her to this land. May
the Lord, under whose wings you have come, give you a reward6/

3nd at noon, when they sat down to rest and to eat, Boa5 gave her some of the food. 3nd
he said to the rea%ers:

/1hen you are rea%ing, leave some of the sheaves for her& and dro% out some sheaves
from the bundles, where she may gather them./

)hat evening, +uth showed "aomi how much she had gleaned, and told her of the rich
man Boa5, who had been so .ind to her. 3nd "aomi said:

/)his man is a near relation of ours. (tay in his fields, as long as the harvest lasts./ 3nd
so +uth gleaned in the fields of Boa5 until the harvest had been gathered.

3t the end of the harvest, Boa5 held a feast on the threshing,floor. 3nd after the feast, by
the advice of "aomi, +uth went to him, and said to him:

/0ou are a near relation of my husband and of his father, Elimelech. "ow will you not do
good to us for his sa.e2/

3nd when Boa5 saw +uth, he loved her& and soon after this he too. her as his wife. 3nd
"aomi and +uth went to live in his home& so that "aomi!s life was no more bitter, but
%leasant. 3nd Boa5 and +uth had a son, whom they named *bed& and later *bed had a
son named Jesse& and Jesse was the father of 'avid, the she%herd boy who became .ing.
(o +uth, the young woman of Moab, who chose the %eo%le and the -od of Israel, became
the mother of .ings.