Title and Authorship

Title and Authorship

Title and Authorship. The Book of Ruth is named for a Moabitess who had married a Hebrew man living in Moab. After the death of her husband, Ruth migrated with Naomi, her widowed Hebrew mother-in-law, to Bethlehem in Israel. There God providentially provided for her and led her to marry Boaz, a prosperous Hebrew farmer. Ruth became the great-grandmother of King David. She is listed in the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1:5.

Ruth and Esther are the only two books in the Bible named for women. Esther was a Hebrew woman who married a Gentile king. God used Esther in a strategic time in the history of Israel to help preserve the nation from destruction. Ruth, on the other hand, was a Gentile woman who married a Hebrew man. God used Ruth to perpetuate the line of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Book of Ruth is read annually by orthodox Jews on the Feast of Pentecost. This feast commemorates the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai and occurs at the time of the beginning of the offering called the Firstfruits of the Harvest (Ex. 23:16). Ruth’s betrothal took place during this festive harvest season, when barley was being winnowed (Ruth 3:2; cf. 1:22).

No one knows for sure who wrote the Book of Ruth. Jewish tradition has attributed the book to Samuel. If he was the author, the book would have been written near the time when David was anointed king of Israel. One of the reasons, then, for Samuel’s writing the Book of Ruth could have been to justify David’s claim to the throne (through Ruth and Boaz, his great-grandparents).

Most conservative scholars place the date of the writing of Ruth in the Monarchy, either in the time of David or Solomon. Since Solomon is not mentioned in the genealogy at the end of the book (4:18–21), one might deduce that the book was written in David’s time. On the other hand an old custom that had ceased to be practiced—the exchanging of the sandal—was explained (4:7). This has caused some to think that the Solomonic period was more likely since additional time would have passed for the custom to have fallen into disuse. Hals has discussed the matter of authorship in further detail (The Theology of the Book of Ruth, pp. 65–75)

Reed, John W. “Ruth.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Vol. 1. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985. 415. Print.