I. Content and Structure

The book of Ruth begins with a situation typical of Israel’s historical memory. Like Abraham and Sarah (cf. Gen 12:10–20) and the whole tribe of Jacob (cf. Gen 46–47), in the midst of a famine a family leaves its home in Bethlehem to seek survival in the land of Moab. But Moab proves a deathtrap: first Elimelech dies, then his two sons…