Walk With Ruth
רות המואביה
The shortest but most tender of the biblical journeys. Ruth, a Moabite woman, chooses to leave her homeland and follow her mother-in-law Naomi back to Bethlehem. Her words of loyalty — 'Where you go, I will go' — are among the most beautiful in all of Scripture. Her journey leads from grief to redemption, from a foreign field to the lineage of King David.
Approximately 75 km from Moab to Bethlehem
The Journey
During a famine, Naomi's family moves to Moab. Her husband and both sons die, leaving Naomi with her Moabite daughters-in-law Ruth and Orpah.
וַיָּ֥מׇת אֱלִימֶ֖לֶךְ אִ֣ישׁ נׇעֳמִ֑י וַתִּשָּׁאֵ֥ר הִ֖יא וּשְׁנֵ֥י בָנֶֽיהָ׃
Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons.
Ruth declares her loyalty to Naomi: 'Where you go, I will go. Where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.'
וַתֹּ֤אמֶר רוּת֙ אַל־תִּפְגְּעִי־בִ֔י לְעׇזְבֵ֖ךְ לָשׁ֣וּב מֵאַחֲרָ֑יִךְ כִּ֠י אֶל־אֲשֶׁ֨ר תֵּלְכִ֜י אֵלֵ֗ךְ וּבַאֲשֶׁ֤ר תָּלִ֙ינִי֙ אָלִ֔ין עַמֵּ֣ךְ עַמִּ֔י וֵאלֹהַ֖יִךְ אֱלֹהָֽי׃
But Ruth replied, “Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
Ruth and Naomi arrive in Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. Ruth gleans in the field of Boaz, a kinsman of Naomi's husband. Boaz redeems and marries Ruth.
וַתָּ֣שׇׁב נׇעֳמִ֗י וְר֨וּת הַמּוֹאֲבִיָּ֤ה כַלָּתָהּ֙ עִמָּ֔הּ הַשָּׁ֖בָה מִשְּׂדֵ֣י מוֹאָ֑ב וְהֵ֗מָּה בָּ֚אוּ בֵּ֣ית לֶ֔חֶם בִּתְחִלַּ֖ת קְצִ֥יר שְׂעֹרִֽים׃
Thus Naomi returned from the country of Moab; she returned with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabite. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Ruth bears a son, Obed, who becomes the father of Jesse, who becomes the father of David. The Moabite woman who chose loyalty becomes the great-grandmother of Israel's greatest king.
וַתִּקְרֶ֩אנָה֩ ל֨וֹ הַשְּׁכֵנ֥וֹת שֵׁם֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר יֻלַּד־בֵּ֖ן לְנׇעֳמִ֑י וַתִּקְרֶ֤אנָֽה שְׁמוֹ֙ עוֹבֵ֔ד ה֥וּא אֲבִֽי־יִשַׁ֖י אֲבִ֥י דָוִֽד׃ {פ}
and the women neighbors gave him a name, saying, “A son is born to Naomi!” They named him Obed; he was the father of Jesse, father of David.
Israel Wall Art
