What is the book of Ruth about?
Ruth is a short, beautiful story of loyalty and redemption set in the dark days of the judges. A Moabite widow clings to her mother-in-law and to Israel’s God, and is redeemed by Boaz — becoming an ancestor of King David and of Christ.
Ruth’s pledge to Naomi — "Your people shall be my people, and your God my God" — is one of Scripture’s great statements of covenant loyalty.
Boaz acts as "kinsman-redeemer," buying back the family inheritance and marrying Ruth — a living picture of Christ our Redeemer.
The book ends with a genealogy: Ruth is the great-grandmother of David, and so an ancestor of Jesus. God writes outsiders into his redemption story.
Original BibleDawn answer · reviewed 2026-06. Drafted with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.