Most conservative authorities accept samuel as the probable author of ruth. The afflictions of naomi and ruth we have an account of, ruth 1. Ruth, on the other hand, was a gentile woman moabitess who married a hebrew man living in moab. The third reason for verses 8 is to make ruths faithfulness to naomi appear amazing. Ruth is a moabite woman who marries a judean immigrant named mahlon 1. Ruth s name provides the title for the book of ruth, probably a piece of historical fiction set in the time of the judges. An easyenglish bible version and commentary 1200 word vocabulary on the book of ruth. Wisdom for the heart is an international bibleteaching ministry providing radio broadcasts, digital. She was the wife of a man named elimelech, and they lived in bethlehem with their two sons, mahlon and kilion.
This is the holy book of ruth, known simply as the book of ruth. A definite must read for anyone looking for a greater knowledge of the the bible. Ruth is davids greatgrandmother, but the writer of the book of ruth wants to chronicle how exactly it came to be that the great grandmother of david could be a foreign woman from moab. Read the book of ruth in its entirety what do you know about the book of ruth. Thesis statement to focus on the big idea analytical outline to guide the understanding. Verses 618 matthew henrys commentary bible gateway. Top 5 commentaries on the book of ruth ligonier ministries. The rabbinic explanation of the marriage is that ruth had made a very sincere act of conversion. Among historical narratives in scripture it is unexcelled in its compactness, vividness, warmth, beauty and dramatic effectiveness an exquisitely wrought jewel of hebrew narrative art. Aug 07, 2015 the story of ruth is meant to tell the story of the bloodline of king david, the greatest king israel would ever have. Study ruth 1 using matthew henrys bible commentary concise to better understand scripture with full outline and verse meaning.
In the old testament we read god s word as it was spoken to his people israel. The story begins with a famine in the days when the judges ruled ruth 1. An easyenglish bible version and commentary 2800 word vocabulary on the book of ruth. On the surface, it is the story of a young virtuous maiden who leaves her family and her nation to cast her lot with a people and religion that she has not previously known. He was a wealthy, prominent man from the clan of elimelech. Only two old testament books receive their names from women, ruth and esther. The book of ruth contains one of the bibles bestknown and mostloved stories. Study the bible online using commentary on ruth 1 and more. The translated bible text has been through advanced checking. While quite obvious at first glance, this theme does present a major difficulty on closer examination. To you who listen on the radio, you are sharing with us the services of the first baptist church in dallas. It manages to deal with both details and the big picture. In this lesson we will look at walking in hesed or. Commentary on the book of ruth by matthew henry old.
The book of ruth provides details about part of the genealogy of king david and of the christ who is called the son of david refer to matthew 1. The book of ruth new international commentary on the old testament nicot kindle edition by hubbard, rubert l download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The book of ruth is one of only two books of the bible to be named after women the other is esther. The old testament does not again refer to ruth, while the new testament mentions her just once, in the context of christs genealogy. Study basics about bible books, people, dates, places, and content, and take webbased selftests. Best ruth commentaries updated for 2020 best bible. See the commentary of the gaon of vilna on the book of ruth. The author was anonymous but some believe it was perhaps written by samuel the prophet. I had planned to write this lesson my first week, but i felt so much opposition from the enemy that i tabled it for a few weeks, waiting until the warfare had lifted and i could hear from the holy spirit. Robert hubbards commentary on ruth is a model of how commentaries should be written. It celebrates the loyalty and reward of a young moabite widow ruth who chooses to follow her israelite motherinlaw naomi back to bethlehem after naomi was bereaved of her own husband and two sons. Read ruth 1 commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete.
The book of ruth tells a wonderful story of gods behindthescenes providence in the life of a woman whose descendants would include king. Ancient versions and modern translations consistently entitle this book after ruth the moabitess heroine, who is mentioned by name 12 times 1. It is unlikely that it was written before the time of david cp. Boaz is introduced in the narrative as an esh gibor hayil a powerful man of integrity in 2. If you have a group of 6 or more you may want to split up into smaller groups of 3 or 4 is it anyones first time reading through the book of ruth. Naomi said, we are commanded to keep sabbaths and good days, on which we may not travel above 2000 cubitsa sabbathdays journey. The recording is dramatized, from the king james bible. Written by kirsten nielsen, this commentary meets the aims of the series in providing a critical take in a midlength commentary. It is a word picture in the old testament illustrative of the truth we find in the new testament, as i corinthians tells us.
You can find the best commentary on ruth for you using the tools on the right side. Its story of gods concern for two widows and of ruth s devotion to her motherinlaw and first husband is inspiring and fore. The most likely suggestion is that ruth was able to leave the refuge of her father and mother in moab because she had found a refuge under the wings of god which was far superior. Ruth wisdom commentary series kindle edition by stephen. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the book of ruth new international commentary on the old testament nicot. Pdf the authors show how the book of ruth can be used to illustrate the ideal.
The latter phrase is also used of the ideal womanwife in proverbs 31. Our focus will be on ruth s loyal love which goes far beyond the superficial contexts in which we sometimes use the word love. Ruth might hold the title of best daughterinlaw ever. The book of ruth has always been one of my favorite books of the bible. Indeed, the book of ruth is a fresh breath of air after reading judges. This commentary by tamara cohn eskenazi and tikva frymerkensky is an important addition to the extant scholarship on this biblical book. The book of ruth new international commentary on the old. Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land.
Recently ive discovered the parallel between the familiar tale and a new covenant life. It is a groundless tradition of the jews that ruth was the daughter of eglon king of moab, yet the chaldee paraphrast inserts it. It is also one of only two books named after a gentile, luke being the other. Her purity of thought, noble behavior and charming character gain her the role of the progenitor of a royal dynasty. It also allowed an appreciation for the beauty and complicity of the plot as unfolded by the author. Events in this book occur during the time of the judges in israel, probably in the 12th century b. The book of ruth is named for the moabite woman who commits herself to the israelite people by an oath to her motherinlaw naomi and becomes the greatgrandmother of david by marriage to boaz of bethlehem. God used ruth to perpetuate the line of the messiah, the lord jesus christ. A literary analysis of this book enabled an enlightenment of the story development as well as the character development, which revealed the overarching and secondary messages of the book of ruth.
The book of ruth follows the book of judges in our bibles because its setting was in that time period. This is, in my opinion, the best and most beautiful recording of. Moab was a group of people whose ancestry came from one of lots daughters who had children by their father after getting him drunk. A bible study guide for women the gospel of christ. Welcome to ivy baptist churchs bible study on demand before beginning this study, please take an opportunity to download the worksheet for this bible study. Free bible commentary on book of ruth in easy english.
Ruth, the newest in the jps bible commentary series, is a magnificent achievement. A word list at the end explains words with a star by them. The timeline of this book is intertwined during the period of the judges. The book of ruth is the narrative of a love story, yet also has some important genealogy. It reads more like a short story and the insight in it runs deep. Ruth is a book dealing with the providential working of god upon the hand of a woman. The genealogy at the end of the book shows davids lineage through the days of the judges, acting as a support for his rightful kingship.
This is the pastor bringing the early morning message entitled the spirit. It was the person of david, who gave reasons for the writing of ruth, but the promise of the coming of the messiah is written all over these pages. The book of ruth is such a touching love story and such a charming tale of emptiness to abundance that we can easily think there is nothing more to it. Ruth was married to mahlon something like 10 years. Ruth was a gentile not of the judeanisraeli descent but from another ethnic group, her background was a nation otherthan israel and she married a descendant. A commentary on the book of ruth international theological commentary e. Read ruth 1 commentary using wesleys explanatory notes.
The book of ruth gets its own small volume in the old testament library otl series. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament. The book of ruth gives us a glimpse into the hidden work of god during the worst of times. But we must ask how ruth s love for naomi and her leaving her own family relate to her seeking refuge under the wings of god. Obviously, the author was familiar with israels greatest king. This was a time when the people of israel had abandoned gods ways and fallen into idolatry, horrific social conditions, and a disastrous civil war, as told in the chapters of judges immediately preceding the book of ruth in christian bibles. Ruth 1 commentary, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this commentary, by the leading authority in the church of christ, presents a verse level look at the bible. Ruth, naomi and boaz all occupy the stage in turn, and gods. The book of ruth, which appears in the third section of the hebrew bible, ktuvim, writings, is a beautiful folktale written in four short chapters. The story of ruth as you may never have thought of it before. We found it very easy, in the former chapter, to applaud the decency of ruth s behaviour, and to show what good use we may make of the account given us of it. Ruth 1 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on the. Book of ruth overview insight for living ministries. Ruth overview matthew henrys complete commentary on the.
But the book of ruth is more than it might appear at first glance. Upon his death she becomes a childless widow who chooses to accompany her motherinlaw, naomi, to judah. To provide a biographical sketch of the pious ancestors of david the king which the books of samuel do not provide. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible.
The book of leviticus comes to life here, with its injunctions to leave part of the harvest for the needy, and with all of its concern and compassion for the underprivileged within the society. Crux bible study leaders crux bible study is a geneva college community bible study sponsored by the staff of the coalition for christian outreach and the call fall 2004. The book of ruth is a hebrew short story, told with consummate skill. The book of ruth new international commentary on the old testament. This is the first commentary to which one should turn with questions about the book of ruth. Thus does the grace of god meet us in the book of ruth, clothing itself in its most attractive form, and so much the more giving, evidence of its power, when we think of the material on which it wrought, in her at least whose name it bears. Ruth chapter 1 coffmans commentary of the new testament. The final words of the book link ruth with her greatgrandson, david ruth 4. Abundant harvest, overflowing blessings, new life where before there was only emptiness all of it is made possible through the hesed of god, enacted by ruth and boaz, everyday, ordinary people who demonstrate extraordinary love and faithfulness. The hebrew word hesed is the word which has been translated most often as loyal love in the net bible. Ruth ultimately became an ancestor of the messiah see genealogy of jesus, mt 1. And a certain man of bethlehem in judah went to sojourn in the country of moab, he and his wife, and his two sons.
These twin convictions, shared by all of the contributors to the new international commentary on the old testament, define the goal of this ambitious series of commentaries. A son of naomi, and the first husband of ruth ruth 1. Ruth 4 commentary summary sermon explaining the book. The hidden symbolism you never saw in the book of ruth. Ruth 1 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Commentary on the book of ruth tough questions answered. The book of ruth new international commentary on the old testament, 1989. This commentary on the book of ruth explores that lesson. These two issues are addressed in the book of ruth. The story of ruth in the bible has a lesson that can be applied to our lives.
Ruth 2 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. The story of ruth and boaz, carefully explained by stephen davey, will dazzle the. And so like all the other scriptures, as paul says romans 15. The critical allegation against the book of ruth that makes it a production of some postexilic narrator bases their theory on the false proposition that the names of elimelechs sons are fictitious, invented for them centuries later and designed to fit what happened to them, but leon morris cites plenty of proof that the names mahlon and. You will also find options for commentaries on ruth that help pastors, teachers, and readers with application of the bible, commentaries that approach the scripture versebyverse, classic christian commentaries, and much more.
The story of naomi appears in the bible in the book of ruth. This book is telling us that while the broad sweep of israels history was moving them further and further away from god and increasingly under the divine judgment, this was not the whole story. Ruth, book ofcommentaries, commentaries old testament, books. Ruth said, entreat me not to leave thee, for i will be a proselyte. Since samuel died before davids coronation as king and since solomon is not listed in ruths genealogy, most likely it was written by someone during davids reign as king ruth 4. But naomi is so embittered by gods hard providence that she cant see his mercy at work in her life.
Ruth 1 commentary explaining the book bible study guide. Commentary on book of ruth the kind providence of god secures redemption and establishes the messianic hope even for destitute gentiles paul apple november 2012 for each section. No matter your age or season of life, there is wisdom to learn from the lessons that unfold as we walk along with naomi, ruth, and boaz. Anyone reading the story of ruth is immediately struck by the strength of her dedication to her mother in law, naomi. Of course in the old testament days this latter truth was still hidden. The chaldee paraphrase thus relates the debate between naomi and ruth. The story of ruth is a microcosm of what life in israel might have been, and would have. Lesson 1 i cant even begin to tell you how excited i am to study the ook of ruth with you.
Step into the story the book of ruth is a beautiful story about ruth and naomi and ruth and boaz. This author has a way with words that makes you not want to put the book down. Reading ruth in asia society of biblical literature. As we move from the book of judges to the book of ruth, a bright light suddenly shines against the dark backdrop of a morally corrupt time period. It was god who preserved a kinsman to continue naomis line 2. Naomis life illustrates the power of god to bring something good out of bitter circumstances. Adapted from the book of ruth commentary by robert l. Today, thousands of years later, we hear in these thirtynine books his inspired and authoritative message for us. This commentary has been through advanced checking. Although we cannot be certain of the author of ruth, many scholars claim samuel is the writer arthur e. And it was god who constrains ruth to stay with naomi. Thus she is an ancestor in the messianic line that leads to jesus.
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