Naomi’s Homecoming

Naomi’s Homecoming

Prologue: Journey to Moab (Ruth 1:1–5)
The opening verses briefly recount the migration of a Judean family to Moab. Moab holds the possibility of life when Bethlehem (literally, “house of bread”) has been depleted by famine. But leaving home is often fraught with risk. In Genesis 12:10ff. and Genesis 26:1ff. (the two other OT texts that contain the exact phrase “there was a famine in the land”), sojourning into foreign lands endangers the safety of Israel’s matriarchs (Sarah and Rebekah, respectively) and the continuity of the family. Here in Ruth too, the journey to Moab threatens the very survival of a family, as all the men quickly succumb to death…