Old Testament Bible Links

History:
Ruth

The Bare Facts -- Overviews and Outlines --
Bible Studies: Whole Book -- Part of Book --
Sermons -- Bibliographies

  

Interrupting the grand national narrative of the Old Testament, we encounter the decidedly non-epic story of Ruth, a non-Israelite and the grandmother of King David.

If you have ever doubted that there is a modern literary heart beating within the Bible, you need only read Ruth to put aside that idea.  Here, in a story of disadvantage, love, and redemption, our author not only tells a touching story but treats some of the enduring themes of the gospel in a brilliantly deft manner.

Left: "Ruth and Naomi" by He Qi.

 

The Bare Facts

Who:  No author is indicated for Ruth, either within the book or elsewhere in the Bible.  The Talmud ascribes the book to Samuel.  Others suggest Nathan.  In the end, we need not become overly concerned with identifying an author.

Where:  This book was clearly written for a united kingdom of Israel.

When:  Since David is mentioned, the book must have been written after David became known.  Since Solomon is not mentioned, it seems reasonable to claim that it was penned before he became king.  We can therefore date the book within a couple of decades either side of 1000 B.C.

What:  Ruth, behind the scenes of a story of family loss, love, and restoration, deals with issues such as the inclusion of foreigners within the promise of the covenant.

 

Memorable Passages

1:16-17 Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God.

Overviews and Outlines

The Book of Ruth
An outlined overview by David Malick.
An Argument of the Book of Ruth
A rhetorical outline provided by David Malick
Ruth: Executable Outlines
A set of outlines by Mark Copeland.
Bible Basics
A very brief list of facts, but it includes a wav file pronouncing the book's title.
The Book of Ruth
A brief introduction by Arend Remmers.
Luther Productions
A very brief overview including key verses.
The Blue Letter Bible
An excellent source for text, cross-references, concordance, language helps, commentaries, and more.
Easton Bible Dictionary: Ruth
Two articles from M.G. Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary.
Catholic Encyclopedia: Ruth
The appropriate entry from the public domain edition of this venerable reference work.
Columbia Encyclopedia: Ruth
A brief article from the 2001 edition of this reference work.
JPS Bible
The JPS 1917 Bible text and another Jewish version.  There are links that supposedly go to two Hebrew and one Aramaic text but they don't seem to work.
Jewish Encyclopedia
An article from the 1901-06 reference work.  Generally liberal in its critical presuppositions.

Bible Studies: Whole Book

A Light in Dark Days
Lesson 4 out of 28 from Bob Deffinbaugh's From Creation to the Cross series.
Bible Explained
This is a commentary by an energetic fellow named Ted Wade.  He provides brief notes on each chapter and most verses for the entire Bible.
Love the Lord Bible Studies: Ruth
A four-lesson study with questions from an Arkansas-based ministry.  They seem orthodox enough, although the statement of faith makes me wonder if they're not into prosperity gospel teachings.
Talks for Growing Christians
A nifty study, which includes a brief sermon, question, and answers.  A project from Talks for Growing Christians.
The Book of Ruth: Frank Wallace
This is a lecture overviewing the book.
Ruth the Moabitess
A multi-part study by Warren Doud.
Geneva Notes
In 1599, English Puritans, working in Geneva, published the first study Bible.  These are the notes from that edition.
Coffman's Commentary
A verse-by-verse commentary by Dr. James Burton Coffman, a leading Church of Christ scholar.
Matthew Henry's Commentary
The chapter-by-chapter 1712 commentary by the great English Puritan writer..
John Wesley Notes
Over his career, the founder of Methodism maintained notes on the entire Bible.
JFB Commentary
The comments of Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown from Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871).
Clarke's Commentary
The first chapter for this book from Adam Clarke's nineteenth-century commentary.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
The commentary of the 17th century Baptist theologian and preacher.
Class Notes on Sacred History
An 1893 commentary by J.W. McGarvey.  Actually a series of questions keyed to the verses.
Scofield Reference Notes
The notes from the 1917 edition of the great study Bible.  From a dispensationalist viewpoint.
Old Testament Life and Literature
Gerald Larue's 1968 overview of the Old Testament.  Larue, following his modernist presumptions, assigns Ruth to the Persian period, some 600 years after we assign it.  His reasons, on which he doesn't elaborate, seem to be strictly linguistic and subject to serious debate.
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
A combination brief commentary and thorough cross-reference.  Developed by R.A. Torrey.
David Guzik's Commentaries on the Bible
David Guzik, a former senior pastor at Clavary Chapel Simi Valley in California, provides a verse-by-verse commentary. Currently Guzik directs the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Siegen, Germany.
Barry Bandstra: Ruth
A chapter from Bandstra's book Reading the Old Testament.
 
Ruth: Study Notes
A set of notes by Tim Bulkely
RTOT: Ruth
The appropriate chapter from Barry Bandstra's Reading through the Old Testament.
Notes on Ruth
A set of class-enhancement notes by Thomas Constable.
Ruth and Judges
A set of notes by Peter Leithart.
All Israel Shall Be Saved
A briefer note by Peter Leithart.
Class Notes on Book of Ruth
These are from a Loyola University class taught by Claire Mathews McGinnis.
Comments on the Book of Ruth
A brief commentary by L.M. Grant.
The Book of Ruth
This commentary by G.F. Vallance divides the book into three segments:  Ruth Found (1), Ruth Loved (2), and Ruth Redeemed (3-4).
The Book of Ruth: Lectures Introductory
A set of lectures by William Kelly.
Exploring the Word of God:
A 4-part study from the Worldwide Church of God, a denomination with a checkered past but an exciting present.
Meditations on the Book of Ruth
A set of devotional thoughts by H.L. Rossier.
The Jerome Bible Commentary
A commentary by a Catholic doctor, Jerome Dominguez, M.D.  Is English isn't perfect, but you have to admire his energy.  Although Catholic in orientation, this source has some good material for study.

Children's Resources

Life's Not Fair! The Story of Ruth
A pair of stories, one biblical, one contemporary, penned by Jennifer Edwards.  It leads onto a lot of links to other related resources.
Ruth Chooses to Stay with Naomi
A printable resource for covering this story.
Ruth Moves to a New Home
A kid's version of the story from Group Publishing.

Drama Resources

What Difference Does it Make?
A dramatic monologue by David Gladwell.
On the Road to Judah
A 3-person drama dealing with loyalty.  From Group Publishing.

Bible Studies: Part of Book

The Faith of a Foreigner (ch. 1)
An exposition from Kerux by Bryan Schroeder.
When Life is Not Fair (1:1-17)
A sermon by Mark Adams.  Baptist.
Lectionary Commentary (1:1-18)
A set of notes from a Process Theology site.
The Story of Ruth: Moments of Loss and Faith (1:1-18)
A message by Sister Joan Chittister from 30 Good Minutes.
Running on Empty, Arriving on Full (1:1-20)
A sermon by PCUSA speaker Sid Burgess.
Morning and Evening (1:14)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
The Fields of Boaz (ch. 2)
A study by D.W. Paterson.
Morning and Evening (2:2)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Morning and Evening (2:3)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Confused Language as a Deliberate Literary Device (2:7)
An article from Journal of Hebrew Scriptures by Gary A. Rendsburg.
Morning and Evening (2:14)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Morning and Evening (2:17)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Ruth the Moabitess or Blessing and Rest (3:1)
A paper by Charles Stanley.
The Redeemer of Ruth (4:1-22)
An exposition from Kerux by Stuart Jones.
Preachable Themes from the Book of Ruth
A class paper by Laurie Forbes.  The bibliography is linked below.
Preachable Themes from the Book of Ruth
A class paper by Carole Gruener.  The bibliography is linked below.

Sermons

Ruth: The Romance of Redemption
The appropriate sermon from Ray C. Stedman's Adventuring through the Bible series.
C.H. Spurgeon
A listing of sermons, some of which are available online, by the great British Baptist. None of these were available online when this link was added.
Ruth: Sweet and Bitter Providence
A series of four sermons by John Piper.
Pursued by Grace
A 12-sermon series by Alan Carr
Ruth: Kinsman Redeemer
A four-sermon series by Robert AuBuchon.  Baptist.
The Road to Hope: Studies in Ruth
A 4-sermon series all in one pdf file.  By Evan Baltz
Bryn MacPhail
Two sermons by this reformed preacher.
Sermon Outlines
Links to sermon outlines from SermonLinks.

Books and Bibliographies

Holy Economics: A Rhythm of Worthy Work and Reflective Rest
An article from Sojourners by Arthur Waskow
Ruth and the Sense of Self: Midrash and Difference
An article from the Spring 1999 issue of Judaism by Mira Morgenstern. Deals with midrash.
The Bold and the Biblical
An article by Deborah Belonick comparing romance novels with the scripture.
The Family in the Bible
An article by James A. Sanders from Biblical Theology Bulletin.
Reading Malinche Reading Ruth: Toward a Hermeneutics of Betrayal
An article from Semeia by Robert Maldonado.
A Selected Bibliography on the Book of Ruth
A good group of sources but without annotations.  By David Malick.
Bandstra Bibliography
The related list of sources from Reading through the Old Testament.
Loyola Bibliography
A list of sources, including some journals, for the study of Ruth.
Bibliography on the Theology of the Book of Ruth
A bibliography, apparently student-generated, by Laurie Forbes.
Bibliography on the Theology of the Book of Ruth
A bibliography, produced by a student at George Fox Evangelical Seminary, by Carole Gruener.
Two-Age Bibliography
A list of recommended sources, mostly scholarly in nature, provided by a website devoted to the "Redemptive Historical" school of theology.
Oxford Bibliography
A brief list of sources from the Theology School at Oxford University.