Ruth Chapter 1

“Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, etc.] So that it appears that this history is of time and things after the affair of Micah, and of the concubine of the Levite, and of the war between Israel and Benjamin; for in those times there was no king nor judge in Israel; but to what time of the judges, and which government of theirs it belongs to, is not agreed on. Josephus f4 places it in the government of Eli, but that is too late for Boaz, the grandfather of Jesse, the father of David, to live. Some Jewish writers, as Jarchi, say it was in the times of Ibzan, who they say f5 is the same with…”

“ELIMELECH, DRIVEN BY FAMINE INTO MOAB, DIES THERE. (Rut 1:1-5) in the days when the judges ruled--The beautiful and interesting story which this book relates belongs to the early times of the judges. The precise date cannot be ascertained.”

“In the days when the Judges ruled - “Judged.” This note of time, like that in Ruth 4:7; Judges 18:1; Judges 17:6, indicates that this Book was written after the rule of the judges had ceased. The genealogy Ruth 4:17-22 points to the time of David as the earliest when the Book of Ruth could have been written. A famine - Caused probably by one of the hostile invasions recorded in the Book of Judges. Most of the Jewish commentators, from the mention of Bethlehem, and the resemblance of the names Boaz and Ibzan, refer this history to the judge Ibzan Judges 12:8, but without probability. The country of Moab - Here,…”

“In the land - Of Canaan. It must be early: for Boaz was born of Rahab. So Christ descended from two Gentile mothers. Ruth 1:2”

“1:1 The judges ruled from the death of Joshua (about 1376 or 1200 BC) to the beginning of Saul’s reign as king (about 1050 BC). The events in Ruth occurred around 1100 BC. • Famine in Israel’s hill country was usually caused by drought. • Bethlehem was a small town in the hill country of northern Judah. • Moab, the land southeast of Judah, sometimes received sufficient rain when Judah did not.”

“the judges: Jdg 2:16, Jdg 12:8 ruled: Heb. judged a famine: Gen 12:10, Gen 26:1, Gen 43:1; Lev 26:19; Deu 28:23, Deu 28:24, Deu 28:38; Sa2 21:1; Kg1 17:1-12, Kg1 18:2; Kg2 8:1, Kg2 8:2; Psa 105:16, Psa 107:34; Jer 14:1; Eze 14:13, Eze 14:21; Joe 1:10, Joe 1:11, Joe 1:16-20; Amo 4:6, Beth-lehem-judah, Jdg 17:8, Jdg 19:1, Jdg 19:2 Ruth 1:2”

“Elimelech's Emigration ( Rut 1:1, Rut 1:2). \- By the word ויהי the following account is attached to other well-known events (see at Jos 1:1); and by the definite statement, "in the days when judges judged," it is assigned to the period of the judges generally. "A famine in the land," i.e., in the land of Israel, and not merely in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem. The time of this famine cannot be determined with certainty, although it seems very natural to connect it, as Seb. Schmidt and others do, with the devastation of the land by the Midianites (Judg 6); and there are several things which favour this. For…”