Who wrote the book of Ruth? Who was the author of Ruth?
Answered from the commentary of Arno Clemens Gaebelein, Arend Remmers, Walter Scott and 1 other
The human author of Ruth is unknown; Samuel is considered a possible author by some, and a probable author by others. One view says that God is its author and that the question of its human writer is of no consequence.
Verses: Ruth 1:1, Ruth 4:17, Ruth 4:22
The above is AI generated summary based on the writers below.
What the commentators say
The passages the answer is drawn from, the most direct first, with the words that bear on the question marked.
This book, containing the beautiful story of Ruth, is closely linked with Judges. The beginning of the book makes this clear: "Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled." The events happened during the period of the judges. It therefore belongs next to that book. In the Hebrew Bible it occupies another place. We find it there next to the Song of Solomon, followed by Lamentations. Five books are called by the Jews "Megilloth" and are read by them at different feasts commemorating past events. The Song of Solomon is read during Passover; Ruth at Pentecost; Lamentations on the ninth day of the month Ab in memory of the destruction of Jerusalem; Ecclesiastes is read during the feast of Tabernacles and Esther they read when they celebrate Purim.
The author of the book of Ruth is unknown. The conclusion of the book shows that it must have been written after David had been made king. However the late date assigned to it by the critics, after the exile, is incorrect. We do not enter into their arguments. Any intelligent reader must see at once that its place between judges and Samuel is the right place, for it is as sequel to the former and an introduction to the latter. If we read the books of Samuel we discover that they do not contain any reference whatever to the ancestors of the house of David. To supply this deficiency is one of the reasons why this book was written. It is more than probable that Samuel is the author.
The book of Ruth connects the book of Judges with the books of Samuel. The first verse of the book points to the time of the Judges and the very last verse points to King David.
An author is not mentioned in Ruth. As the genealogy in chapter 4:17.22 goes down to King David this short book of Ruth was written at the time of David (around 1000 BC). According to the Babylonian Talmud of the Jews Samuel the prophet may have been the author of the book of Ruth. This view is shared by many Bible expositors.
Ruth, beauty. From the allusion to a then old custom in Israel "concerning redeeming and concerning changing" (Ruth 4:7), and the historical account of David's genealogy (Ruth 4:17-22), we gather that the book was written certainly not earlier than the accession of David to the throne of Israel. Probably Samuel was the writer. The counsels of God as to the millennial blessing of the Jew and of the land are disclosed in this typical book of history. Ruth is the connecting link between the times of the Judges and the establishment of royalty in Israel.
That the Old Testament scriptures were collected into their present form a good while before the Lord was on earth, no one is interested in contesting; indeed, far from it, for Christ owns the divisions which now exist. Attributed to the great Sanhedrim, on (it is said) insufficient ground, or referred to Ezra, they were at any rate so collected; though Mr. Smith slurs it quickly over to refer to doubts as to Esther. Josephus is very express. There are not, he tells us, a multitude of books, but just twenty-two: that they had histories and writings after Artaxerxes, but these had not the same authority, they were not tested by prophets. That the books were collected, we can thank God for. Whether the history of Ruth be connected with Judges, or the Lamentations with Jeremiah, or relegated to the Ketubim, is of no sort of consequence. Their place in the history is plain upon the face of them. It is not to the believer a question who wrote Ruth. He receives them as the word of-- God. God is their author. It is, as Matthew expresses it, upo Kuriou dia tou prophetou — of the Lord by the prophet. It is also true that, in collecting the books, short notes may have been added, such as, There they are to this day, or other brief note of the kind. Such there are, interesting as divinely-given history, but in no way affecting the revelation. The book clearly shows that as a whole it is inspired and ordered in its structure by God; and when all this was done to make it a whole, this divine ordering of God's hand and wisdom may be in such notes as elsewhere. The question is, Is this book given to us of God as a revelation, given to us as it is? Is what is in it revealed of God, or man's thoughts?
Verses
- Ruth 1:1And it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man went from Bethlehem-Judah, to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
- Ruth 4:17And the women [her] neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi. And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
- Ruth 4:22and Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.