Many churches today are teaching that Ruth was a Moabite and
the bible does state that she was a Moabitess several times. However if you read carefully chapters 3 and
4 of the book of Ruth you will find that Ruth was near kin to Naomi and Boaz
from the tribe of Judah. The Moabites were not near kin to the
tribe of Judah.
The verses stating Ruth was a Moabitess are only a
geographical term. It is like stating
that someone is a Virginian, Californian or an Arizonian today which just
implies the place of their residence and does not imply their race or tribal
affiliation. Ruth had been living in the land
of Moab that had been taken away
from the Moabites many years prior.
These facts will be explored in detail below.
Source: Wikicommons
Jesus Christ came to Fulfill the Laws of Moses
Ruth is an ancestor of Jesus Christ; therefore it is very
important to understand Ruth’s genealogy which will be reviewed below. First though we must understand that Jesus
said he came to satisfy the Law; therefore in order to be our legitimate
anointed High Priest and King everything about Jesus had to be done according
to the laws of Moses. The children of
Jacob Israel would only recognize Jesus Christ as their King and savior if
everything about him was done according to the laws of Moses. Jesus does state that he came to fulfill or
satisfy the law.
“Do not think that I have come
to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill [G4137 plēroō; satisfy, execute]
them” ESV Mat 5:17
Jesus also said that everything written about him in the
Laws of Moses will be fulfilled or executed:
“Then he said to them, “These
are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything
written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled
[G4137 plēroō; satisfy, execute].”
ESV Luke 24:44
With this in mind, I will state the laws below showing that
he had to be a pure blood of the tribe of Judah
in order to be our anointed King and High Priest.
No Moabite may enter the Assembly of the Lord
The Laws of Moses says that no Moabite may enter the
assembly of the Lord; therefore if Ruth was a Moabite she would not be
qualified to be part of the assembly of Jacob Israel. Since Jesus is a descent of Ruth he would not
be qualified to be our anointed King and High Priest if Ruth was a Moabitess by
race. In other words if Ruth was a
Moabite, Jesus did not fulfill the Law below since he would have been a
descendant of a Moabite. Naomi’s sons and Boaz’s marriage to Ruth would not be
legal either according to the laws of Moses.
“The Ammanite and Moabite shall not enter into the assembly [G1577 ekklēsia; a calling out,
community of Israel, congregation, church] of
the Lord, even until the tenth generation
he shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord, even for ever: because
they met you not with bread and water by the way, when ye went out of Egypt;
and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Mesopotamia to
curse thee. But the Lord thy God would not hearken to Balaam; and the Lord thy
God changed the curses into blessings, because the Lord thy God loved thee. Thou shalt not
speak peaceably or profitably to them all thy days for ever.” Sep Deu 23:3-5
So the verses above are telling us that a person who
genetically has even a small amount of Moabite genes in them cannot be part of
the assembly of Israel. We are not to seek peace with them forever.
Ruth was a Close Relative of Naomi and Boaz
According to chapter 3 and 4 of the book of Ruth, Ruth was a
close relative of Naomi and Boaz. Naomi
informed Ruth that both of them were related to Boaz:
“And her mother-in-law said to
her, Where hast thou gleaned to-day, and where hast thou wrought? blessed be he
that took notice of thee. And Ruth told her mother-in-law where she had
wrought, and said, The name of the man with whom I wrought to-day is Booz.
And Noemin said to her daughter-in-law, Blessed is he of the Lord,
because he has not failed in his mercy with the living and with the dead: and
Noemin said to her, The man is near akin to us,
he is one of our relations.” Sep Rth 2:19-20
“And she lodged with her
mother-in-law: and Noemin her mother-in-law said to her, My daughter, shall I
not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? And now is not Booz our kinsman, with whose damsels thou
wast? behold, he winnows barley this night in the floor.” Sep Rth 3:1-2
When Ruth and Boaz (Booz) meet later that night Ruth then
informs him that she is a near relative to him:
“And he said, Who art thou? and
she said, I am thine handmaid Ruth; spread therefore thy skirt over thine
handmaid, for thou art a near relation.”
Sep Ruth 3:9
Boaz agrees that it is true that he is a near kinsman to
Ruth
“And now I am truly akin to thee; nevertheless there is
a kinsman nearer than I.” Sep Rth 3:12
Boaz is from the tribe of Judah
Boaz (Booz) is a descendant of Jacob Israel from the tribe
of Judah and he
is great grandfather of King David. Both
the gospels of Matthew and Luke show that Jesus Christ is a descendant of Boaz
and King David.
“And Naasson begot Salmon, and
Salmon begot Booz, and Booz begot Obed,
and Obed begot Jessae. And Jessae begot his first-born Eliab, Aminadab was the
second, Samaa the third, Nathanael the fourth, Zabdai the fifth, Asam the sixth, David
the seventh.” Sep 1Ch 2:11-15
“And Salmon begat Boaz of
Rachab; and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth;
and Obed begat Jesse; And Jesse begat David the
king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife
of Urias.” KJV Mat 1:5-6
“Which was the son of Melea,
which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of
Nathan, which was the son of David,
Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon,
which was the son of Naasson,” KJV Luke 3:31-32
Source: Wikicommons
If Ruth was a Moabite by race that means that King David was
one eighth Moabite; therefore he did not qualified to be King of the assembly
of Israel (Deu 23:3-6 above & Deu 17:15). David was three generations away from Ruth. Malachi 3:6, Isaiah 31:2, and Hebrews 13:8
tell us that our Father in Heaven never changes his mind; therefore if God says
the Moabites cannot be part of the assembly, it means that King David was not
part Moabite since our Father in Heaven did pick David to be king of Israel. Our Father in Heaven made a covenant (promise)
with King David that his throne would last forever and our God does not break
his promises. Our Father in Heaven does
not break his own laws either.
“And he sent and fetched him:
and he was ruddy, with beauty of eyes, and very goodly to behold. And the Lord said to
Samuel, Arise, and anoint David, for
he is good. And Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the
midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day
forward: and Samuel arose, and departed to Armathaim.” Sep 1Sa 16:12-13
“And his house shall be made
sure, and his kingdom for ever before me, and his throne
shall be set up for ever. According to all these words, and according to
all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.” Sep 2Sa 7:16-17
“And the word of the Lord came
unto Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord;
If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that
there should not be day and night in their season; Then may also my covenant be
broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his
throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. As the host of heaven
cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply
the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.” KJV
Jer 33:19-22
Ruth and Naomi had to have been from the tribe of Judah
since they were near kinsman to Boaz.
Plus Naomi returned Judah
where she had land to sale. Only the
tribe of Judah
was to own land in the territory of Judah
(Num 36:2-3 below). Naomi brought Ruth
to Bethlehem Judah
and it would be hard to believe she would bring a Moabite by race there since
it was forbidden.
“And she went forth out of the place where she
was, and her two daughters-in-law with her: and they went by the way to return
to the land of Juda.” Sep
Rth 1:7
Naomi wanted to sell her husband and son’s land (Ruth 4:9)
and had stated she was too old to remarry (Ruth 1:12). Boaz wanted to purchase this land in Judah
from Naomi and take Ruth as is wife; however there was another relative that
was more closely related to Ruth’s husband who had died so the issue was
settled before 10 elders.
“And Booz went up to the gate, and
sat there; and behold, the relative passed by, of whom Booz spoke: and Booz
said to him, Turn aside, sit down here, such a one: and he turned aside and sat
down. And Booz
took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye here; and
they sat down. And Booz said to the
relative, The matter regards the portion of the field which was our brother
Elimelech's which was given to Noemin, now returning out of the land of Moab;
and I said, I will inform thee, saying, Buy it before those that sit, and before
the elders of my people: if thou wilt redeem it, redeem it, but if thou wilt
not redeem it, tell me, and I shall know; for there is no one beside thee to do
the office of a kinsman, and I am after thee: and he said, I am here, I will
redeem it. And Booz said, In the day of thy buying the field of the hand of
Noemin and of Ruth the Moabitess the wife of the deceased, thou must also buy
her, so as to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. And the kinsman said, I shall not be able to
redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance; do thou redeem my right for thyself, for I shall not be
able to redeem it.” Sep Rth 4:1-6
If Ruth was really a Moabite by race, the elders would have
stated that the marriage was not allowed due to the law stated in Deuteronomy
23:3-6 (above) that the Moabites were not to be part of the assembly of Israel. Instead the 10 elders treated Ruth as an
Israelite and allowed her to be redeemed with the land, as shown below
according to the law:
“And if brethren should live
together, and one of them should die, and should not have seed, the wife of the
deceased shall not marry out of the family to a man not related: her husband's
brother shall go in to her, and shall take her to himself for a wife, and shall
dwell with her. And it shall come to
pass that the child which she shall bear, shall be named by the name of the
deceased, and his name shall not be blotted out of Israel.”
Sep Deu 25:5-6
The 10 elders also knew that the children of Jacob Israel
were to keep separate from the other nations.
The word holy means ‘dedicated and set apart for God’s purposes’:
“Speak to the congregation of
the children of Israel,
and thou shalt say to them, Ye shall be holy;
for I the Lord your God am holy.” Sep Lev 19:2
“And ye shall be holy to me; because I the Lord your God am
holy, who separated you from all nations,
to be mine.” Sep Lev 20:26
So it is a fact that Boaz was very concerned about following
the marriage laws of Moses. In order to
ensure he was following the law he got 10 elders involved; therefore it is just
not possible that Ruth was a Moabite by race.
Towards the end of the Israelite’s 40 years in the
wilderness with Moses some of the children of Jacob Israel started worshiping
with Moab and
Moses said to kill all of them that did this.
24,000 Israelites were killed because of their participation of this sin.
This event happened about 1244 BC and the 10 elders of Israel
during Ruth’s time probably knew about this event because Boaz and Ruth married
about 80 years later.
“And Israel
sojourned in Sattin, and the people profaned [G953 bebēloō; I profane, pollute,
violate, to desecrate] itself by going a-whoring after the daughters of Moab. And they called them to the
sacrifices of their idols; and the people ate of their sacrifices, and
worshipped their idols. And Israel
consecrated themselves to Beel-phegor; and the Lord was very angry with Israel.
And the Lord said to Moses, Take all the princes of the people, and make them
examples of judgment for the Lord in the face of the sun, and the anger of the
Lord shall be turned away from Israel.
And Moses said to the tribes of Israel,
Slay ye every one his friend that is consecrated to Beel-phegor. And, behold, a
man of the children of Israel
came and brought his brother to a Madianitish woman before Moses, and before
all the congregation of the children of Israel;
and they were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of witness. And Phinees the
son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, and rose out of the midst
of the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand, and went in after the
Israelitish man into the chamber, and pierced them both through, both the
Israelitish man, and the woman through her womb; and the plague was stayed from
the children of Israel. And those that died in the plague were four and twenty
thousand.” Sep Num 25:1-9
In about 304BC, the Israelite remnant returned from Babylon
captivity and they read the laws of Moses.
Then they removed all the mixed people from their land. Ruth’s
descendants would have been removed at this time if she was a Moabite by race.
“In that day they read in the
book of Moses in the ears of the people; and it was found written in it, that
the Ammonites and Moabites should not enter into
the congregation of God for ever; because they met not the children
of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them:
but our God turned the curse into a blessing. And it came to pass, when they
heard the law, that they were separated,
even every alien in Israel.”
Sep Neh 13:1-3
Now once Boaz and Ruth were married, Ruth would become an
heir to the land if Boaz would have died. So if Boaz died, Ruth may have decided to remarry
a Moabite, if she was really Moabite by race.
This could cause the land to be transferred from the tribe of Judah
to the Moabites. The elders knew better
and would not have allowed a marriage to a Moabite. According to the laws of Moses, the tribes
were only allowed to marry within their own tribe in order to keep the
inheritance correct. This is another
reason I think that Ruth must have been from thee tribe of Judah.
And whatever daughter is heiress
to a property of the tribes of the children Israel,
such women shall be married each to one of her father's tribe, that the sons of
Israel
may each inherit the property of his father's tribe. And the inheritance shall
not go about from one tribe to another, but the children of Israel
shall steadfastly continue each in his own inheritance. Sep Num 36:8-9
Gods & Thy People Shall Be My People
Many churches teach that Ruth and her sister-in-law were
worshipping other gods; therefore they were not Israelites (see the verses
below). First off the words ‘shall be’ are in italics in many bibles
because those words were inserted by the translators and should not really be
part of the sentence. The interlinear
for both the Greek and Modern Hebrew shows the words ‘shall be’ are not
included in the original text (see Hebrew here, see Greek here). When you read the sentence without the words
‘shall be’, it becomes clear that Ruth stating that her people and
Naomi’s people are the same people. Ruth
is also saying that her God is the same as Naomi’s God. Ruth is just merely expressing her commitment to Naomi.
“And Noemin said to Ruth,
Behold, thy sister-in-law has returned to her people and to her gods [G2316 theos; a deity, especially
the supreme Divinity; figuratively a magistrate (judge)];
turn now thou also after thy sister-in-law. And Ruth said, Intreat me not to
leave thee, or to return from following thee; for whithersoever thou goest, I
will go, and wheresoever thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God [G2316 theos] my God [G2316 theos].” Sep Rth 1:15-16
“And she said, Behold, thy
sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods [H430
elohim; gods in the ordinary sense, with the article the supreme God, ruler,
judge]: return thou after thy sister in law. And Ruth said, Intreat
me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou
goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God [H430 elohim] my God [H430 elohim].” KJV Rth 1:15-16
Secondly the statement about Ruth’s sister-in-law has
returned to her gods must be understood that the word ‘god’ can mean
magistrate, judge, or ruler. Therefore,
Ruth’s sister-in-law returned to the locality where she was from and the local
people there used their own magistrates, judges, and rulers. Below are verses
showing that the Greek word 'theos' and the modern Hebrew word 'elohim' are
referring to people as gods or judges.
Genesis chapter 3 makes it clear that a 'theos' or 'elohim' is a person that
has the abilty to judge the difference between good and evil.
[The serpent said]“For God [G2316 theos; a deity, especially
the supreme Divinity; figuratively a magistrate (judge)] knew that
in whatever day ye should eat of it your eyes would be opened, and ye would be as gods [G2316 theos; a deity, especially
the supreme Divinity; figuratively a magistrate (judge)];, knowing good and evil.” Sep Gen 3:6
“And God
[G2316 theos; a deity,
especially the supreme Divinity; figuratively a magistrate (judge)] said, Behold, Adam is become as one of us [a god], to
know good and evil, and now lest at any time he stretch forth his
hand, and take of the tree of life and eat, and so he shall live forever—“
Sep Gen 3:23
“And the Lord spoke to Moses,
saying, Behold, I have made thee a god [G2316
theos; a deity, especially the supreme Divinity; figuratively a magistrate
(judge)] to
Pharao, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.” Sep Exo 7:1
“Thou shalt not revile [G2551 kakologeō; speak evil of,
curse] the gods [G2316 theos; a deity, especially
the supreme Divinity; figuratively a magistrate (judge)], nor speak
ill of the ruler of thy people.” Sep Exo 22:28
“Thou shalt not revile the gods [H430 elohim; gods in the ordinary
sense, with the article the supreme God, ruler, judge], nor curse the ruler
of thy people.” KJV Exo 22:28
“They chose new gods [G2316 theos; a deity, especially
the supreme Divinity; figuratively a magistrate (judge)]; then the
cities of rulers fought; there was not a shield or spear seen among forty
thousand in Israel.”
Sep Jdg 5:8
“If one man sin against another,
the judge [H430 elohim; gods in the ordinary
sense, with the article the supreme God, ruler, judge] shall judge him: but
if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they
hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay
them.” KJV 1Sa 2:25
“I have said, Ye are gods [H430 elohim; gods in the ordinary
sense, with the article the supreme God, ruler, judge]; and all of you
children of the Most High.” Sep Psa 82:6
“Jesus answered them, “Is it not
written in your Law, I said, you are gods
[G2316 theos; a deity,
especially the supreme Divinity; figuratively a magistrate (judge)]’?” ESV
John 10:34
The Land of Moab
The book of Ruth
states that Naomi and Ruth lived in the land or county of Moab; however they never stated the exact area
of Moab where they lived. It can only be
assumed they were living in west Moab along the Jordan River where the ancient Israelites had camped while
Moses was with them.
The ancient Israelite camp that Moses lead, described in
Numbers chapter 2, would have required a huge territory since their were
603,550 men age 20 or older in the camp plus there were probably just as many
woman of that age group, plus children, plus the Levites that were not included
in the census. Therefore the camp was
probably large enough to accommodate 1,600,000 Israelites at least.
“And the whole numbering of the
children of Israel with their host from twenty years old and upward, every one
that goes out to set himself in battle array in Israel, came to six hundred
thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.” Sep Num 1:45-46
The land of Moab was named after Lot’s son Moab (Gen 19:37).
The Moabite land must have been originally a big territory of which some
was taken from them and given to the Israelites. God gave the children of Lot the land called ‘Ar’; which was sometimes called
Aroer. This land that God stated the Moabites were to keep was in east Moab.
“And we turned and went in the
direction of the wilderness of Moab.
And the Lord said to me, Do not harass Moab or contend with them in battle, for
I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar
to the people of Lot for a possession.’” ESV Deu 2:8-9
“And we passed by our brethren
the children of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, by the way of Araba from Ælon and from
Gesion Gaber; and we turned and passed by the way of the desert of Moab.
And the Lord said to me, Do not ye quarrel with the Moabites, and do not engage
in war with them; for I will not give you of their land for an inheritance, for
I have given Aroer to the children of Lot to inherit.” Sep Deu 2:8-9
The verse below states that the Amorites had taken some of Moab’s
land and then the Israelites took this land
of Moab away from the Amorites.
“And Israel
smote him with the slaughter of the sword, and they became possessors of his
land, from Arnon to Jaboc, as far as the children of Amman,
for Jazer is the borders of the children of Amman.
And Israel
took all their cities, and Israel
dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Esebon, and in all cities belonging
to it. For Esebon is the city of Seon
king of the Amorites; and he before fought
against the king of Moab, and they took all his land, from Aroer to Arnon.”
Sep Num 21:24-26
The land taken away
from Moab was the plains of Moab which is west Moab according to the Greek Septuagint. The Israelites did camp out in the plains of Moab while Moses was still living during their
forty years in the wilderness.
“And they departed from the
mountains of Abarim, and pitched in the plains of Moab
by Jordan
near Jericho. And they pitched by Jordan,
from Bethjesimoth even unto Abelshittim in the plains of Moab.
And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab
by Jordan
near Jericho, saying,”
KJV Num 33:48-50
“And they departed from the
mountains of Abarim, and encamped on the west
[G1424 dusmē; the setting
of the sun, hence west] of Moab,
at Jordan
by Jericho. And they
encamped by Jordan
between Æsimoth, as far as Belsa to the west [G1424 dusmē] of Moab. And the Lord spoke to Moses at the west [G1424 dusmē] of Moab
by Jordan
at Jericho, saying,” Greek
Septuagint Num 33:48-50
The plains of Moab
in the west bordered ‘the promised land’; therefore God did want the Israelites
to have it as part of the ‘promised land’.
The plains of Moab
included land on the west side of the Jordan River. When the Israelites acquired this land they
continued to call the land “Moab’. The plain of Moab was near Jericho
on the west side of the Jordan River (see Joshua chapter
4). The west part of Moab
was where God gave the Israelites more commandments and judgments. The book of Deuteronomy appears to have all
happened in the plains or west Moab.
“These are the commandments, and
the ordinances, and the judgments, which the Lord commanded by the hand of
Moses, at the west [ G1424 dusmē; the setting of the
sun, hence west]of Moab,
at Jordan
by Jericho.” Sep
Num 36:13
“beyond
[G4008 peran; on the
other side, across, beyond] Jordan in the
land of Moab, Moses began to declare this law, saying, The Lord your
God spoke to us in Choreb, saying, Let it suffice you to have dwelt so long in
this mountain.” Sep Deu 1:5-6
“These are the words of the
covenant, which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel
in the land of Moab,
besides the covenant which he made with them in Choreb.” Sep Deu 29:1
Mount Nabua
[Nebo] was located in western region of the land
of Moab. Moses died in this area.
“And the Lord spoke to Moses in
this day, saying, Go up to the mount Abarim, this mountain Nabau [Nebo] which
is in the land of Moab over against Jericho, and behold the land
of Chanaan, which I give to the sons of Israel: and die in the mount whither
thou goest up, and be added to thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount
Or, and was added to his people.” Sep Deu 32:48-50
“So Moses the servant of the
Lord died in the land of Moab by
the word of the Lord. And they buried him in Gai near the house of Phogor; and
no one has seen his sepulchre to this day.” Sep Deu 34:5-6
During the time of the Judges, Israel
fought with the Moabites and blocked the fords on the Jordan River
so that they could not cross over into their land on the west side of the Jordan
River. They killed 10,000
Moabites.
“And he said to them, Come down
after me, for the Lord God has delivered our enemies, even Moab, into our hand;
and they went down after him, and seized on the fords of Jordan before Moab,
and he did not suffer a man to pass over. And they
smote Moab on that day about ten thousand men,
every lusty person and every mighty man; and not a man escaped. So Moab
was humbled in that day under the hand of Israel,
and the land had rest eighty years;
and Aod judged them till he died.” Sep Jdg 3:28-30
So the ancient Israelites did have an established presence
in west Moab
starting from the time when Moses was alive.
This presence continued on during Ruth’s life that was right after the
verse above. The west side of the land
of Moab was very close to the land
of Judah; therefore the tribe of Judah
may have been gradually moving into the area.
The Rubenites lived north of the land
of Moab and the verse below states
that Ruben’s descendants acquired land in Moab
also.
“And Balec the son of Azuz, the
son of Sama, the son of Joel: he dwelt in Aroer, and even to Naban [Nebo], and
Beelmasson.” Sep 1Ch 5:8
Prophecy states
that the Moabites will be plundered and their land a waste:
“God will give rest on this
mountain, and the country of Moab shall be trodden down, as they tread
the floor with waggons.” Sep Isa 25:10
“I have heard the revilings of Moab,
and the insults of the children of Ammon, wherewith they have reviled my
people, and magnified themselves against my coasts. Therefore, as I live, saith
the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall be as Sodoma, and the
children of Ammon as Gomorrha; and Damascus shall be left as a heap of the
threshing-floor, and desolate for ever: and the remnant of my people shall
plunder them, and the remnant of my nations shall inherit them. This is their punishment in return for their
haughtiness, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the
Lord Almighty.” Sep Zep 2:8-10
There are no prophecies stating that Moab
would amount to anything. The promises
were all given to Abraham and his descendants (Genesis chapter 17). Moab
is not a descendant of Abraham (see
Shem’s descendants of Nahor, part 2).
So as you can see according to the verses above that it is
not possible that Ruth is a Moabite by race since that would mean bible
prophecy is wrong and the bible law was not followed.
Jesus is our High King and Priest because
he satisfied the laws of Moses.
