The book of Ruth is one of the world's most beautiful stories of human solidarity in the face of trouble. Apart from the book of Esther it is the only other book in the Bible to be named after a woman. Therefore it should not be a surprise that the major characters of the book are two women, Naomi and Ruth. A major theme of the book is their common struggle to survive in the midst of a hostile and troubled environment.

The stage was set for their common struggle when a food famine occurred in the city of Bethlehem. This was somewhat of a paradoxical event, for the word "Bethlehem" means "house of bread" in the Hebrew language. Surely, of all places, no one expected a food shortage to occur in the "house of bread." Nevertheless, the famine in Bethlehem is a reminder that no place or person …