According to my count Ruth is not only the first, but one of only two books in the Bible named after a woman (the other being Esther). I have to say that after all the violence and bloodshed in Joshua and Judges, Ruth is a breath of fresh air. The book begins just after Ruth’s husband dies. She goes with her mother-in-law back to their hometown, Bethlehem (we’ll hear more about that town when we hit the New Testament). There’s a famine, so Ruth goes out to the fields to “glean.” I’d heard about gleaning before, but wasn’t exactly sure what it was so I did a little research.