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jah_/cajah-;h4zip7      ,altemus'       
,beautiful ,stories ,series  ,a         
,,farmer',s ,,wife  ,the ,story of ,ruth
  by  ,j4 ,h4 ,,willard  ,illustrated   
,philadelphia ,henry ,altemus ,company  
99      99      99      99      99      
,altemus' ,illustrated ,beautiful       
,stories ,series  ,,the ,,first         
,,christmas4 ,,the ,,first ,,easter4    
,,once ,,in ,,seven ,,years4       ,the 
,story of the ,jubilee ,,with ,,hammer  
,,and ,,nail4       ,the ,story of ,jael
 and ,sisera ,,five ,,kings ,,in ,a     
,,cave4       ,the ,story of a ,great   
,battle ,,the ,,wisest ,,man4       ,the
 ,story of ,solomon ,a ,,farmer',s      
,,wife4       ,the ,story of ,ruth ,,the
 ,,man ,,who ,,did ,,not ,,die4         

,the ,story of ,elijah ,,when ,,iron    
,,did ,,swim4       ,the ,story of      
,elisha ,,what is ,,sweeter ,,than      
,,honey4       ,the ,story of ,samson   
,twenty-five ,cents ,each  ,copyright1  
#aijf ,by ,henry ,altemus        99     
99      99      99      99              
,illustration3 ,working in the fields   
,a ,,farmer',s ,,wife  ,,the ,,story    
,,of ,,ruth4   ,in the district called  
,ephrath1 belonging to the tribe of     
,judah1 stood the city of ,bethlehem1 or
 house of bread4 ,it was a city with    
walls and gates1 and lay between        
fruitful hills and well-watered valleys4
 ,there among pleasant cornfields and   
pasture lands lived a man named         
,elimelech1 which means my ,god is my   
,king4 ,he was descended from one of the
 princes of ,judah1 and was a man of    
means and consequence4  ,illustration3  
,a ,,fertile ,,region ,,in ,,palestine4 
,elimelech's wife was named ,naomi1     
meaning pleasant1 and they had two sons 
whose names were ,mahlon and ,chilion4  

,this old and noble family lived in this
 fertile region1 amid pleasant          
surroundings1 and with happy prospects1 
until one of the frequent famines that  
were brought on by want of rain visited 
their district4  ,illustration3 ,,the   
,,parched ,,and ,,sterile ,,fields4     
,leaving the parched and sterile fields 
around ,bethlehem1 ,elimelech1 his      
family and his flocks1 left their home  
and settled in the rich and well-watered
 lands of the ,moabites1 beyond the     
,jordan4 ,as a wealthy foreigner1 he    
probably was well received by the people
 of ,moab1 and secured good pasturage   
for his sheep and cattle4               
,illustration3 ,,seeking ,,pasturage    
,,for ,,his ,,sheep4  ,but much trouble 
was in store for this family1           
notwithstanding its wealth had enabled  
them to leave their own famine-stricken 
lands4 ,first ,elimelech died1 and the  
family was without a head4              
,illustration3 ,,on ,,the ,,way ,,to    
,,the ,,land ,,of ,,moab4  ,then ,mahlon

 married a beautiful woman of the       
country in which he was then living1    
named ,ruth1 and his brother ,chilion   
married another named ,orpah4 ,such     
marriages were against the law of       
,moses1 because the ,moabites worshipped
 idols1 but as the nation was descended 
from ,lot1 the nephew of ,abraham1 the  
marriages were not so bad as they would 
have been with women belonging to other 
of the different tribes of ,canaan4     
,illustration3 ,,plain ,,and ,,mountains
 ,,of ,,moab4 ,from a ,photograph4      
,after a while both of the sons of      
,naomi died1 and she was left a         
childless widow in a strange land4 ,by  
her gracious ways she had won the       
affection of both ,ruth and ,orpah1 and 
now sorrow locked their hearts together 
in sympathy4 ,at length1 ,naomi turned  
her longing eyes to her old home in     
,bethlehem4 ,ten years had come and gone
 since she left it1 and now the news had
 reached her that there was plenty of   
food there4  ,naomi and her two         

daughters-in-law started on their way to
 the land of ,judah4 ,after a while1    
thinking that they had accompanied her  
far enough1 ,naomi bade ,ruth and ,orpah
 return to their own mothers' homes1 and
 spoke very kindly to them4 ,she kissed 
them and would have taken leave of them1
 but they insisted that they would go   
with her to the home of her own people4 
,illustration3 ,,naomi ,,bid ,,ruth     
,,and ,,orpah ,,return4  ,then ,naomi   
suggested that they would not be welcome
 at ,bethlehem because they were        
,moabites4 ,they would be looked upon   
with reproach1 strangers in a strange   
land1 and again she pleaded with them to
 go home1 lest their love for her should
 prove a sorrow to them4  ,illustration3
 ,,bethlehem4  ,orpah was persuaded to  
return and settle down among her        
kindred1 and probably did so from a     
sense of duty2 but ,ruth would not leave
 ,naomi1 although her mother-in-law gave
 her one more opportunity to go back to 
,moab4  ,the chief cause for separation1

 according to ,naomi1 was1 not that they
 belonged to different races1 but that  
they did not worship the same ,god4 ,but
 ,ruth1 in words at once pathetic and   
sincere1 unselfish in spirit and        
expression1 declared her resolve4       
,intreat me not to leave thee1 and to   
return from following after thee3 for   
whither thou goest ,i will go2 and where
 thou lodgest ,i will lodge3 thy people 
shall be my people1 and thy ,god my     
,god3 where thou diest will ,i die1 and 
there will ,i be buried3 the ,lord do so
 to me1 and more also1 if aught but     
death part thee and me4  ,illustration3 
',,intreat ,,me ,,not ,,to ,,leave      
,,thee4'  ,ruth gave up father and      
mother1 friends and relatives1 religion 
and country1 and chose poverty and a    
life among strangers because of her love
 for ,naomi1 and her trust in ,naomi's  
,god4 ,they reached ,bethlehem about the
 beginning of the barley harvest1 and   
secured some kind of a home4  ,the city 
of ,bethlehem was stirred by the return 

of ,naomi4 ,she had left them           
accompanied by husband and sons1 and in 
prosperity4 ,she returned1 altered in   
circumstances1 changed in appearance1   
and accompanied only by a ,moabitish    
woman4  ,illustration3 ,a ,,harvest     
,,field ,,in ,,palestine ,,to-,,day4    
,from a ,photograph4  ,her friends could
 hardly believe their eyes1 and         
exclaimed1 ,is this ,naomi8 ,to which   
she would reply1 ,call me not ,naomi1   
'pleasant1' call me ,mara1 'bitter1' for
 the ,almighty hath dealt very bitterly 
with me4 ,there was much surprise shown 
at the return of ,naomi with ,ruth1 but 
there is no record that people were     
helpful or even kind to them1 and       
probably the first thing they had to do 
was to secure food4  ,illustration3     
',,is ,,this ,,naomi8'  ,as it was      
harvest time1 ,ruth volunteered to go   
into the fields and glean1 and so1 one  
morning1 she went forth as an alien1    
among strangers1 to find bread for the  
two4 ,she came to one of the fields of  

,boaz1 a man of wealth and position1 and
 a kinsman of ,elimelech1 and asked     
permission to glean among the sheaves4  
,in the glory of the early morning1 a   
band of reapers were cutting the bearded
 barley with their sickles4 ,behind     
them1 women bound the grain in sheaves1 
and behind these workers were a group of
 gleaners1 made up from the aged and the
 young4  ,ruth took her place among the 
gleaners1 and bending her back like the 
rest gathered the stray ears left by the
 binders4 ,the overseer watched both    
laborers and gleaners4 ,all were known  
to him1 even the beautiful stranger from
 the land of ,moab4  ,illustration3 ,a  
,,harvest ,,field ,,near ,,bethlehem    
,,to-,,day4 ,from a ,photograph4  ,as   
the day advanced1 ,boaz entered the     
field with the salutation to his men1   
,the ,lord be with you4 ,they replied1  
,the ,lord bless thee4 ,then glancing   
around the field1 ,boaz saw ,ruth among 
the gleaners and asked the overseer who 
she was4 ,the overseer replied that she 

was the ,moabitish woman who came back  
with ,naomi1 and that she had asked     
permission to gather the barley ears    
with the rest of the gleaners4  ,boaz   
was interested at once1 and1 struck by  
,ruth's modesty and beauty1 he went to  
her and said she was not to glean in any
 other fields but his all the time of   
harvest4 ,he told her she need fear no  
rudeness from the young men1 for he had 
laid his commands upon them not to      
molest or offend her4 ,he also told her 
that when she was thirsty she was to    
drink of what had been prepared for the 
reapers4  ,illustration3 ,,she ,,was    
,,not ,,to ,,glean ,,in ,,any ,,other   
,,fields4  ,ruth was deeply touched by  
this slight kindness4 ,bowing to the    
ground she asked why it was that she1 a 
stranger1 had found grace in his sight4 
,boaz replied that he had learned of her
 loving treatment of ,naomi1 since the  
death of her husband1 and how she had   
left her father and her mother1 and the 
land where she was born1 to live with   

her mother-in-law2 and then he invoked  
the blessing of ,god upon her and upon  
her work4  ,illustration3 ,,boaz        
,,invoked ,,the ,,blessing ,,of ,,god   
,,upon ,,her4  ,the sympathy and        
sincerity of ,boaz were very grateful to
 ,ruth4 ,she was comforted as well1 for 
she knew that he had recognized her     
goodness to ,naomi1 and knew that she   
had come to trust in the care of ,god4  
,at meal time ,boaz invited her to eat  
with the reapers1 and even handed food  
to her himself4 ,after the simple meal  
was eaten and ,ruth was again among the 
gleaners1 ,boaz told the reapers to let 
her glean wherever she chose1 and to    
drop some of the grain on purpose for   
her1 so that her work might be          
lightened4  ,as the sun began to set1   
all went their homeward way1 and when   
,ruth reached her home she beat out all 
the ears of barley she had gleaned and  
found there were three pecks of barley1 
about ten times as much as a single     
,israelite's daily portion of manna     

while wandering in the wilderness4 ,her 
first day's work had secured provision  
for several days to come4  ,when ,naomi 
saw what a quantity of barley ,ruth had 
brought home1 she asked in whose field  
she had gleaned4 ,then ,ruth related all
 the events of the day1 and how ,boaz   
had been kind to her4  ,it pleased      
,naomi to hear that ,boaz had shown     
kindness to ,ruth and to her1 because he
 was a relation of her husband1 and one 
whose duty it was to care for a widow1  
and one who had a right to help them by 
law4 ,such a relative was called a goel1
 meaning a redeemer4  ,so the days of   
the harvest passed4 ,every day ,ruth    
gleaned in the fields1 and at night     
returned to ,naomi4 ,each day she kept  
close by the maidens of ,boaz1 through  
the barley harvest1 and then to the last
 ingathering of the wheat4              
,illustration3 ,,every ,,day ,,ruth     
,,gleaned ,,in ,,the ,,fields4  ,the    
harvest finished1 the threshing of the  
grain began4 ,naomi was anxious that the

 redeemer should exercise his right4    
,according to ,israelitish law1 when a  
man died and left his wife childless1   
his nearest of kin was to take the widow
 to be his wife1 and any son born of    
this marriage should inherit the name   
and possessions of the first husband4   
,in this way he kept his brother's name 
and inheritance from being blotted out4 
,naomi saw with thankfulness that       
,divine ,love had led ,ruth to the      
protection of her rightful guardian4    
,so ,naomi planned how ,ruth should have
 an opportunity of speaking to ,boaz4   
,she told her to take off the sign of   
her mourning and widowhood1 and go to   
the threshing-floor when the grain was  
beaten out4  ,these threshing-floors    
were either natural spaces of rock1 or  
open places covered with large flat     
stones1 so that the grain could be      
readily separated from the husk without 
waste1 and the chaff easily blown away4 
,the sheaves of grain were spread on    
these places1 and a wooden sledge1      

covered with iron teeth1 was dragged    
over them by oxen until all the grain   
had fallen from the dry ears4 ,it was a 
joyful time1 the oxen were not muzzled1 
so they could eat while they worked1 and
 the master and his servants feasted4   
,illustration3 ,,the ,,oxen ,,were ,,not
 ,,muzzled4  ,when the grain was        
threshed1 it was cleaned by the cool    
winds of morning or evening1 and by the 
aid of large fans4 ,as this winnowing   
had to be done when the breezes sprang  
up1 master and servant often slept all  
night at the threshing floors1 so as to 
be ready for the first breath of wind1  
and to see that the grain was not       
stolen4  ,naomi told ,ruth to go to the 
threshing-floor of ,boaz1 and speak to  
him during the night4 ,ruth did as she  
was told1 and at the proper time told   
,boaz that he had the right to redeem   
her4 ,boaz was pleased1 and told her    
that he would do as she had said4  ,but 
he reminded her that while he was her   
kinsman1 there was another who was      

nearer4 ,he would see this man in the   
morning1 and if he would not exercise   
his right as redeemer1 he would perform 
the part of a kinsman himself4 ,he told 
her to lie quietly down until morning1  
and when it was nearly sunrise he poured
 into the veil or cloak that she wore1  
six measures of barley1 and sent her    
home to ,naomi4  ,illustration3 ,,gave  
,,her ,,six ,,measures ,,of ,,barley4   
,ruth went on her way in the dusk of    
dawn1 bearing the present of grain on   
her head1 as was the custom of the      
country4 ,she was returning to her      
mother-in-law with a story of hope and  
blessing that had come to her in the    
promise of ,boaz4  ,when she reached    
home1 ,naomi's first question was1 ,how 
hast thou fared1 my daughter8 ,then     
,ruth told her all that ,boaz had said  
and done1 and how he had given her the  
barley1 saying as he did so1 ,go not    
empty to thy mother-in-law4 ,naomi was  
pleased1 for she understood how ,boaz   
and ,ruth felt towards each other1 and  

so said3  ,sit still1 my daughter1 until
 thou know how the matter will fare2 for
 the man will not rest until he have    
finished the thing this day4  ,in       
,palestine1 nearly every town1 and many 
villages1 were surrounded by walls1 and 
at the main entrances there were deep   
gateways which generally had broad and  
shady spaces in front1 where people     
frequently met4  ,these gates became the
 chief places of interest4 ,they were   
often arched over and used as watch     
towers2 they became the guard-house1    
business was transacted there1 and in   
this way they became markets4  ,people  
met in the city gates to discuss the    
news of the day1 and proclamations were 
made there4 ,kings and rulers gave      
audience there1 and being a place of    
general resort1 the elders sat there to 
dispense justice4  ,illustration3       
,,kings ,,and ,,rulers ,,gave ,,audience
 ,,there4  ,in the morning1 then1 ,boaz 
went to the gateway of the city of      
,bethlehem1 ready to fulfill his pledge 

to ,ruth4 ,as he sat there1 the man who 
was the nearest relative of ,elimelech  
passed by4 ,boaz summoned him to a seat 
by himself1 using the legal form of     
expression by which he would understand 
that there was special business to be   
transacted4  ,then the elders1 or wise  
and respected citizens were asked to    
hear ,boaz's case1 and to be at once    
judges and responsible witnesses1 and to
 ratify the proceedings4 ,in their      
presence1 and in the hearing of the     
people who gathered near1 ,boaz stated  
the facts1 saying to the redeemer3      
,naomi1 that is come again out of the   
country of ,moab1 seeketh the parcel of 
land which was our brother ,elimelech's3
 and ,i thought to advertise thee1      
saying1 ,buy it before the inhabitants1 
and before the elders of my people4     
,and then ,boaz went on and asked the   
man if he would redeem it1 and the man  
said that he would do so4 ,he further   
explained to him the customs and        
conditions of the law1 and told him if  

he took the land he must also take ,ruth
 the ,moabitess to be his wife4  ,but   
this was a part of the bargain that the 
man did not want to perform1 so he      
turned his right of redemption over to  
,boaz1 giving as his reason1 that he    
would not mind buying the field if it   
would become his own personal property1 
but if he should marry ,ruth the field  
he bought would not belong to him2 and  
so he would have paid out money for     
something which would bring him little  
or no benefit4  ,it is not at all       
unlikely that he refused to marry ,ruth 
because she was a ,moabitess1 fearing   
that a marriage with an alien might mar 
his reputation and position in the city4
  ,when the man had announced his       
decision1 it was confirmed by the usual 
custom in all cases of redeeming and    
exchanging4 ,the one giving up the claim
 took off his sandal and gave it to the 
one who received the claim4 ,the matter 
was thus ratified1 as though a bond had 
been drawn up and signed4               

,illustration3 ,,he ,,drew ,,off ,,his  
,,sandal ,,and ,,handed ,,it ,,to       
,,boaz4  ,in this way the unnamed       
kinsman of ,elimelech refused to redeem 
,ruth and her land1 and as a proof of it
 he drew off his sandal and handed it to
 ,boaz before the ten elders and all the
 people1 thus transferring to him the   
legal right to be the redeemer4  ,boaz  
then called all present to witness that 
he had that day bought all that was     
,elimelech's and all that was ,chilion's
 and all that was ,mahlon's1 and also   
that ,ruth the ,moabitess was to be his 
wife4 ,and all the elders and all the   
people who were in the gate said they   
would be witnesses4  ,illustration3     
,,view ,,in ,,palestine ,,near          
,,bethlehem4 ,from a ,photograph4  ,and 
because ,boaz had acted so honorably1   
all present united in asking the        
blessing of ,god upon his marriage4 ,so1
 with the approval and best wishes of   
his neighbors and friends1 and above all
 with the blessing of ,god1 ,boaz and   

,ruth were married4  ,the story of ,ruth
 is a beautiful one1 for it shows how   
the sacrifice and service of love was   
rewarded4 ,naomi in her old age and     
declining days was made glad1 and the   
alien found a happy home4 ,in time a son
 was born to ,boaz and ,ruth1 and the   
name of ,obed1 or the serving one1 was  
given to it4 ,this boy grew up to be the
 father of ,jesse1 whose son was the    
mightiest of ,israel's kings4           
,illustration3 ,,naomi ,,became ,,the   
,,child',s ,,nurse4  ,when ,ruth's baby 
boy was born1 the matrons of ,bethlehem 
congratulated ,naomi1 who became the    
child's nurse4 ,the boy grew up to be   
the joy of his parents and the comfort  
of his adopted grandmother1 and in time 
the ancestor of ,mary the mother of     
,jesus4  ,illustration3 ,,david1        
,,grandson ,,of ,,the ,,son ,,of ,,ruth4
  ,the ,saviour of the world1 then1     
sprang from the tribe of ,judah1 and    
from the ,gentiles1 as they are called  
in the ,new ,testament1 through ,ruth   

the ,moabitess4  ,illustration3 ,,ruth  
,,the ,,beautiful ,,moabitess4  ,the    
memory of the faithful1 loving ,ruth has
 been a sweet and living picture for    
many centuries4 ,she left her home1 her 
friends1 her all1 to be kind and good to
 her broken-hearted mother-in-law1 and  
to serve ,god1 and found much more than 
she gave up4 ,she brought consolation to
 ,naomi1 there came to her love1        
prosperity1 and peace1 and through her  
children's children1 ,jesus the ,christ4
  ,illustration3 ,a shepherd at a river