Who Wrote Ruth:

Ruth 1:1 suggests the book of Ruth was written by the same author as the book of Judges:

In the days when judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab.

This opening sentence leads most scholars to believe Ruth was written by the same author as the book of Judges and at the same time.

The writing style of Ruth also suggest the same author as Judges. Both books spend a significant amount of time explaining the customs observed by the Israelites during the days of Judges, as though his readers were unaware. An example is found in Ruth 4:6-7:

At this time, the kinsman-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.(Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to another. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.)

When compared to Judges 20:27-28, similarities in writing style become obvious:

And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, with Phinehas and son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) They asked, “Shall we go up again to battle with Benjamin our brother, or not?”

The similarities in writing style and the writing of the same time period suggest strongly that Ruth and Judges were written by the same person. This means the same arguments regarding the author of Judges apply to Ruth.

Two theories exist regarding the author of Ruth:

1. Samuel wrote Ruth during the reign of King Saul (The traditional argument).
2. Solomon wrote Ruth during the reign of King David.

Two clues point to who the author may have been:

1. The author writes as though the events of Ruth took place in the distant past. Requiring the author to explain the customs.
2. Judges repeatedly states: “In those days Israel had no king.” This suggests Judges and Ruth were written while there was a king of Israel. (While this statement does not appear in Ruth, the statement is not necessary. Ruth is a recollection of a particular event and the fact that Israel had no king does not influence the story. Judges is a recollection of a time when Israel had no king; making the statement necessary.)

Arguments for Solomon as the author of Ruth:

The argument for Solomon as the author of Ruth rest primarily upon the writing style of Judges and Ruth. The examples given above of the author explaining the customs suggest the books were written at a time when the author’s contemporaries would not be aware of such customs. If Solomon wrote the books of Judges and Ruth, he would have done so at least 50-60 years after the events and the customs would need to be explained to his readers.

The repeated reminders in the book of Judges that Israel had no king not only suggest Judges and Ruth were written at a time when Israel did have a king, but that Israel probably had a king long enough for people to either forget a time without a king, or never lived without a king. Samuel died within 30-40 years of the appointment of King Saul (the first king). Many scholars suggest this is not enough time to warrant the repeated reminders.

Arguments for Samuel as the author of Ruth:

Traditionally Samuel has been considered the author of Judges and Ruth. While this argument agrees a lot of time passed between the events found in Judges and Ruth and the writing of the books, it argues the 30-40 year gap between the events of Judges and the writing of Judges and Ruth is enough time for the people of Israel to need a reminder of a time without a king. Proponents of this argument also suggest Samuel was not only writing to his contemporaries, but also to future generations. Samuel as the author also explains the incredible detail found in the books of Judges and Ruth. Such detail would be difficult for Solomon to acquire.

We cannot know definitively who wrote the book of Judges and book of Ruth. While Samuel as the author explains the detail known, Solomon as the author explains why it was written as a recollection of a distant event.