Ruth s response to her mother-in-law Naomi demonstrated both Ruth s loyalty to her family and her trust in God. The Reformers of the sixteenth century found theological significance in such Old Testament narratives. For example, German Lutheran pastor and theologian Johannes Brenz perceived in her confession a foreshadowing of the gospel: Ruth the Moabitess is recorded in the genealogy of Christ, that it might be made known that Christ belongs not only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles.

In this volume of the Reformation Commentary on Scripture, N. Scott Amos guides readers through a wealth of early modern commentary on the Old Testament books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. Readers will hear from familiar voices and discover lesser-known figures from a diversity of theological traditions, including Lutherans, Reformed, Radicals, Anglicans and Roman Catholics. Drawing upon a variety of resources–from commentaries and sermons to treatises and confessions–much of which appears here for the first time in English, this volume provides resources for contemporary preachers, enables scholars to better understand the depth and breadth of Reformation commentary, and seeks to encourage all those who would, like Ruth, declare their allegiance to God.