‘ So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the country of Moab, and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of the barley harvest.'
Naomi had, with her husband, deserted from within the sphere of the covenant, because there had been famine in the land, But now when she returned it was to discover a plentiful barley harvest, while she herself was empty. No wonder that in the bitterness of the experience she wanted to change her name. But what she did not as yet realise was the treasure that she had brought with her, Ruth the Moabitess from whose descendants would be born Israel's greatest king, (and whose even greater ‘son' would be the Saviour of the world).
“Ruth the Moabitess.” This is the first time that this description has been applied to Ruth and it will occur fairly regularly from now on (Ruth 2:2; Ruth 2:21; Ruth 4:5; Ruth 4:10. Compare also Ruth 2:6; Ruth 2:11). The author is stressing her Moabite ancestry in spite of the fact that she had become a part of an Israelite family and a Yahwist. This suggests that one of his aims is to bring out how such a foreigner who converts to YHWH can find acceptance in the covenant community to such an extent that YHWH will use her to produce Israel's great king, David.