Title

This book received its title in honor of the heroine of the story. The name, Ruth, appears to have been Moabite and not Hebrew originally, though its etymological derivation is uncertain.¹After Ruth entered Israel, and especially after the Book of Ruth circulated, the name became popular among the Jews and, later, Christians.

The same title appears over the book in its Hebrew (Masoretic), Greek (Septuagint), Latin (Vulgate), and modern language versions.