Ruth and Esther are the only women in the Old Testament who have entire books devoted to them. The Book of Ruth tells the story of a Gentile who married a Jew and became an ancestress of the Messiah (Matt. 1:5). The Book of Esther introduces us to a Jewess who married a Gentile and was used of God to save the Jewish nation from destruction so that the Messiah could be born. The story of Ruth begins with a famine and ends with the birth of a baby, while the story of Esther begins with a feast