the deaths of Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon in Moab were further consequences of the spiritual crisis in the land. Naomi certainly recognized the hand of God behind her personal misery (1:20–21). Second, God’s hand is present in apparently chance events. In context וַיִּקֶר מִקְרֶהָ in 2:3 means “her chance chanced upon,” or in colloquial English, “by a stroke of luck” (cf. 1 Sam 6:9). The narrator’s choice of phrase forces the hearer to sit up and ask how it was that Ruth “happened” to land in