Three points of tension concerning this possibility appear from the evidence of the book: reference to the period of “the Judges” in Ruth 1:1 sounds like that period is now in the past, while it can be safely said that Samuel is the link between the Judges and the Jewish monarchy, beginning with Saul; explanation of the custom in Ruth 4:7 also makes it seem that Ruth’s readers are long removed in time from this occurrence; and the book climaxes with two references to “David” (4:17, 22). Of course,