Moab to Bethlehem The story of Ruth occurred in the days “when the judges ruled” Israel (1:1) ca. 1370 to 1041 B.C. (Judg. 2:16–19) and thus bridges time from the judges to Israel’s monarchy. God used “a famine in the land” of Judah (1:1) to set in motion this beautiful drama, although the famine does not receive mention in Judges which causes difficulty in dating the events of Ruth. However, by working backward in time from the well known date of David’s reign (1011–971 B.C.), the time period