Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.

RUTH 1:6KJV
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Ruth 1:6 (KJV)

What does Ruth 1:6 mean?

Naomi prepares to leave Moab with her daughters-in-law because she has heard that the LORD has provided food for his people back in Judah. The famine that drove her family away no longer gives her a reason to remain abroad.

The key is “the LORD had visited his people.” The Hebrew word פָּקַד (paqad), translated “visited,” can describe turning attention toward someone and acting on their behalf. Here the verse identifies the action: “in giving them bread.” God’s “visit” means that he has attended to his people’s need by supplying food.

The Hebrew behind Ruth 1:6

  • “arose” — קוּם (qum): This means to rise or get up, and can introduce the beginning of an action. Here Naomi moves from hearing news to preparing for the journey. The verse begins her departure; it does not yet describe her arrival.

  • “return” — שׁוּב (shuv): This means to turn back or go back. Judah is Naomi’s former home, so her journey is a return. Her daughters-in-law begin the journey with her, but the wording centers on Naomi’s homecoming.

  • “LORD” — יהוה (YHWH, commonly rendered Yahweh): This is God’s personal name, represented in the KJV by “LORD” in capital letters. Naomi has heard more than news of improved food supplies: the report attributes that provision to Israel’s God.

  • “bread” — לֶחֶם (lechem): This means bread and can also refer more broadly to food. In the setting of famine, “giving them bread” means restoring the food needed to sustain the people.

Why Ruth 1:6 matters

  • The news reverses the reason Naomi left. Ruth 1:1 begins with famine in Judah; Ruth 1:6 reports food for the people there. That change explains the direction of Naomi’s journey.

  • Naomi acts on a report received in Moab. “She had heard” explains how she knows conditions have changed before she returns to see them herself.

  • The daughters-in-law’s final choices are still ahead. “With her daughters in law” places both women with Naomi as she begins to leave. The following conversation determines who will continue with her.

Where else these words appear

“law” Hebrew H3618 · used in 34 verses

  • Genesis 11:31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.
  • Ruth 4:15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him.
  • Isaiah 62:5 For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.