Ruth 1:1 (GNV)

Passage

In the time that the Iudges ruled, there was a dearth in the lande, and a man of Beth-lehem Iudah went for to soiourne in the countrey of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sonnes.

Nearby Context

Ruth 1:1 In the time that the Iudges ruled, there was a dearth in the lande, and a man of Beth-lehem Iudah went for to soiourne in the countrey of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sonnes.

Ruth 1:2 And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi: and the names of his two sonnes, Mahlon, and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth-lehem Iudah: and when they came into the land of Moab, they continued there.

Ruth 1:3 Then Elimelech the husband of Naomi died, and she remayned with her two sonnes,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "time", "iudges", "ruled", "dearth", "lande", "beth-lehem", "iudah", and "went". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "time" and "iudges", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The next verse adds "And the name of the man was...", so "time" and "iudges" should be read forward into that movement. In Ruth context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "time" and "iudges" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.