The Beginning of Harvest

Naomi and Ruth have finally returned to Naomi's home in Bethlehem-Judah. Naomi has been welcomed and embraced by the people who remembered her from before she went to Moab. In our text there is an interesting statement, "...in the beginning of the barley harvest..." In the farming villages of Palestine there are two special seasons: one was the time of planting, the other was harvest time.