Brutal Times

In 1:1-5, we meet Naomi (lit. "pleasant").

She and her husband and two sons moved from Bethlehem to Moab to escape famine in their hometown.

This would have been a temporary move for the family, but Naomi's husband died. Then, within ten years, her sons both died, too. She was left with two kind daughters-in-law, but no source of income or property.