Ruth is a Moabite widow who loyally follows her mother-in-law Naomi to Bethlehem. There she meets and marries Boaz, and becomes the great-grandmother of King David.

When Naomi told her to stay in Moab, Ruth refused, saying, “Whither thou goest, I will go; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” It is one of the Bible’s best-known lines of loyalty.

Boaz was a kind and respected landowner in Bethlehem and a close relative of Naomi’s family. He protected Ruth, provided for her, and married her.

Ruth, a foreigner, became part of the family line of King David, showing that God welcomes outsiders and works through faithful, everyday choices.

It is the book of Ruth, four short chapters set during the time of the judges.

They are ten commands God gave Israel at Mount Sinai in Exodus 20, covering how to honor God and how to treat other people, from keeping a day of rest to not stealing or lying.

God gave them at Mount Sinai, which was covered in smoke, fire, and thunder while a trumpet sounded. The commandments were later written on two stone tablets.

The mountain shook with thunder, smoke, and a loud trumpet. The people were so frightened that they asked Moses to speak with God on their behalf.

They are often split into two groups: the first commands are about loving and honoring God, and the rest are about how to treat other people.

The Ten Commandments are given in Exodus 20, and repeated later in Deuteronomy 5.

In Exodus 17, Israel fought the Amalekites. As long as Moses held his hands up on the hill, Israel won; when his arms dropped, they began to lose. Aaron and Hur held his hands up until the battle was won.

Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands, one on each side, and set him on a stone to rest. His hands stayed steady until sunset.

Moses raising his hands with the staff of God was a sign that the people were depending on God for the victory. When his hands dropped, that dependence seemed to drop with them.

Joshua led the fighting men against the Amalekites while Moses watched and prayed from the hilltop.

It is found in Exodus 17, shortly after Israel crossed the Red Sea and entered the wilderness.

According to Deuteronomy 34, Moses died on Mount Nebo at the age of a hundred and twenty, after God showed him the promised land. God himself buried him, and no one knows the exact place.

Earlier in the wilderness, Moses had disobeyed God in a moment of anger. As a result, he was allowed to see the land but not to enter it.

Moses was a hundred and twenty years old. The Bible notes that his eyesight was still clear and his strength had not faded.

Joshua, who had been one of the faithful spies, took over leadership and brought Israel into the promised land.

It is found in Deuteronomy 34, the last chapter of Deuteronomy.

Balaam was a prophet whom King Balak of Moab tried to hire to curse Israel. His story is told in Numbers 22 through 24.

In the account, God opened the donkey’s mouth and she spoke to Balaam, asking why he kept striking her. It is one of the Bible’s most unusual moments.

The donkey saw an angel of the LORD standing in the way with a sword, though Balaam could not see it. She turned aside three times to protect Balaam.

God opened Balaam’s eyes to see the angel, and Balaam understood he could only say what God allowed. Instead of cursing Israel, he blessed them.

It is found in Numbers 22.

It was a snake made of bronze that Moses set on a pole in Numbers 21. Anyone bitten by the real snakes could look at it and be healed.

The people had complained against God and Moses during their journey. The snakes came as a consequence, and the people soon admitted they were wrong.

God told them to look at the bronze serpent Moses lifted up. Those who looked at it lived, without any other cure.

Yes. Jesus compared the lifted-up serpent to himself, saying he too would be lifted up so people could look to him and live, in John 3:14-15.

It is found in Numbers 21.

They were twelve leaders, one from each tribe of Israel, sent by Moses to explore the land of Canaan. Their story is told in Numbers 13.

Ten of the spies were frightened by the strong people and walled cities they saw. They told Israel the land could not be taken, even though God had promised it.

Caleb and Joshua were the two who believed God would help Israel take the land. They were the only two of that generation allowed to enter it later.

Because the people believed the fearful spies instead of God, they wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Only Caleb and Joshua from that generation reached the promised land.

It is found in Numbers 13, with the results described in Numbers 14.

In Leviticus 16, the scapegoat was a living goat that the high priest laid the people’s sins upon and then sent into the wilderness. It carried their guilt away from the camp.

It was the one day each year when the high priest made things right between the people and God. It is described in Leviticus 16 and was the most solemn day on Israel’s calendar.

One goat was offered as a sacrifice for sin, and the other, the scapegoat, was sent away alive carrying the people’s sins. Together they showed both the cost of sin and its removal.

Today a scapegoat means someone who is blamed for the faults of others. The word comes straight from this passage in Leviticus.

The story is found in Leviticus 16, which lays out the instructions for the Day of Atonement.

Esau came home from the fields exhausted and starving, and Jacob offered him a bowl of stew in exchange for his birthright. Esau agreed because he was focused only on his immediate hunger. He gave up his rights as the firstborn for one meal.

Isaac was old and blind and wanted to bless his firstborn, Esau. With Rebekah’s help, Jacob put on Esau’s clothes and covered his hands and neck with goat skins to feel hairy like his brother. Isaac was fooled and gave Jacob the firstborn blessing.

On his way home to face Esau, Jacob wrestled with God through the entire night and refused to let go until he was blessed. Because of this struggle, God gave him a new name, Israel. The name marks a turning point in his life and faith.

Yes. Years after Jacob fled, the brothers finally met again as Jacob returned home. Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, and wept, and the two were reconciled instead of fighting.

The story of Jacob and Esau is told in the book of Genesis, chapters 25 through 33. It covers their birth, the sold birthright, the stolen blessing, Jacob’s years with Laban, and the brothers’ reunion.

The people of Israel were growing in number, and Pharaoh feared they were becoming too strong. To control them, he ordered that every Hebrew baby boy be thrown into the Nile River. Baby Moses was born during this cruel command.

His mother hid him for three months, then placed him in a basket coated to float and set it among the reeds of the Nile. His sister watched nearby to see what would happen. There Pharaoh’s daughter found him and took him in.

Pharaoh’s daughter found him when she came to the river to bathe. She had compassion on the crying baby and chose to raise him as her own son. His sister Miriam then arranged for the baby’s own mother to nurse him.

Pharaoh’s daughter named him Moses, and Exodus 2:10 explains that it means she drew him out of the water. The name points back to how he was rescued from the Nile. Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s household in Egypt.

The story is found in the book of Exodus, chapters 1 and 2. It describes Israel’s slavery in Egypt, Pharaoh’s command, and how baby Moses was hidden, placed in a basket, and rescued from the Nile.