Charles Ellicott Commentary Ruth 1:22

"So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest." — Ruth 1:22 (ASV)

Barley-harvest. —God had restored plenty to His people, and the wayfarers thus arrive to witness and receive their share of the blessing. The barley harvest was the earliest (Exodus 9:31–32), and would ordinarily fall about the end of April.