Continuing a chronological Bible study:
According to Dr. John Gill in his Exposition of the Bible, it was a commonly received notion of the Jews that Ruth was the daughter of Eglon, the king of Moab, from whom Ehud had delivered Israel in the last post, chapter 3 of Judges. As Ruth was a contemporary of the judges in the last post, her story fits chronologically here:
(Ruth 1:1) Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
At the time when the first judges ruled Israel, there was a famine in the land of Canaan. A man from Bethlehem in Judah took his wife and two sons to live in Moab, and as Moab ruled Israel during the time of Eglon and Ehud, it seems reasonable that they might go there.
(2) And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they came into the country of Moab and continued there.
The name of the man was Elimelech, which meant literally "my God is King." His wife was Naomi, which meant "sweet, pleasant," and the sons' names were not nearly so nice, as the root of Mahlon was "sick," and the root of Chilion, "destruction." The meaning of names was important in Biblical times, but it always makes me wonder if people always knew what the names meant when they gave them. Would good people like Elimelech and Naomi purposely give their sons names that meant sick and destruction? Or were they inspired by God to call them such names because God knew their outcome? Or maybe their names were changed after their fates had played out? It makes one wonder. Anyway, this family moved from Bethlehem in Judah to Moab and continued there.
(3) And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons.
Elimelech died in Moab, leaving his widow Naomi and his two sons.
(4) And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth; and they dwelled there about ten years.
The two sons married Moabite women. Chilion married a woman named Orpah, and Mahlon married Ruth. The Jewish Targum, an ancient translation of the Bible from Hebrew to Aramaic, states that Ruth was "the daughter of Eglon, king of Moab." Although the Bible doesn't say so, the Jews from as early as the first century B.C. believed it. As King Eglon was a very fat gluttonous man, one can reasonably assume he was just as gluttonous about his women and had many "wives." The sons of Naomi dwelt in Moab about ten years.
(5) And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them, and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
Naomi's sons both died, and she was left alone in a strange country, without her husband or her sons.
(6) Then she arose with her daughters-in-law, that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab how the Lord had visited His people in giving them bread.
Naomi had heard that the Lord had ended the famine in Israel, so she intended to go back to her country. It appears her daughters-in-law both rose up with intentions to go with her.
(7) Therefore she went forth out of the place where she was and her two daughters-in-law with her, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. (8) And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each to her mother's house; the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. (9) The Lord grant you that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband." Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.
Naomi and her daughters-in-law with her began on her journey back to Judah. However, Naomi told her daughters-in-law to go back to their homes, to the loving arms of their mothers. She blessed them with the prayer that the Lord would deal kindly with them and give them rest because of how kindly they had dealt with Naomi and her sons, their husbands. The rest she wished for them was that they each might have another marriage. The fact that she called marriage a state of rest is confirmed in a later verse, Ruth 3:1. She kissed the young women, and they wept.
(10) And they said to her, "Surely we will return with you to your people."
However, both the daughters-in-law said that they would go with Naomi back to her land.
(11) And Naomi said, "Turn again, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there yet sons in my womb that they may be your husbands? (12) Turn again, my daughters, go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope I should have a husband also tonight and also bear sons, (13) Would you tarry for them till they were grown? Would you stay for them from having husbands? No, my daughters, for it grieves me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me."
Naomi told her daughters-in-law to go back. She asked why they would want to go with her. She saw no reason as she had no more sons who could be husbands to them. She saw no hope of another husband in her life, but even if she did remarry and were to have sons, it made no sense to her that her daughters-in-law should spend the rest of their lives waiting for her sons to grow up and marry them. It grieved Naomi that she couldn't do anything for her daughters-in-law. She had no husband, no sons, and was probably left poor. She felt she could do nothing for them, so they ought to stay in their country.
(14) And they lifted up their voices and wept again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
The young women wept again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to Naomi.
(15) And she said, "Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law."
Naomi told Ruth that as her sister-in-law had gone back to her own people and her gods, she should do the same. It's interesting that Naomi would tell her to return to her gods, the pagan gods of Moab. Perhaps it was her way of telling her that she was going back to her people and the one true God and that would not be the life Ruth had had.
(16) And Ruth said, "Do not ask me to leave you, to return from following after you, for wherever you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God."
However, Ruth begged Naomi not to ask her to leave her. She let her know that wherever Naomi went, she wanted to go. She did not want to return to her people and the gods of her land. She wanted Naomi's people to be her people, and Naomi's God to be her God.
(17) "Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried; the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts you and me."
Ruth continued imploring her mother-in-law, telling her she wanted to remain with her until death should separate them, and she wanted to die and be buried in her mother-in-law's land.
(18) When she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she stopped speaking to her.
When Naomi saw how determined Ruth was to go with her, she stopped arguing with her about it.
(19) So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, "Is this Naomi?"
Therefore the two women made their way to Bethlehem. When they arrived there, it seemed there was much excitement about the return of Naomi. The fact that they asked if it was really her, might mean she looked much different than when she had left her land. For there to be such excitement about her return surely meant that she and her husband Elimelech had been well known and respected. The sweet, pleasant, and perhaps beautiful Naomi was now old and worn.
(20) And she said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. (21) I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty; why call me Naomi seeing the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?"
Naomi told the people not to call her Naomi, "sweet, pleasant," anymore. Rather they should call her Mara, "bitter," for the Lord had dealt bitterly with her. I don't believe she was bitter in her heart, but rather she knew she was in bitter circumstances. She was humbled and perhaps did not feel all the excitement about her return was warranted. She wasn't the same woman who had left out, and she demonstrated her acceptance of her present state with her new name, Mara. She accepted the fact that it was her Lord's will.
(22) So Naomi returned and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned from the country of Moab; and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
Thus Naomi had returned, bringing her daughter-in-law called a Moabitess, with her. They had left the country of Moab and had come to Bethlehem in the beginning of spring which was when the barley harvest began.
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