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Ruth 1 - Concise Bible - Commentary

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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 Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.

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 Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.

3 And Elimelech Naomi's husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.

4 And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there 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.

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 that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.

7 Wherefore 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 unto the land of Judah.

8 And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother's house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.

9 The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.

10 And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.

11 And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?

12 Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;

13 would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.

14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.

15 And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.

16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:

17 where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.

18 When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.

19 So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?

20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.

21 I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?

22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

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Ruth 1

BACK TO THE HOMELAND

Ruth 1

This beautiful story is an event occurring during the Judges (Rth 1:1), but separated from the former to give prominence to the genealogical record with which it concludes (Rth 4:18-22), showing Ruth an ancestress of David and hence of Jesus Christ.

The story is so simply told that it needs only the briefest comments. Elimelech and his family are called “Ephrathites of Bethlehem-judah” (1:2) for the reason that Ephrath was originally the name of Bethlehem (Gen 35:19; Gen 48:7; Mic 5:2), and also because there was a Bethlehem in Zebulun as well as Judah (Jos 19:15).

The marrying of Moabite women by the sons of Elimelech was contrary to the Mosaic law (Deu 7:3; Deu 23:3), but such disobedience was common in those times, as we have seen.

Why Naomi should not have encouraged her daughters-in-law to return with her (Rth 1:8) is explained by the thought that they would fare better in material things in their own land and among their own people. Her piety was not of the depth to make her feel that the spiritual benefits of Israel would offset these advantages.

The utterances of Naomi in Rth 1:11-13 are explained by the ancient custom (Gen 38:11), sanctioned by the law of Moses (Deu 25:5), requiring a younger son to marry the widow of a deceased brother.

Naomi seems not to have been a cheerful person (Rth 1:13; Rth 1:20-21), but were we in her circumstances perhaps we would not have felt differently. And then she may have had reason to believe her affliction a divine chastisement upon her household.

Rth 2:1-17

Rth 2:2 reminds us of Lev 19:9-10 and Deu 24:19-21, giving the right to the poor and to strangers to glean after the reapers; but we are not to suppose that Ruth purposely selected the field of Boaz, or that she had knowledge at this time of her relationship to him.

Reaping was done by women (Rth 2:8), but the gathering and threshing was the work of men. How beautifully the character of Boaz shows in these verses! His greeting to the reapers, his interest in his relatives, his attention and generosity toward them, and his confidence in Jehovah. What poetry of faith in the expression, “The Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou are come to trust!” (Rth 2:12.)

Rth 2:18-23

Naomi recognizes the relationship of Boaz, and the phrase, “one of our next kinsmen,” might be rendered, “one of them that hath the right to redeem for us” (Lev 25:25). This “right to redeem” carried with it the duty to protect them, to purchase their tribal lands, and in this case to marry Ruth and maintain the family name. Naomi’s advice to Ruth, therefore, can readily be understood and appreciated (Rth 2:22).

QUESTIONS

1. During what period did the history of Boaz and Ruth occur?

2. What gives special prominence to the Book of Ruth?

3. What was the original name of Bethlehem, and how many towns of that name were in Israel?

4. What law was violated by the sons of Elimelech?

5. What was involved in the kinsman’s right of redemption?




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Rights in the Authorized (King James) Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Published by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
Cambridge Univ. Press & BFBS
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