Ruth 1:2

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 Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
name	וְשֵׁ֣ם ve.Shem	H8034	an appellation · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
man	הָאִ֣ישׁ ha.'Ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Elimelech	אֱֽלִימֶ֡לֶךְ 'eli.Me.lekh	H458	Elimelek · proper noun, a man's name
name	וְשֵׁם֩ ve.Shem	H8034	an appellation · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
wife	אִשְׁתּ֨וֹ 'ish.To	H802	a woman · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Naomi	נָעֳמִ֜י no.'o.Mi	H5281	Noomi · proper noun, a woman's name
name	וְשֵׁ֥ם ve.Shem	H8034	an appellation · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
two	שְׁנֵֽי she.nei-	H8147	two · noun, common both genders dual construct
sons	בָנָ֣יו va.Nav	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Mahlon	מַחְל֤וֹן mach.Lon	H4248	Machlon · proper noun, a man's name
Chilion	וְכִלְיוֹן֙ ve.khil.yOn	H3630	Kiljon · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Ephrathites	אֶפְרָתִ֔ים 'ef.ra.Tim	H673	an Ephrathite or an Ephraimite · noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
Beth-lehem-judah	מִבֵּ֥ית mi.Beit	H1035	Beth-Lechem · preposition + proper noun, a place name
came	וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ vai.ya.Vo.'u	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
country	שְׂדֵי se.dei-	H7704	a field (as flat) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Moab	מוֹאָ֖ב mo.'Av	H4124	Moab · proper noun, a place name

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Genesis 35:19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem.
1 Samuel 17:21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.
Micah 5:2 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be…
1 Samuel 1:1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son o…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ruth 1:1-5

The first words give all the date we have of this story. It was in the days when the judges ruled (Rut 1:1), not in those disorderly times when there was no king in Israel; but under which of the judges these things happened we are not told, and the conjectures of the learned are very uncertain. It must have been towards the beginning of the judges' time, for Boaz, who married Ruth, was born of Rahab, who received the spies in Joshua's time. Some think it was in the days of Ehud, others of Deborah; the learned bishop Patrick inclines to think it was in the days of Gideon, because in his days only we read of a famine by the Midianites' invasion, Jdg 6:3, Jdg 6:4. While the judges were ruling,…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ruth 1:2

Elimelech--signifies "My God is king." Naomi--"fair or pleasant"; and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, are supposed to be the same as Joash and Saraph (Ch1 4:22). Ephrathites--The ancient name of Beth-lehem was Ephrath (Gen 35:19; Gen 48:7), which was continued after the occupation of the land by the Hebrews, even down to the time of the prophet Micah (Mic 5:2). Beth-lehem-judah--so called to distinguish it from a town of the same name in Zebulun. The family, compelled to emigrate to Moab through pressure of a famine, settled for several years in that country. After the death of their father, the two sons married Moabite women. This was a violation of the Mosaic law (Deu 7:3; Deu 23…

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Adam Clarke on Ruth 1:2

Elimelech - That is, God is my king. Naomi - Beautiful or amiable. Mahlon - Infirmity. Chilion - Finished, completed.

John Gill on Ruth 1:2

And the name of the man was Elimelech,.... Which signifies "my God is King", as he was King over Israel. In the times of the judges, the government was a theocracy; the judges were raised up immediately by the Lord, and ruled under him; the Targum calls him a great man, and so Jarchi; and it is very likely he was, especially if it be true what is said the Jewish chronology (u), that he was the brother of Salmon, prince of the tribe of Judah; and it is certain that Boaz the son of Salmon was a kinsman of his, Ruth 2:1, and the name of his wife Naomi; which signifies "sweet, pleasant", very likely a comely person, and of a sweet disposition; a name of the same signification with Naamah, the s…

Dictionary and topics

Bethlehem — House of bread. (1.) A city in the “hill country” of Judah. It was originally called Ephrath (Gen. 35:16, 19; 48:7; Ruth 4:11). It was also called Beth-lehem Ephratah (Micah 5:2), Beth-lehem-judah (1…
Chilion — The pining one, the younger son of Elimelech and Naomi, and husband of Orpah, Ruth’s sister (Ruth 1:2; 4:9).
Chillon — (pining, sickly), the son of Naomi and husband of Ruth. (Ruth 1:2-5; 4:9) (B.C. 1250.)
Elimelech — God his king, a man of the tribe of Judah, of the family of the Hezronites, and kinsman of Boaz, who dwelt in Bethlehem in the days of the judges. In consequence of a great dearth he, with his wife…
Ephratah — Fruitful. (1.) The second wife of Caleb, the son of Hezron, mother of Hur, and grandmother of Caleb, who was one of those that were sent to spy the land (1 Chr. 2:19, 50). (2.) The ancient name of…
Ephrathite — A citizen of Ephratah, the old name of Bethlehem (Ruth 1:2; 1 Sam. 17:12), or Bethlehem-Judah.
Mahlon — Sickly, the elder of Elimelech the Bethlehemite’s two sons by Naomi. He married Ruth and died childless (Ruth 1:2, 5; 4:9, 10), in the land of Moab.
Moab — The seed of the father, or, according to others, the desirable land, the eldest son of Lot (Gen. 19:37), of incestuous birth. (2.) Used to denote the people of Moab (Num. 22:3-14; Judg. 3:30; 2 Sam.…
Naomi — The lovable; my delight, the wife of Elimelech, and mother of Mahlon and Chilion, and mother-in-law of Ruth (1:2, 20, 21; 2:1). Elimelech and his wife left the district of Bethlehem-Judah, and found…
Chilion · A — A
Elimelech · With Naomi, his wife, and two — With Naomi, his wife, and two
Judah, The Tribe Of

Ruth 1:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ruth 1:1-5

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ruth 1:2

Adam Clarke on Ruth 1:2

John Gill on Ruth 1:2

Dictionary and topics

Ruth 1:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Ruth 1:1-5

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Ruth 1:2

Adam Clarke on Ruth 1:2

John Gill on Ruth 1:2

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Ruth 1:1-5

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Ruth 1:2

Rashi on Ruth 1:2