Ruth · Chapter 1

V. 1. In the land-Of Canaan. It must be early: for Boaz was born of Rahab. So Christ descended from two Gentile mothers.

Verse 1. When the judges ruled] We know not under what judge this happened; some say under Ehud, others under Shamgar. See the preface. There was a famine] Probably occasioned by the depredations of the Philistines, Ammonites, &c., carrying off the corn as soon as it was ripe, or destroying it on the field.

The Targum says: “God has decreed ten grievous famines to take place in the world, to punish the inhabitants of the earth, before the coming of Messiah the king. The first in the days of Adam; the second in the days of Lamech; the third in the days of Abraham; the fourth in the days of Isaac; the fifth in the days of Jacob; the sixth in the days of Boaz, who is called Abstan, (Ibzan,) the just, of Beth-lehem-judah; the seventh in the days of David, king of Israel; the eighth in the days of Elijah the prophet; the ninth in the days of Elisha, in Samaria; the tenth is yet to come, and it is not a famine of bread or of water but of hearing the word of prophecy from the mouth of the Lord; and even now this famine is grievous in the land of Israel.”

Verse 1. There was a famine in the land — This makes it probable that the things here recorded came to pass in the days of Gideon, for that is the only time when we read of a famine in the days of the judges; namely, when the Midianites, Amalekites, &c., came and destroyed the increase of the earth, and left no sustenance for Israel, nor for their cattle, Judges 6:3, 4.

Verse 1. When the judges ruled, about a hundred years before the birth of David. Famines were mostly occasioned by want of rain.

SOJOURN OF ELIMELECH’S FAMILY IN MOAB, 1-5.

1. When the judges ruled — The age of the Judges extended from the death of Joshua’s generation unto the time of Samuel’s public resignation of his office at Gilgal, (1 Samuel 12,) when Saul was established king — a period, according to the common chronology, of more than three hundred years. See Introduction to Judges. A famine in the land — Perhaps that scarcity of food and suffering caused in the land of Israel by the seven years’ oppression of the Midianites, whose devastations reached even to Gaza, and left no sustenance for man or beast. Judges 6:4. According to verse 4, Naomi dwelt in the land of Moab about ten years, and verse 6 gives the impression that the famine continued in the land of Israel during most of this period, which comports well with the seven years of Midianitish rule. According to this supposition the events of this book of Ruth were contemporaneous with the judgeship of Gideon.

Beth-lehem-judah — So called to distinguish it from another city of the same name in the tribe of Zebulun. Joshua 19:15. It is situated about six miles south of Jerusalem. Its great celebrity is its being the birthplace of Ruth’s divine descendant, Jesus the Messiah. Its ancient name was Ephrath or Ephratah. See, further, notes on Genesis 35:19, and Matthew 2:1. Went to sojourn — To reside for a time as a stranger; not to remain permanently. The country of Moab — Literally, The fields of Moab; the district east of the Dead sea, forty or fifty miles in length by twenty in width, peopled by the descendants of Moab, whose origin is narrated in Genesis 19:30-37. See also notes on Numbers 21:13, and Deuteronomy 2:9. This region has long lain waste, and the dangers of modern travel there have been so many that until quite recently few have ventured to explore it. Captains Irby and Mangles passed through it in 1818, and in their Travels describe the land as capable of rich cultivation, and, though now so deserted, yet presenting evidences of former plenty and fertility. In some places the form of fields is still visible, and the plains are covered with the sites of towns on every eminence or spot convenient for the construction of one. Wherever any spot is cultivated the corn is luxuriant, and the multitude and close vicinity of the sites of ancient towns prove that the population of the country was formerly proportioned to its fertility. In 1870 Professor Palmer passed through the fields of Moab, and his description of the country confirms that of Irby and Mangles. “The uplands are very fertile and productive; and, although the soil is badly tended by the few scattered Arab tribes who inhabit it, large tracts of pasture land and extensive corn fields meet the eye at every turn. Ruined villages and towns, broken walls that once enclosed gardens and vineyards, remains of ancient roads — every thing in Moab tells of the immense wealth and population which that country must have once enjoyed.” In the days of Ehud the Israelites were subject to the Moabites for the space of eighteen years, but under that judge the Moabites were “subdued,” after which the land had rest fourscore years. Judges 3:12-30. From this history of Ruth we find that amicable relations existed in her day between the two nations, so that Moab became a place of refuge for Israelitish emigrants. So, too, in later times, it continued to be an asylum for outcasts and wanderers, See 1 Samuel 22:3, 4; Isaiah 16:3, 4; Jeremiah 40:11, 12. His two sons — Who were, at the time of his emigration, unmarried.

V. 2. Ephrathites-Bethlehem was otherwise called Ephratha. Naomi signifies my amiable or pleasant one: Mahlon and Chilon signify sickness and consumption. Probably they were sickly children, and not likely to be long-lived. Such are the products of our pleasant things, weak and infirm, fading and dying.

Verse 2. Elimelech] That is, God is my king. Naomi] Beautiful or amiable.

Mahlon] Infirmity.

Chilion] Finished, completed.

Verse 2. Ephrathites of Beth-lehem-judah — Bethlehem was otherwise called Ephratha. Naomi signifies my amiable or pleasant one; Mahlon and Chilion signify sickness and consumption. Probably they were sickly children, and not likely to be long-lived. Such are the products of our pleasant things, weak and infirm, fading and dying. They came into the country of Moab, and continued there — Settled their habitation in that country, which it would not have been lawful for them to have done, unless it had been in a time of great public calamity, or great private necessity, as Maimonides observes.

Ver. 2. Ephrathites; not Ephraimites, but of Ephrath, the old name of Bethlehem: Ruth 4:11. Genesis 35:19. The name of Elimelech’s wife was Naomi, beautiful.

2. The names of this family are significant. Elimelech — My God a king. Naomi — My pleasantness. Compare verse 20. Mahlon — Sickliness. Chilion — Consumption. The sons were, perhaps, so named from having sickly constitutions, which resulted in their early death. Ephrathites — so called from the more ancient name of their native place, Ephrath. The same Hebrew word is also used as synonymous with Ephraimite. See Judges 12:4, 5; 1 Samuel 1:1.

Verse 3. Elimelech-died] Probably a short time after his arrival in Moab.

SOJOURN OF ELIMELECH’S FAMILY IN MOAB, 1-5.

1. When the judges ruled — The age of the Judges extended from the death of Joshua’s generation unto the time of Samuel’s public resignation of his office at Gilgal, (1 Samuel 12,) when Saul was established king — a period, according to the common chronology, of more than three hundred years. See Introduction to Judges. A famine in the land — Perhaps that scarcity of food and suffering caused in the land of Israel by the seven years’ oppression of the Midianites, whose devastations reached even to Gaza, and left no sustenance for man or beast. Judges 6:4. According to verse 4, Naomi dwelt in the land of Moab about ten years, and verse 6 gives the impression that the famine continued in the land of Israel during most of this period, which comports well with the seven years of Midianitish rule. According to this supposition the events of this book of Ruth were contemporaneous with the judgeship of Gideon.

Beth-lehem-judah — So called to distinguish it from another city of the same name in the tribe of Zebulun. Joshua 19:15. It is situated about six miles south of Jerusalem. Its great celebrity is its being the birthplace of Ruth’s divine descendant, Jesus the Messiah. Its ancient name was Ephrath or Ephratah. See, further, notes on Genesis 35:19, and Matthew 2:1. Went to sojourn — To reside for a time as a stranger; not to remain permanently. The country of Moab — Literally, The fields of Moab; the district east of the Dead sea, forty or fifty miles in length by twenty in width, peopled by the descendants of Moab, whose origin is narrated in Genesis 19:30-37. See also notes on Numbers 21:13, and Deuteronomy 2:9. This region has long lain waste, and the dangers of modern travel there have been so many that until quite recently few have ventured to explore it. Captains Irby and Mangles passed through it in 1818, and in their Travels describe the land as capable of rich cultivation, and, though now so deserted, yet presenting evidences of former plenty and fertility. In some places the form of fields is still visible, and the plains are covered with the sites of towns on every eminence or spot convenient for the construction of one. Wherever any spot is cultivated the corn is luxuriant, and the multitude and close vicinity of the sites of ancient towns prove that the population of the country was formerly proportioned to its fertility. In 1870 Professor Palmer passed through the fields of Moab, and his description of the country confirms that of Irby and Mangles. “The uplands are very fertile and productive; and, although the soil is badly tended by the few scattered Arab tribes who inhabit it, large tracts of pasture land and extensive corn fields meet the eye at every turn. Ruined villages and towns, broken walls that once enclosed gardens and vineyards, remains of ancient roads — every thing in Moab tells of the immense wealth and population which that country must have once enjoyed.” In the days of Ehud the Israelites were subject to the Moabites for the space of eighteen years, but under that judge the Moabites were “subdued,” after which the land had rest fourscore years. Judges 3:12-30. From this history of Ruth we find that amicable relations existed in her day between the two nations, so that Moab became a place of refuge for Israelitish emigrants. So, too, in later times, it continued to be an asylum for outcasts and wanderers, See 1 Samuel 22:3, 4; Isaiah 16:3, 4; Jeremiah 40:11, 12. His two sons — Who were, at the time of his emigration, unmarried.

V. 4. Took wives-Either these were Proselytes when they married them, or they sinned in marrying them, and therefore were punished with short life, and want of issue.

Verse 4. And they took them wives] The Targum very properly observes, that they transgressed the decree of the word of the Lord, and took to themselves strange women.

Verse 4. They took them wives of the daughters of Moab — Either these women were proselytes when they married them, which what is afterward recorded of Ruth (verse 16) renders very probable, or they sinned in marrying them, and therefore might be punished with short lives and want of issue. The Chaldee paraphrast declares for the latter opinion. “Their days were cut short,” says he, “because they married strange women.”

4. They took them wives — “A kind of phrase,” says Kitto, “which usually occurs in a bad sense, as done without the concurrence of their parents, or not left so entirely to them as custom required.” Of the women of Moab — The law condemned intermarriages with the Canaanitish tribes, but, inasmuch as Israel and Moab were descended from kindred ancestors, Abraham and Lot, not with the daughters of the Moabites, (Deuteronomy 7:3;) it commanded, however, that no Moabite, even to the tenth generation, should enter the congregation of the Lord. Deuteronomy 23:3. In the days of Ezra and Nehemiah the law was so construed as to prohibit all intermarriage with foreigners. Exodus 9, and Nehemiah 13.

But it was a distinguishing feature of the age of the Judges that every man did that which was right in his own eyes, (Judges 17:6;) the law was not enforced, and men forgot the commandments of the Lord and indulged in such looseness as even to intermarry with the idolatrous Canaanites. See Judges 3:5, 6.

In this marriage of Ruth, the Moabitess, and Mahlon, the Beth-lehemite, we may now see the overruling hand of Providence, by which a Gentile woman is adopted into the family from which Christ had his human lineage, thus typifying the reception of the Gentiles into the kingdom of the Messiah, and the elevation, by the Gospel, of different nations above narrow sectional prejudices and partition-walls into feelings of a common brotherhood. “The story of Ruth has shed a peaceful light over what else would be the accursed race of Moab. We strain our gaze to know something of the long line of the purple hills of Moab, which form the background at once of the history and of the geography of Palestine. It is a satisfaction to feel that there is one tender association which unites them with the familiar history and scenery of Judea — that from their recesses, across the deep gulf which separates the two regions, came the Gentile ancestress of David and the Messiah.” — Stanley.

V. 5. Was left of her two sons, and her husband-Loss of children and widowhood are both come upon her. By whom shall she be comforted? It is God alone that is able to comfort those who are thus cast down.

Verse 5. And Mahlon and Chilion died] The Targum adds, And because they transgressed the decree of the word of the Lord, and joined affinity with strange people, therefore their days were cut off. It is very likely that there is more here than conjecture.

Verses 5, 6. The woman was left of her two sons and her husband — Loss of children and widowhood are both come upon her. By whom shall she be comforted? It is God alone who is able to comfort those who are thus cast down. The Lord had visited his people in giving them bread — That is, food: so she stayed no longer than necessity forced her.

5. The woman was left of her two sons and her husband — That is, she alone remained of the family that came from Beth-lehem. They emigrated from the land of their people to escape the miseries of famine, but in the plenteous land of Moab death overtook them. The Targum and the Jewish writers generally regard these deaths as a judgment on the family of Elimelech for seeking comfort among idolaters, and intermarrying with them. Generally, those who are easily induced by losses or difficulties to change their places or pursuits in life seldom reap advantage from their changes. The bitter losses and changes of Naomi, however, were overruled by a wise and gracious Providence to the honour of her name and the blessing of the world.

V. 6. Bread-That is, food; so she staid no longer there than necessity forced her.

Verse 6. She had heard] By the mouth of an angel, says the Targum. The Lord had visited his people] “Because of the righteousness of Ibzan the judge, and because of the supplications of pious Boaz.”-Targum. It is imagined, and not without probability, that Mahlon and Chilion are the same with Joash and Saraph, mentioned 1 Chronicles 4:22, where the Hebrew should be thus translated, and Joash and Saraph, who married in Moab, and dwelt in Lehem. See the Hebrew.

Verses 5, 6. The woman was left of her two sons and her husband — Loss of children and widowhood are both come upon her. By whom shall she be comforted? It is God alone who is able to comfort those who are thus cast down. The Lord had visited his people in giving them bread — That is, food: so she stayed no longer than necessity forced her.

NAOMI’S RETURN WITH RUTH TO BETHLEHEM, 6-22.

Bereft of her husband and her sons, the desolate Naomi turns her heart towards the land of her people. To her Moab has been a land of sorrows, and though the graves of her beloved dead are there, they are so full of bitter recollections that she wishes not to linger near them. The ten years of her sojourn in these sunny, fertile fields of abundance have been to her worse than years of famine.

6. She arose with her daughters in law — She made known to them her intention to return on foot and alone to the land of Israel; and when the time of her departure came, Orpah and Ruth arose and went forth with her to bear her company a little way on her journey, perhaps undecided whether to go all the way with her or not. She had heard — Probably by some traveller that had recently passed through the land of Judea. But the tidings may not have reached her until several years after the famine had ceased, for sometimes intelligence travels with wonderful slowness in the East, and particularly in that age, when there was probably very little intercourse between Israel and the surrounding nations. The Lord had visited his people in giving them bread — By raising up Gideon to end the oppression of the Midianites, who for seven years had consumed the produce of their fields, and by now causing the fields to yield unwonted abundance. The sacred historian sees in all this the hand of Jehovah.

7. Her two daughters-in-law with her — They would, as a matter of courtesy and love, accompany her a distance on her lonely journey. They went on the way — They all three went along together, as if all were started for Beth-lehem; they felt a common sympathy and sorrow, and could not bear to be separated.

V. 8. Mother’s house-Because daughters used to converse more frequently with their mothers, and to dwell in the same apartments with them, which then were distinct from those parts of the house where the men dwelt. The dead-With my sons, your husbands, while they lived.

Verse 8. Return each to her mother’s house — She desires them to accompany her no farther, but to go back to their own home. And it seems it was usual in Moab, as well as in Israel, for widows to dwell with their parents. But she says, mother’s, rather than father’s house, because daughters used to converse more frequently with their mothers, and to dwell in the same apartments with them, which then were distinct from those parts of the house where the men dwelt. The dead — With my sons, your husbands, while they lived.

8. Go, return — Thus, at length, the tearful Naomi herself breaks the silence of their grief. She feels that she would wrong these daughters of Moab to take them with her where, in all probability, they would be shut up to lasting widowhood. Each to her mother’s house — She says mother’s house rather than father’s, for it is maternal tenderness and sympathy that best knows how to comfort and cheer a daughter in her sorrows. As ye have dealt with the dead and with me — Their life in Moab had been one of harmony and reciprocated kindnesses. No discord, no family feuds, had arisen among them; their sorrows came from the death of those they loved.

Verses 9-11. That ye may find rest, &c. — That ye may be happily settled in houses of your own, with good husbands. That they may be your husbands — According to the ancient custom, (Genesis 38:8,) and the express law of God, (Deuteronomy 25:4,) which doubtless she had acquainted them with before, among other branches of the Jewish religion.

9. That ye may find rest — That is, that ye may be happily married again, and thereby obtain relief from the bereavement and sorrows which now afflict you. The estate of holy matrimony is well called a state of rest, for the natural affections and propensities instinctively yearn for it, and in it alone find their lawful gratification. The Rabbins say: “The man is restless while he misses the rib that was taken out of his side; and the woman is restless till she gets under the man’s arm, from whence she was taken.” She kissed them — With such kisses as only a tender mother could imprint upon the objects of her lost sons’ love. But those kisses bound them to her so that they could not tear themselves asunder.

Verses 9-11. That ye may find rest, &c. — That ye may be happily settled in houses of your own, with good husbands. That they may be your husbands — According to the ancient custom, (Genesis 38:8,) and the express law of God, (Deuteronomy 25:4,) which doubtless she had acquainted them with before, among other branches of the Jewish religion.

NAOMI’S RETURN WITH RUTH TO BETHLEHEM, 6-22.

Bereft of her husband and her sons, the desolate Naomi turns her heart towards the land of her people. To her Moab has been a land of sorrows, and though the graves of her beloved dead are there, they are so full of bitter recollections that she wishes not to linger near them. The ten years of her sojourn in these sunny, fertile fields of abundance have been to her worse than years of famine.

6. She arose with her daughters in law — She made known to them her intention to return on foot and alone to the land of Israel; and when the time of her departure came, Orpah and Ruth arose and went forth with her to bear her company a little way on her journey, perhaps undecided whether to go all the way with her or not. She had heard — Probably by some traveller that had recently passed through the land of Judea. But the tidings may not have reached her until several years after the famine had ceased, for sometimes intelligence travels with wonderful slowness in the East, and particularly in that age, when there was probably very little intercourse between Israel and the surrounding nations. The Lord had visited his people in giving them bread — By raising up Gideon to end the oppression of the Midianites, who for seven years had consumed the produce of their fields, and by now causing the fields to yield unwonted abundance. The sacred historian sees in all this the hand of Jehovah.

V. 11. Your husbands-According to the ancient custom, Genesis 38:8, and the express law of God, Deuteronomy 25:5, which doubtless she had acquainted them with before, among other branches of the Jewish religion.

Verse 11. Are there yet any more sons] This was spoken in allusion to the custom, that when a married brother died without leaving posterity, his brother should take his widow; and the children of such a marriage were accounted the children of the deceased brother. There is something very persuasive and affecting in the address of Naomi to her daughters-in-law. Let us observe the particulars:-

1. She intimates that she had no other sons to give them.

2. That she was not with child; so there could be no expectation.

3. That she was too old to have a husband.

4. That though she should marry that night, and have children, yet they could not wait till such sons were marriageable; she therefore begs them to return to their own country where they might be comfortably settled among their own kindred.

Verses 9-11. That ye may find rest, &c. — That ye may be happily settled in houses of your own, with good husbands. That they may be your husbands — According to the ancient custom, (Genesis 38:8,) and the express law of God, (Deuteronomy 25:4,) which doubtless she had acquainted them with before, among other branches of the Jewish religion.

11. Why will ye go with me — What purpose will it serve for you to accompany me further? What object of self-interest can ye have? Are there yet any more sons — This is said in allusion to the levirate law, which made it the duty of a person to marry his deceased brother’s widow and thus preserve his brother’s name and family. See the law, as detailed in Deuteronomy 25:5-10, and note at the beginning of chap. 3. Naomi here reminds Ruth and Orpah, in the spirit of her age and country, that she has no more sons for them.

12. I am too old to have a husband — She urges, in addition, the utter improbability of her having another husband or other sons, and hence the propriety of their return to their mothers’ homes, where, as young widows, they might be happily married again.

V. 13. It grieveth me-That you are left without the comfort of husbands or children; that I must part with such affectionate daughters; and that my circumstances are such, that I cannot invite you to go alone with me. For her condition was so mean at this time, that Ruth, when she came to her mother’s city, was forced to glean for a living. It is with me, that God has a controversy. This language becomes us, when we are under affliction; tho’ many others share in the trouble, yet we are to hear the voice of the rod, as if it spake only to us. But did not she wish to bring them to the worship of the God of Israel? Undoubtedly she did. But she would have them first consider upon what terms, lest having set their hand to the plow, they should look back.

Verse 13. It grieveth me — That you are left without the comfort of husbands or children; that I must part with such affectionate daughters; and that my circumstances are such that I cannot invite you to go along with me. For her condition was so mean at this time that Ruth, when she came to her mother’s city, was forced to glean for a living. It is with me that God has a controversy. This language becomes us when we are under affliction; though many others share in the trouble, yet we are to hear the voice of the rod, as if it spake only to us. But did not she wish to bring them to the worship of the God of Israel? Undoubtedly she did. But she would have them first consider upon what terms, lest, having set their hand to the plough, they should look back.

13. It grieveth me much for your sakes — More literally, It is much more bitter to me than to you that, etc. My hopes for earthly comfort in my own land are poorer than yours in Moab. The hand of the Lord is gone out against me — In my own family a severe and mysterious Providence has cut off all temporal hope for you and for me. This was indeed a source of grief. Keil observes that Naomi omitted to notice one possible case, namely, that her daughters in law might find other husbands in Judea. He supposes she did not hint at this chiefly from feelings of delicacy on account of their Moabitish descent, which would be an obstacle to their marriage among the Israelites.

V. 14. Kissed-Departed from her with a kiss. Bade her farewell for ever. She loved Naomi, but she did not love her so well, as to quit her country for her sake. Thus many have a value for Christ, and yet come short of salvation by him, because they cannot find in their hearts, to forsake other things for him. They love him, and yet leave him, because they do not love him enough, but love other things better.

Verse 14. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law] The Septuagint add, Kai epestreyen eiv ton laon authv, And returned to her own people. The Vulgate, Syrian, and Arabic, are to the same purpose.

Verse 14. Kissed — Departed from her with a kiss. Bade her farewell for ever. She loved Naomi; but she did not love her so well as to quit her country for her sake. Thus many have a value for Christ, and yet come short of salvation by him, because they cannot find in their hearts to forsake other things for him. They love him, and yet leave him, because they do not love him enough, but love other things better.

14. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law — The last sad kiss of a tearful separation; after which she, unlike Ruth, turned back again to her people and her gods. The great deity of the Moabites was Chemosh. Numbers 21:29; Judges 11:24. But Ruth clave unto her — She would not leave nor forsake her. It was not merely because of a tender affection for her mother in law that she clung to her, but also a yearning desire to know more of the God and land of Israel. Compare Ruth 2:11, 12. Like Martha and Mary of New Testament history. Orpah and Ruth represent two different types of character. Orpah’s home attachments, and desire to find rest in another husband’s house, control and limit her life-influence and action. Ruth’s loftier spirit discerns in the God of Israel the fountain of a purer religion than the Moabitish idolatry affords, and gladly forsakes father and mother and sister and native land to identify herself in any way with the people of Jehovah. Thus it is that, in some decisive moment, every soul that attains salvation makes its choice, by which it adopts the true Jehovah as its portion. It abandons all the former idolatries of its life, and becomes a true worshipper of the true God.

V. 15. To her gods-Those that forsake the communion of saints, will certainly break off their communion with God. This she saith, to try Ruth’s sincerity and constancy, and that she might intimate to her, that if she went with her, she must embrace the true religion.

Verse 15. Gone back-unto her gods] They were probably both idolaters, their having been proselytes is an unfounded conjecture. Chemosh was the grand idol of the Moabites. The conversion of Ruth probably commenced at this time.

Verse 15. Is gone back to her people and to her gods — By this it appears, if Orpah had been a proselyte to the Jewish religion, she afterward apostatized. Those that forsake the communion of saints will certainly break off their communion with God. Return thou after thy sister-in-law — This she said to try Ruth’s sincerity and constancy, and in order that she might intimate to her that if she went with her she must be firm in her attachment to the true religion.

NAOMI’S RETURN WITH RUTH TO BETHLEHEM, 6-22.

Bereft of her husband and her sons, the desolate Naomi turns her heart towards the land of her people. To her Moab has been a land of sorrows, and though the graves of her beloved dead are there, they are so full of bitter recollections that she wishes not to linger near them. The ten years of her sojourn in these sunny, fertile fields of abundance have been to her worse than years of famine.

6. She arose with her daughters in law — She made known to them her intention to return on foot and alone to the land of Israel; and when the time of her departure came, Orpah and Ruth arose and went forth with her to bear her company a little way on her journey, perhaps undecided whether to go all the way with her or not. She had heard — Probably by some traveller that had recently passed through the land of Judea. But the tidings may not have reached her until several years after the famine had ceased, for sometimes intelligence travels with wonderful slowness in the East, and particularly in that age, when there was probably very little intercourse between Israel and the surrounding nations. The Lord had visited his people in giving them bread — By raising up Gideon to end the oppression of the Midianites, who for seven years had consumed the produce of their fields, and by now causing the fields to yield unwonted abundance. The sacred historian sees in all this the hand of Jehovah.

Verse 16. And Ruth said] A more perfect surrender was never made of friendly feelings to a friend: I will not leave thee-I will follow thee: I will lodge where thou lodgest-take the same fare with which thou meetest; thy people shall be my people-I most cheerfully abandon my own country, and determine to end my days in thine. I will also henceforth have no god but thy God, and be joined with thee in worship, as I am in affection and consanguinity. I will cleave unto thee even unto death; die where thou diest; and be buried, if possible, in the same grave. This was a most extraordinary attachment, and evidently without any secular motive. The Targum adds several things to this conversation between Naomi and Ruth. I shall subjoin them: “And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee,” for I desire to become a proselyte. And Naomi said, We are commanded to keep the Sabbath and other holy days; and on it not to travel more than two thousand cubits. And Ruth said, “Whither thou goest, I will go.” And Naomi said, We are commanded not to lodge with the Gentiles. Ruth answered, “Where thou lodgest, I will lodge.” And Naomi said, We are commanded to observe the one hundred and thirteen precepts. Ruth answered, What thy people observe, that will I observe; as if they had been my people of old. And Naomi said, We are commanded not to worship with any strange worship. Ruth answered, “Thy God shall be my God.” Naomi said, We have four kinds of capital punishment for criminals; stoning, burning, beheading, and hanging. Ruth answered, “In whatsoever manner thou diest, I will die.” Naomi said, We have a house of burial. Ruth answered, “And there will I be buried.”

It is very likely that some such conversation as this took place between the elders and those who were becoming proselytes. This verse is famous among those who strive to divine by the Bible. I should relate the particulars, but am afraid they might lead to a continuance of the practice. In my youth I have seen it done, and was then terrified.

Verses 16, 17. Entreat me not to leave thee — For all thy entreaties cannot shake that resolution which thy instructions, formerly given, have wrought in me. Whither thou goest, I will go — Though to a country I never saw, which I have been taught to despise, and far distant from my own country. Where thou lodgest, I will lodge — Though it be in a cottage; nay, though it be no better a lodging than Jacob had when he put the stones for his pillow. Thy people shall be my people — For, judging from what I have seen in thee, I conclude they must be a wise and understanding people, and I shall think myself happy if I may be reckoned one of them, may be associated with them, and conformed to them. And thy God shall be my God — Farewell to Chemosh and all the gods of Moab, which are vanities and lies. I will adore the God of Israel, the only living and true God; will trust in him alone, will love and serve him alone, and in every thing be commanded and ruled by him. Where thou diest will I die — In the same place, in token of my dying in the same spirit. Let me die the death of the righteous Naomi, and let my last end be like hers! And there will I be buried — Not desiring to have so much as my dead body carried back to the country of Moab, in token of any remaining regard for it. But I will be buried in the same grave with thee, and my bones shall lie by thine, that, as we have joined souls, our dust may be mingled, and we may rise together, and remain together for ever. Happy Naomi, though deprived of her husband and her sons, that has such a daughter-in-law to comfort her in her widowhood and amidst her bereavements! And happy Ruth, who has profited so much by the instructions of her mother-in-law, and who has so fully imbibed the genuine principles and spirit of the true religion! Surely she was a glorious instance of the grace of God inclining the soul to a resolute choice of the good part. The Lord do so to me, and more also — An ancient form this of imprecation, by which Ruth confirms, with a solemn oath, her resolution to adhere to Naomi till death. She knew that death would part them for a time, but was resolved that nothing else should; not any kindness from her own family and people, nor any hope of preferment among them; nor any unkindness from Israel, nor the fear of poverty and disgrace among them. No; I will never leave thee.

16. Entreat me not to leave thee — Nothing in all the range of literature can surpass the beauty and tenderness of Ruth’s reply to Naomi, contained in this and the following verse. The Chaldee Paraphrase puts the passage in the following form: “And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave and return from following after thee, for I desire to become a proselyte. Said Naomi, We are commanded to observe the Sabbath and good days, in not travelling more than two thousand cubits. Said Ruth, To every place whither thou goest I will go. Said Naomi, We are commanded not to lodge with the Gentiles. Said Ruth, Wheresoever thou lodgest I will lodge. Said Naomi, We are commanded to keep six hundred and thirteen precepts. Said Ruth, What thy people keep I will keep, as if they were my people from of old until now. Said Naomi, We are commanded not to worship with a strange worship. Said Ruth, Thy God shall himself be my God. Said Naomi, We have four kinds of capital punishment for criminals: stoning, burning, beheading, and hanging. Said Ruth, In whatever way thou diest I will die. Said Naomi, We have a house of burial. Said Ruth, And there will I be buried.” Blessed are the human ties that lead us to God and heaven!

V. 17. There will I be buried-Not desiring to have so much as her dead body carried back into the land of Moab: but Naomi and she having joined souls, she desires they may mingle dust, in hopes of rising together, and remaining together for ever.

Verse 17. The Lord do so to me, and more] May he inflict any of those punishments on me, and any worse punishment, if I part from thee till death. And it appears that she was true to her engagement; for Naomi was nourished in the house of Boaz in her old age, and became the fosterer and nurse of their son Obed, Ruth 4:15, 16.

Verses 16, 17. Entreat me not to leave thee — For all thy entreaties cannot shake that resolution which thy instructions, formerly given, have wrought in me. Whither thou goest, I will go — Though to a country I never saw, which I have been taught to despise, and far distant from my own country. Where thou lodgest, I will lodge — Though it be in a cottage; nay, though it be no better a lodging than Jacob had when he put the stones for his pillow. Thy people shall be my people — For, judging from what I have seen in thee, I conclude they must be a wise and understanding people, and I shall think myself happy if I may be reckoned one of them, may be associated with them, and conformed to them. And thy God shall be my God — Farewell to Chemosh and all the gods of Moab, which are vanities and lies. I will adore the God of Israel, the only living and true God; will trust in him alone, will love and serve him alone, and in every thing be commanded and ruled by him. Where thou diest will I die — In the same place, in token of my dying in the same spirit. Let me die the death of the righteous Naomi, and let my last end be like hers! And there will I be buried — Not desiring to have so much as my dead body carried back to the country of Moab, in token of any remaining regard for it. But I will be buried in the same grave with thee, and my bones shall lie by thine, that, as we have joined souls, our dust may be mingled, and we may rise together, and remain together for ever. Happy Naomi, though deprived of her husband and her sons, that has such a daughter-in-law to comfort her in her widowhood and amidst her bereavements! And happy Ruth, who has profited so much by the instructions of her mother-in-law, and who has so fully imbibed the genuine principles and spirit of the true religion! Surely she was a glorious instance of the grace of God inclining the soul to a resolute choice of the good part. The Lord do so to me, and more also — An ancient form this of imprecation, by which Ruth confirms, with a solemn oath, her resolution to adhere to Naomi till death. She knew that death would part them for a time, but was resolved that nothing else should; not any kindness from her own family and people, nor any hope of preferment among them; nor any unkindness from Israel, nor the fear of poverty and disgrace among them. No; I will never leave thee.

17. The Lord do so to me — Here is the first occurrence of that common formula of an oath by which the person swearing called down upon himself a stroke of Divine judgment in case he kept not his word, nor carried out his resolution. Compare marginal references.

V. 18. Left speaking unto her-See the power of resolution! Those who are half-resolved, are like a door a-jar, which invites a thief. But resolution shuts and bolts he door, and then the devil flees from us.

Verse 18. That she was steadfastly minded to go with her, &c. — Was not this the very thing that Naomi aimed at in all she said, namely, to bring Ruth to be of this steadfast mind? Then she left off speaking — Having gained her point. For she could desire no further confirmation of it than that solemn protestation which Ruth had just now made. See the power of resolution, how it puts temptation to silence! Those that are but half resolved, and go on in the ways of religion without a steadfast mind, stand like a door ajar, which invites a thief. But resolution shuts and bolts the door, and then the devil flees from us.

NAOMI’S RETURN WITH RUTH TO BETHLEHEM, 6-22.

Bereft of her husband and her sons, the desolate Naomi turns her heart towards the land of her people. To her Moab has been a land of sorrows, and though the graves of her beloved dead are there, they are so full of bitter recollections that she wishes not to linger near them. The ten years of her sojourn in these sunny, fertile fields of abundance have been to her worse than years of famine.

6. She arose with her daughters in law — She made known to them her intention to return on foot and alone to the land of Israel; and when the time of her departure came, Orpah and Ruth arose and went forth with her to bear her company a little way on her journey, perhaps undecided whether to go all the way with her or not. She had heard — Probably by some traveller that had recently passed through the land of Judea. But the tidings may not have reached her until several years after the famine had ceased, for sometimes intelligence travels with wonderful slowness in the East, and particularly in that age, when there was probably very little intercourse between Israel and the surrounding nations. The Lord had visited his people in giving them bread — By raising up Gideon to end the oppression of the Midianites, who for seven years had consumed the produce of their fields, and by now causing the fields to yield unwonted abundance. The sacred historian sees in all this the hand of Jehovah.

V. 19. Is this-Is this she that formerly lived in so much plenty and honour? How marvelously is her condition changed?

Verse 19. All the city was moved about them] It appears that Naomi was not only well known, but highly respected also at Bethlehem; a proof that Elimelech was of high consideration in that place.

Verses 19-21. Is this Naomi? — Is this she that formerly lived in so much plenty and honour? How marvellously is her condition changed! Call me not Naomi — Which signifies pleasant, and cheerful. Call me Mara — Which signifies bitter, or sorrowful. I went out full — With my husband and sons, and a plentiful estate for our support. Testified — That is, hath borne witness, as it were, in judgment, and given sentence against me. Thus she acknowledges that the affliction came from God, and that God was contending with and correcting her; and she is willing to accommodate herself to the afflictive and bitter dispensation; and as a token thereof to have her name changed from Naomi to Mara. “It well becomes us,” says Henry, “to have our hearts humbled under humbling providences. When our condition is brought down, our spirits should be brought down with it. And then our troubles are sanctified to us, when we thus comport with them: for it is not an affliction in itself, but an affliction rightly borne, that doth us good.”

19. They came to Beth-lehem — The journey must have occupied several days. They knew not what awaited them. The future seemed full of darkness and sorrow, and they then little dreamed of the honours that were to crown their memory in the history of the chosen people. All the city was moved about them — The Beth-lehemites beheld with emotion their grief and loneliness, and heard with sorrow the story of their sad bereavement. Their sad history, we may suppose, was for a time on every lip, and even a matter of interesting conversation among the elders and most honourable of the city. Ruth 2:11-12. Is this Naomi — As though they had said, Has the once cheerful and pleasant wife of the honoured Elimelech come to this state of sorrow?

V. 20. Naomi-Which signifies pleasant, and chearful. Mara-Which signifies bitter or sorrowful.

Verse 20. Call me not Naomi] That is, beautiful or pleasant. Call me Mara] That is, bitter; one whose life is grievous to her. The Almighty] ydv Shaddai, He who is self-sufficient, has taken away the props and supports of my life.

Verses 19-21. Is this Naomi? — Is this she that formerly lived in so much plenty and honour? How marvellously is her condition changed! Call me not Naomi — Which signifies pleasant, and cheerful. Call me Mara — Which signifies bitter, or sorrowful. I went out full — With my husband and sons, and a plentiful estate for our support. Testified — That is, hath borne witness, as it were, in judgment, and given sentence against me. Thus she acknowledges that the affliction came from God, and that God was contending with and correcting her; and she is willing to accommodate herself to the afflictive and bitter dispensation; and as a token thereof to have her name changed from Naomi to Mara. “It well becomes us,” says Henry, “to have our hearts humbled under humbling providences. When our condition is brought down, our spirits should be brought down with it. And then our troubles are sanctified to us, when we thus comport with them: for it is not an affliction in itself, but an affliction rightly borne, that doth us good.”

Ver. 20. The Almighty. ydv Shaddai, the Almighty; the self-sufficient being can repair all my calamities.

20. Call me not Naomi, call me Mara — Naomi means pleasant, or, more exactly, my pleasantness; Mara signifies bitter or sorrowful. The mysterious and severe dispensations of the Almighty had turned all her former pleasures into bitterness and woe.

V. 21. Full-With my husband and sons, and a plentiful estate for our support. Testified-That is, hath borne witness, as it were, in judgment, and given sentence against me.

Verse 21. I went out full] Having a husband and two sons.

The Lord hath brought me home again empty] Having lost all three by death. It is also likely that Elimelech took considerable property with him into the land of Moab; for as he fled from the face of the famine, he would naturally take his property with him; and on this Naomi subsisted till her return to Bethlehem, which she might not have thought of till all was spent.

Verses 19-21. Is this Naomi? — Is this she that formerly lived in so much plenty and honour? How marvellously is her condition changed! Call me not Naomi — Which signifies pleasant, and cheerful. Call me Mara — Which signifies bitter, or sorrowful. I went out full — With my husband and sons, and a plentiful estate for our support. Testified — That is, hath borne witness, as it were, in judgment, and given sentence against me. Thus she acknowledges that the affliction came from God, and that God was contending with and correcting her; and she is willing to accommodate herself to the afflictive and bitter dispensation; and as a token thereof to have her name changed from Naomi to Mara. “It well becomes us,” says Henry, “to have our hearts humbled under humbling providences. When our condition is brought down, our spirits should be brought down with it. And then our troubles are sanctified to us, when we thus comport with them: for it is not an affliction in itself, but an affliction rightly borne, that doth us good.”

21. I went out full — That is, in the rich possession of a husband and two sons. Home again empty — Bereft of my most precious treasures, so that the cause of my pleasantness is gone.

Verse 22. In the beginning of barley harvest.] This was in the beginning of spring, for the barley harvest began immediately after the passover, and that feast was held on the 15th of the month Nisan, which corresponds nearly with our March.

The Targum says, “They came to Beth-lehem on that day in which the children of Israel began to mow the sheaf of barley which was to be waved before the Lord.” This circumstance is the more distinctly marked, because of Ruth’s gleaning, mentioned in the succeeding chapter.

1. THE native, the amiable simplicity, in which the story of the preceding chapter is told, is a proof of its genuineness. There are several sympathetic circumstances recorded here which no forger could have invented. There is too much of nature to admit any thing of art.

2. On the marriage of Orpah and Ruth, and the wish of Naomi that they might find rest in the house of their husbands, there are some pious and sensible observations in Mr. NESS’S History and Mystery of the Book of Ruth, from which I shall lay the following extract before my readers:- “A married estate is a state of rest; so it is called here, and in Ruth 3:1. Hence marriage is called portus juventutis, the port or haven of young people; whose affections, while unmarried, are continually floating or tossed to and fro, like a ship upon the waters, till they come into this happy harbour. There is a natural propension in most persons towards nuptial communion, as all created beings have a natural tendency towards their proper centre, (leve sursum, et grave deorsum,) and are restless out of it, so the rabbins say, Requiret vir costam suam, et requiret femina sedem suam, ‘The man is restless while he misses his rib that was taken out of his side; and the woman is restless till she get under the man’s arm, from whence she was taken.’ O! look up to God then, ye unmarried ones, and cry with good Naomi, The Lord grant me rest for my roving affections in the house of some good consort, that I may live in peace and plenty, with content and comfort all my days. Know that your marriage is, of all your civil affairs, of the greatest importance, having an influence upon your whole life. It is either your making or marring in this world; ‘tis like a stratagem in war, wherein a miscarriage cannot be recalled when we will, for we marry for life. I am thine, and thou art mine, brevis quidem cantiuncula est, ‘is a short song;’ sed longum habet epiphonema, ‘but it hath a long undersong.’ So an error here is irrecoverable; you have need of Argus’s hundred eyes to look withal before you leap.”

This is good advice; but who among the persons concerned will have grace enough to take it?

RUTH

Ver. 22. The barley harvest. See on Deuteronomy 11:14.

22. The beginning of barley harvest — April is the month in which the barley harvest is chiefly gathered in, although it begins earlier in some parts of Palestine and later in others. The mention of the harvest at the time of Naomi’s return contrasts suggestively with the notice of the famine which was the occasion of her emigration.