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Naomi Widowed
New American Standard Bible
Ruth 1:1
Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons.
Ruth 1:2
The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they entered the land of Moab and remained there.
Ruth 1:3
Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons.
Ruth 1:4
They took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. And they lived there about ten years.
Ruth 1:5
Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was bereft of her two children and her husband.
Ruth 1:6
Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the land of Moab, for she had heard in the land of Moab that the LORD had visited His people in giving them food.
Ruth 1:7
So she departed from 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.
Ruth 1:8
And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
Ruth 1:9
May the LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.
Ruth 1:10
And they said to her, “No, but we will surely return with you to your people.”
Ruth 1:11
But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
Ruth 1:12
Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons,
Ruth 1:13
would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is harder for me than for you, for the hand of the LORD has gone forth against me.”
Ruth 1:14
And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
Ruth 1:15
Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”
Ruth 1:16
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
Ruth 1:17
Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the LORD do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.”
Ruth 1:18
When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
Ruth 1:19
So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, “Is this Naomi?”
Ruth 1:20
She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
Ruth 1:21
I went out full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?”
Ruth 1:22
So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Cross References
Ruth 1:1: Judges 2:16-18; Genesis 12:10; 26:1; 2 Kings 8:1; Judges 17:8; Micah 5:2; Ruth 1:2: Judges 3:30; Ruth 1:6: Exodus 4:31; Jeremiah 29:10; Zephaniah 2:7; Psalm 132:15; Matt 6:11; Ruth 1:8: 2 Timothy 1:16; Ruth 1:11: Genesis 38:11; Deuteronomy 25:5; Ruth 1:13: Judges 2:15; Job 19:21; Psalm 32:4; Ruth 1:15: Joshua 24:15; Judges 11:24; Ruth 1:17: 1 Samuel 3:17; 2 Kings 6:31; Ruth 1:18: Acts 21:14; Ruth 1:19: Matthew 21:10; Ruth 1:20: Exodus 6:3; Job 6:4; Ruth 1:21: Job 1:21; Ruth 1:22: Exodus 9:31; Leviticus 23:10, 11
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Agriculture
Tilling the ground and rearing cattle were the chief employments in ancient times. The Egyptians excelled in agriculture.
And after the Israelites entered into the possession of the Promised Land, their circumstances favored in the highest degree a remarkable development of this art.
Agriculture became indeed the basis of the Mosaic commonwealth. The year in Palestine was divided into six agricultural periods:
SOWING TIME
UNRIPE TIME
COLD SEASON
HARVEST TIME
SUMMER
SULTRY SEASON
The six months from the middle of Tisri to the middle of Nisan were occupied with the work of cultivation, and the rest of the year mainly with the gathering in of the fruits.
The extensive and easily arranged system of irrigation from the rills and streams from the mountains made the soil in every part of Palestine richly productive, and the appliances of careful cultivation and of manure increased its fertility to such an extent that in the days of Solomon.
When there was an abundant population, 20,000 measures of wheat year by year were sent to Hiram in exchange for timber, and in large quantities also wheat was sent to the Tyrians for the merchandise in which they traded. The wheat sometimes produced an hundredfold.
Figs and pomegranates were very plentiful, and the vine and the olive grew luxuriantly and produced abundant fruit. Lest the productiveness of the soil should be exhausted, it was enjoined that the whole land should rest every seventh year, when all agricultural labor would entirely cease.
It was forbidden to sow a field with divers seeds. A passer-by was at liberty to eat any quantity of corn or grapes, but he was not permitted to carry away any. The poor were permitted to claim the corners of the fields and the gleanings.
A forgotten sheaf in the field was to be left also for the poor. Agricultural implements and operations. The sculptured monuments and painted tombs of Egypt and Assyria throw much light on this subject, and on the general operations of agriculture.
Ploughs of a simple construction were known in the time of Moses. They were very light, and required great attention to keep them in the ground. They were drawn by oxen, cows, and asses; but an ox and an ass must not be yoked together in the same plough.
Men sometimes followed the plough with a hoe to break the clods. The oxen were urged on by a goad, or long staff pointed at the end, so that if occasion arose it could be used as a spear also.
When the soil was prepared, the seed was sown broadcast over the field. The harrow was not used to cover the seeds, but to break the clods, being little more than a thick block of wood.
In highly irrigated spots the seed was trampled in by cattle; but doubtless there was some kind of harrow also for covering in the seed scattered in the furrows of the field.
The reaping of the corn was performed either by pulling it up by the roots, or cutting it with a species of sickle, according to circumstances. The corn when cut was generally put up in sheaves, which were afterwards gathered to the threshing-floor or stored in barns. The process of threshing was performed generally by spreading the sheaves on the threshing floor and causing oxen and cattle to tread repeatedly over them. On occasions flails or sticks were used for this purpose.
There was also a threshing instrument which was drawn over the corn. It was called by the Hebrew a threshing roller or sledge. It was somewhat like the Roman threshing instrument.
When the grain was threshed, it was winnowed by being thrown up against the wind, and afterwards tossed with wooden scoops. The shovel and the fan for winnowing. The refuse of straw and chaff was burned. Freed from impurities, the grain was then laid up in granaries until used.
Anoint
The practice of anointing with perfumed oil was common among the Hebrews. The act of anointing was significant of consecration to a holy or sacred use; hence the anointing of the high priest and of the sacred vessels. The high priest and the king are thus called the anointed.
Anointing a king was equivalent to crowning him. Prophets were also anointed. The expression, anoint the shield, refers to the custom of rubbing oil on the leather of the shield so as to make it supple and fit for use in war. Anointing was also an act of hospitality.
It was the custom of the Jews in like manner to anoint themselves with oil, as a means of refreshing or invigorating their bodies.
This custom is continued among the Arabians to the present day. Oil was used also for medicinal purposes. It was applied to the sick, and also to wounds.
The bodies of the dead were sometimes anointed. The promised Deliverer is twice called the Anointed or Messiah, because he was anointed with the Holy Ghost, figuratively styled the oil of gladness. Jesus of Nazareth is this anointed One, the Messiah of the Old Testament.
Apparel
In Old Testament times the distinction between male and female attire was not very marked. The statute forbidding men to wear female apparel referred especially to ornaments and head dresses. Both men and women wore an under garment or tunic, which was bound by a girdle.
One who had only this tunic on was spoken of as naked. Those in high stations sometimes wore two tunics, the outer being called the upper garment.
They wore in common an over garment, a loose and flowing robe. The folds of this upper garment could be formed into a lap.
Generals of armies usually wore scarlet robes. A form of conspicuous raiment. Priests alone wore trousers. Both men and women wore turbans. Kings and nobles usually had a store of costly garments for festive occasions and for presents. Prophets and ascetics wore coarse garments.
Barley
Grain much cultivated in Egypt and in Palestine. It was usually the food of horses. Barley bread was used by the poorer people.
Barley of the first crop was ready for the harvest by the time of the Passover, in the middle of April. Mention is made of barley meal. Our Lord fed 5,000 with five barley loaves and two small fishes.
Bitter
Bitterness is symbolical of affliction, misery, and servitude. The Chaldeans are called the bitter and hasty nation. The gall of bitterness expresses a state of great wickedness. A root of bitterness is a wicked person or a dangerous sin. The Passover was to be eaten with bitter herbs.
The kind of herbs so designated is not known. Probably they were any bitter herbs obtainable at the place and time when the Passover was celebrated.
They represented the severity of the servitude under which the people groaned; and have been regarded also as typical of the sufferings of Christ.
Bread
Among the Jews was generally made of wheat, though also sometimes of other grains. Parched grain was sometimes used for food without any other preparation. Bread was prepared by kneading in wooden bowls or kneading troughs.
The dough was mixed with leaven and made into thin cakes, round or oval, and then baked. The bread eaten at the Passover was always unleavened.
In the towns there were public ovens, which were much made use of for baking bread; there were also bakers by trade. Their ovens were not unlike those of modern times.
But sometimes the bread was baked by being placed on the ground that had been heated by a fire, and by covering it with the embers.
This was probably the mode in which Sarah prepared bread. There is an account of the different kinds of bread and cakes used by the Jews.
Dress
Materials used. The earliest and simplest an apron of fig leaves sewed together; then skins of animals. Elijah's dress was probably the skin of a sheep. The Hebrews were early acquainted with the art of weaving hair into cloth, which formed the sackcloth of mourners.
This was the material of John the Baptist's robe. Wool was also woven into garments. The Israelites probably learned the art of weaving linen when they were in Egypt. Fine linen was used in the vestments of the high priest, as well as by the rich.
The use of mixed material, as wool and flax, was forbidden. Color. The prevailing color was the natural white of the material used, which was sometimes rendered purer by the fuller's art.
The Hebrews were acquainted with the art of dyeing. Various modes of ornamentation were adopted in the process of weaving, and by needle work.
Dyed robes were imported from foreign countries, particularly from Phoenicia. Purple and scarlet robes were the marks of the wealthy.
Form. The robes of men and women were not very much different in form from each other. The coat, of wool, cotton, or linen, was worn by both sexes. It was a closely fitting garment, resembling in use and form our shirt. It was kept close to the body by a girdle.
A person wearing this coat alone was described as naked; deprived of it he would be absolutely naked. A linen cloth or wrapper of fine linen, used somewhat as a night shirt. It is mentioned and rendered sheets. An upper tunic, longer than the coat.
The mantle in which Samuel was enveloped; it is the robe under which Saul slept. The disciples were forbidden to wear two coats.
The usual outer garment consisted of a piece of wool cloth like a Scotch plaid, either wrapped round the body or thrown over the shoulders like a shawl, with the ends hanging down in front, or it might be thrown over the head so as to conceal the face.
It was confined to the waist by a girdle, and the fold formed by the overlapping of the robe served as a pocket. Female dress.
The coat was common to both sexes. But peculiar to females were the veil or wimple, a kind of shawl; rendered mantle; the mantle, also a species of shawl; a veil, probably a light summer dress; a stomacher, a holiday dress.
The outer garment terminated in an ample fringe or border, which concealed the feet. The dress of the Persians. The reference to the art of sewing are few, inasmuch as the garments generally came forth from the loom ready for being worn, and all that was required in the making of clothes devolved on the women of a family. Extravagance in dress.
Rending the robes was expressive of grief, fear, indignation, or despair. Shaking the garments, or shaking the dust from off them, was a sign of renunciation; wrapping them round the head, of awe or grief; casting them off, of excitement; laying hold of them, of supplication. In the case of travels, the outer garments were girded up. They were thrown aside also when they would impede action.
Eating
The ancient Hebrews would not eat with the Egyptians. In the time of our Lord they would not eat with Samaritans and were astonished that he ate with publicans and sinners.
The Hebrews originally sat at table, but afterwards adopted the Persian and Chaldean practice of reclining. Their principal meal was at noon. The word eat is used metaphorically. Eating and drinking means believing in Christ. Women were never present as guests at meals.
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 Naomi and his two sons, went to dwell in the land of Moab. There he and his sons died. Naomi afterwards returned to Palestine with her daughter Ruth.
Ephratah
Fruitful. 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. The ancient name of Bethlehem in Judah. It is called Bethlehem-Judah, but the inhabitants are called Ephrathites; Bethlehem-Ephratah; Bethlehem in the land of Judah. It is mentioned as the place where David spent his youth, and where he heard much of the ark, although he never saw it till he found it long afterwards at Kirjath-jearim; the city of the wood, or the forest town.
Ephrathite
Citizen of Ephratah, the old name of Bethlehem, or Bethlehem-Judah.
Glean
The corners of fields were not to be reaped, and the sheaf accidentally left behind was not to be fetched away, according to the law of Moses. They were to be left for the poor to glean. Similar laws were given regarding vineyards and olive yards.
Goel
Kinsman; redeemer; avenger. The Jewish law gave the right of redeeming and repurchasing, as well as of avenging blood, to the next relative, who was accordingly called by this name.
Harvest
Season for gathering grain or fruit. On the 16th day of Abib a handful of ripe ears of corn was offered as a first fruit before the Lord, and immediately after this the harvest commenced. It began with the feast of Passover and ended with Pentecost, thus lasting for seven weeks. The harvest was a season of joy. This word is used figuratively.
Kiss
Affection; reconciliation; leave-taking; homage; spoken of as between parents and children; between male relatives. It accompanied social worship as a symbol of brotherly love. The worship of idols was by kissing the image or the hand toward the image.
Mahlon
Sickly, the elder of Elimelech the Bethlehemite's two sons by Naomi. He married Ruth and died childless, in the land of Moab.
Mara
Bitter; sad, a symbolical name which Naomi gave to herself because of her misfortunes.
Moab
The seed of the father, or, according to others, the desirable land, the eldest son of Lot, of incestuous birth. Used to denote the people of Moab. The land of Moab, called also the country of Moab, on the east of Jordan and the Dead Sea, and south of the Arnon. In a wider sense it included the whole region that had been occupied by the Amorites. It bears the modern name of Kerak.
In the Plains of Moab, opposite Jericho, the children of Israel had their last encampment before they entered the land of Canaan. It was at that time in the possession of the Amorites. Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, and died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.
Surely if we had nothing else to interest us in the land of Moab, the fact that it was from the top of Pisgah, its noblest height, this mightiest of the prophets looked out with eye undimmed upon the Promised Land; that it was here on Nebo, its loftiest mountain, that he died his solitary death; that it was here, in the valley over against Beth-peor, he found his mysterious sepulchre, we have enough to enshrine the memory in our hearts.
Mourn
Frequent references are found in Scripture to, Mourning for the dead. Abraham mourned for Sarah; Jacob for Joseph; the Egyptians for Jacob; Israel for Aaron, for Moses, and for Samuel; David for Abner; Mary and Martha for Lazarus; devout men for Stephen. For calamities, Job; Israel; the Ninevites; Israel, when defeated by Benjamin. Penitential mourning, by the Israelites on the day of atonement; under Samuel's ministry; predicted in Zechariah; in many of the psalms.
Mourning was expressed, by weeping; by loud lamentation; by the disfigurement of the person, as rending the clothes, wearing sackcloth, sprinkling dust or ashes on the person, shaving the head and plucking out the hair of the head or beard, neglect of the person or the removal of ornaments, fasting, covering the upper lip, cutting the flesh, and sitting in silence.
In the later times we find a class of mourners who could be hired to give by their loud lamentation the external tokens of sorrow. The period of mourning for the dead varied. For Jacob it was seventy days; for Aaron and Moses thirty days; and for Saul only seven days. We have a description of the great mourning for the death of Abner.
Naomi
The lovable; my delight, the wife of Elimelech, and mother of Mahlon and Chilion, and mother-in-law of Ruth. Elimelech and his wife left the district of Bethlehem-Judah, and found a new home in the uplands of Moab. In course of time he died, as also his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, who had married women of Moab, and three widows were left mourning the loss of their husbands. Naomi longs to return now to her own land, to Bethlehem. One of her widowed daughters-in-law, Ruth, accompanies her, and is at length married to Boaz.
Oath
A solemn appeal to God, permitted on fitting occasions, in various forms, and taken in different ways. God is represented as taking an oath, and Paul. The precept, Swear not at all, refers probably to ordinary conversation between man and man. But if the words are taken as referring to oaths, then their intention may have been to show that the proper state of Christians is to require no oaths; that when evil is expelled from among them every yea and nay will be as decisive as an oath, every promise as binding as a vow.
Orpah
Forelock or fawn, a Moabitess, the wife of Chilion. On the death of her husband she accompanied Naomi, her mother-in-law, part of the way to Bethlehem, and then returned to Moab.
Sop
A morsel of bread. Our Lord took a piece of unleavened bread, and dipping it into the broth of bitter herbs at the Paschal meal, gave it to Judas.
Wheat
One of the earliest cultivated grains. It was extensively cultivated in Palestine. There are various species of wheat. That which Pharaoh saw in his dream which bears several ears upon one stalk. The fat of the kidneys of wheat and the finest of the wheat denote the best of the kind.
It was exported from Palestine in great quantities. Parched grains of wheat were used for food in Palestine. The disciples, under the sanction of the Mosaic law, plucked ears of corn, and rubbing them in their hands, ate the grain not roasted. Before any of the wheat-harvest, however, could be eaten, the first-fruits had to be presented before the Lord.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
Elimelech and his sons die in the land of Moab. Elimelech's care to provide for his family, was not to be blamed; but his removal into the country of Moab could not be justified.
And the removal ended in the wasting of his family. It is folly to think of escaping that cross, which, being laid in our way, we ought to take up. Changing our place seldom is mending it.
Those who bring young people into bad acquaintance, and take them out of the way of public ordinances, thought they may think them well-principled, and armed against temptation, know not what will be the end.
It does not appear that the women the sons of Elimelech married, were proselyted to the Jewish religion. Earthly trials or enjoyments are of short continuance. Death continually removes those of every age and situation, and mars all our outward comforts: we cannot too strongly prefer those advantages which shall last for ever.
Naomi returns home. Naomi began to think of returning, after the death of her two sons. When death comes into a family, it ought to reform what is amiss there. Earth is made bitter to us, that heaven may be made dear. Naomi seems to have been a person of faith and piety. She dismissed her daughters-in-law with prayer. It is very proper for friends, when they part, to part with them thus part in love.
Did Naomi do well, to discourage her daughters from going with her, when she might save them from the idolatry of Moab, and bring them to the faith and worship of the God of Israel? Naomi, no doubt, desired to do that; but if they went with her, she would not have them to go upon her account.
Those that take upon them a profession of religion only to oblige their friends, or for the sake of company, will be converts of small value. If they did come with her, she would have them make it their deliberate choice, and sit down first and count the cost, as it concerns those to do who make a profession of religion.
And more desire to rest in the house of a husband, to or some worldly settlement or earthly satisfaction, than the rest to which Christ invites our souls; therefore when tried they will depart from Christ, though perhaps with some sorrow.
Orpah stays behind, but Ruth goes with Naomi. See Ruth's resolution, and her good affection to Naomi. Orpah was loth to part from her; yet she did not love her well enough to leave Moab for her sake.
Thus, many have a value and affection for Christ, yet come short of salvation by him, because they will not forsake other things for him.
They love him, yet leave him, because they do not love him enough, but love other things better. Ruth is an example of the grace of God, inclining the soul to choose the better part. Naomi could desire no more than the solemn declaration Ruth made.
See the power of resolution; it silences temptation. Those that go in religious ways without a stedfast mind, stand like a door half open, which invites a thief; but resolution shuts and bolts the door, resists the devil and forces him to flee.
They come to Bethlehem. Naomi and Ruth came to Bethlehem. Afflictions will make great and surprising changes in a little time. May God, by his grace, fit us for all such changes, especially the great change, Naomi signifies to pleasant, to or to amiable; to Mara, to bitter, to or to bitterness. to She was now a woman of a sorrowful spirit.
She had come home empty, poor, a widow and childless. But there is a fulness for believers of which they never can be emptied; a good part which shall not be taken from those who have it.
The cup of affliction is a to bitter to cup, but she owns that the affliction came from God. It well becomes us to have our hearts humbled under humbling providences. It is not affliction itself, but affliction rightly born, that does us good.
Ruth 1:1
Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons.
Ruth 1:2
The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they entered the land of Moab and remained there.
Ruth 1:3
Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons.
Ruth 1:4
They took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. And they lived there about ten years.
Ruth 1:5
Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was bereft of her two children and her husband.
Ruth 1:6
Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the land of Moab, for she had heard in the land of Moab that the LORD had visited His people in giving them food.
Ruth 1:7
So she departed from 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.
Ruth 1:8
And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
Ruth 1:9
May the LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.
Ruth 1:10
And they said to her, “No, but we will surely return with you to your people.”
Ruth 1:11
But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
Ruth 1:12
Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons,
Ruth 1:13
would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is harder for me than for you, for the hand of the LORD has gone forth against me.”
Ruth 1:14
And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
Ruth 1:15
Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”
Ruth 1:16
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
Ruth 1:17
Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the LORD do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.”
Ruth 1:18
When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
Ruth 1:19
So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, “Is this Naomi?”
Ruth 1:20
She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
Ruth 1:21
I went out full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?”
Ruth 1:22
So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Cross References
Ruth 1:1: Judges 2:16-18; Genesis 12:10; 26:1; 2 Kings 8:1; Judges 17:8; Micah 5:2; Ruth 1:2: Judges 3:30; Ruth 1:6: Exodus 4:31; Jeremiah 29:10; Zephaniah 2:7; Psalm 132:15; Matt 6:11; Ruth 1:8: 2 Timothy 1:16; Ruth 1:11: Genesis 38:11; Deuteronomy 25:5; Ruth 1:13: Judges 2:15; Job 19:21; Psalm 32:4; Ruth 1:15: Joshua 24:15; Judges 11:24; Ruth 1:17: 1 Samuel 3:17; 2 Kings 6:31; Ruth 1:18: Acts 21:14; Ruth 1:19: Matthew 21:10; Ruth 1:20: Exodus 6:3; Job 6:4; Ruth 1:21: Job 1:21; Ruth 1:22: Exodus 9:31; Leviticus 23:10, 11
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Agriculture
Tilling the ground and rearing cattle were the chief employments in ancient times. The Egyptians excelled in agriculture.
And after the Israelites entered into the possession of the Promised Land, their circumstances favored in the highest degree a remarkable development of this art.
Agriculture became indeed the basis of the Mosaic commonwealth. The year in Palestine was divided into six agricultural periods:
SOWING TIME
UNRIPE TIME
COLD SEASON
HARVEST TIME
SUMMER
SULTRY SEASON
The six months from the middle of Tisri to the middle of Nisan were occupied with the work of cultivation, and the rest of the year mainly with the gathering in of the fruits.
The extensive and easily arranged system of irrigation from the rills and streams from the mountains made the soil in every part of Palestine richly productive, and the appliances of careful cultivation and of manure increased its fertility to such an extent that in the days of Solomon.
When there was an abundant population, 20,000 measures of wheat year by year were sent to Hiram in exchange for timber, and in large quantities also wheat was sent to the Tyrians for the merchandise in which they traded. The wheat sometimes produced an hundredfold.
Figs and pomegranates were very plentiful, and the vine and the olive grew luxuriantly and produced abundant fruit. Lest the productiveness of the soil should be exhausted, it was enjoined that the whole land should rest every seventh year, when all agricultural labor would entirely cease.
It was forbidden to sow a field with divers seeds. A passer-by was at liberty to eat any quantity of corn or grapes, but he was not permitted to carry away any. The poor were permitted to claim the corners of the fields and the gleanings.
A forgotten sheaf in the field was to be left also for the poor. Agricultural implements and operations. The sculptured monuments and painted tombs of Egypt and Assyria throw much light on this subject, and on the general operations of agriculture.
Ploughs of a simple construction were known in the time of Moses. They were very light, and required great attention to keep them in the ground. They were drawn by oxen, cows, and asses; but an ox and an ass must not be yoked together in the same plough.
Men sometimes followed the plough with a hoe to break the clods. The oxen were urged on by a goad, or long staff pointed at the end, so that if occasion arose it could be used as a spear also.
When the soil was prepared, the seed was sown broadcast over the field. The harrow was not used to cover the seeds, but to break the clods, being little more than a thick block of wood.
In highly irrigated spots the seed was trampled in by cattle; but doubtless there was some kind of harrow also for covering in the seed scattered in the furrows of the field.
The reaping of the corn was performed either by pulling it up by the roots, or cutting it with a species of sickle, according to circumstances. The corn when cut was generally put up in sheaves, which were afterwards gathered to the threshing-floor or stored in barns. The process of threshing was performed generally by spreading the sheaves on the threshing floor and causing oxen and cattle to tread repeatedly over them. On occasions flails or sticks were used for this purpose.
There was also a threshing instrument which was drawn over the corn. It was called by the Hebrew a threshing roller or sledge. It was somewhat like the Roman threshing instrument.
When the grain was threshed, it was winnowed by being thrown up against the wind, and afterwards tossed with wooden scoops. The shovel and the fan for winnowing. The refuse of straw and chaff was burned. Freed from impurities, the grain was then laid up in granaries until used.
Anoint
The practice of anointing with perfumed oil was common among the Hebrews. The act of anointing was significant of consecration to a holy or sacred use; hence the anointing of the high priest and of the sacred vessels. The high priest and the king are thus called the anointed.
Anointing a king was equivalent to crowning him. Prophets were also anointed. The expression, anoint the shield, refers to the custom of rubbing oil on the leather of the shield so as to make it supple and fit for use in war. Anointing was also an act of hospitality.
It was the custom of the Jews in like manner to anoint themselves with oil, as a means of refreshing or invigorating their bodies.
This custom is continued among the Arabians to the present day. Oil was used also for medicinal purposes. It was applied to the sick, and also to wounds.
The bodies of the dead were sometimes anointed. The promised Deliverer is twice called the Anointed or Messiah, because he was anointed with the Holy Ghost, figuratively styled the oil of gladness. Jesus of Nazareth is this anointed One, the Messiah of the Old Testament.
Apparel
In Old Testament times the distinction between male and female attire was not very marked. The statute forbidding men to wear female apparel referred especially to ornaments and head dresses. Both men and women wore an under garment or tunic, which was bound by a girdle.
One who had only this tunic on was spoken of as naked. Those in high stations sometimes wore two tunics, the outer being called the upper garment.
They wore in common an over garment, a loose and flowing robe. The folds of this upper garment could be formed into a lap.
Generals of armies usually wore scarlet robes. A form of conspicuous raiment. Priests alone wore trousers. Both men and women wore turbans. Kings and nobles usually had a store of costly garments for festive occasions and for presents. Prophets and ascetics wore coarse garments.
Barley
Grain much cultivated in Egypt and in Palestine. It was usually the food of horses. Barley bread was used by the poorer people.
Barley of the first crop was ready for the harvest by the time of the Passover, in the middle of April. Mention is made of barley meal. Our Lord fed 5,000 with five barley loaves and two small fishes.
Bitter
Bitterness is symbolical of affliction, misery, and servitude. The Chaldeans are called the bitter and hasty nation. The gall of bitterness expresses a state of great wickedness. A root of bitterness is a wicked person or a dangerous sin. The Passover was to be eaten with bitter herbs.
The kind of herbs so designated is not known. Probably they were any bitter herbs obtainable at the place and time when the Passover was celebrated.
They represented the severity of the servitude under which the people groaned; and have been regarded also as typical of the sufferings of Christ.
Bread
Among the Jews was generally made of wheat, though also sometimes of other grains. Parched grain was sometimes used for food without any other preparation. Bread was prepared by kneading in wooden bowls or kneading troughs.
The dough was mixed with leaven and made into thin cakes, round or oval, and then baked. The bread eaten at the Passover was always unleavened.
In the towns there were public ovens, which were much made use of for baking bread; there were also bakers by trade. Their ovens were not unlike those of modern times.
But sometimes the bread was baked by being placed on the ground that had been heated by a fire, and by covering it with the embers.
This was probably the mode in which Sarah prepared bread. There is an account of the different kinds of bread and cakes used by the Jews.
Dress
Materials used. The earliest and simplest an apron of fig leaves sewed together; then skins of animals. Elijah's dress was probably the skin of a sheep. The Hebrews were early acquainted with the art of weaving hair into cloth, which formed the sackcloth of mourners.
This was the material of John the Baptist's robe. Wool was also woven into garments. The Israelites probably learned the art of weaving linen when they were in Egypt. Fine linen was used in the vestments of the high priest, as well as by the rich.
The use of mixed material, as wool and flax, was forbidden. Color. The prevailing color was the natural white of the material used, which was sometimes rendered purer by the fuller's art.
The Hebrews were acquainted with the art of dyeing. Various modes of ornamentation were adopted in the process of weaving, and by needle work.
Dyed robes were imported from foreign countries, particularly from Phoenicia. Purple and scarlet robes were the marks of the wealthy.
Form. The robes of men and women were not very much different in form from each other. The coat, of wool, cotton, or linen, was worn by both sexes. It was a closely fitting garment, resembling in use and form our shirt. It was kept close to the body by a girdle.
A person wearing this coat alone was described as naked; deprived of it he would be absolutely naked. A linen cloth or wrapper of fine linen, used somewhat as a night shirt. It is mentioned and rendered sheets. An upper tunic, longer than the coat.
The mantle in which Samuel was enveloped; it is the robe under which Saul slept. The disciples were forbidden to wear two coats.
The usual outer garment consisted of a piece of wool cloth like a Scotch plaid, either wrapped round the body or thrown over the shoulders like a shawl, with the ends hanging down in front, or it might be thrown over the head so as to conceal the face.
It was confined to the waist by a girdle, and the fold formed by the overlapping of the robe served as a pocket. Female dress.
The coat was common to both sexes. But peculiar to females were the veil or wimple, a kind of shawl; rendered mantle; the mantle, also a species of shawl; a veil, probably a light summer dress; a stomacher, a holiday dress.
The outer garment terminated in an ample fringe or border, which concealed the feet. The dress of the Persians. The reference to the art of sewing are few, inasmuch as the garments generally came forth from the loom ready for being worn, and all that was required in the making of clothes devolved on the women of a family. Extravagance in dress.
Rending the robes was expressive of grief, fear, indignation, or despair. Shaking the garments, or shaking the dust from off them, was a sign of renunciation; wrapping them round the head, of awe or grief; casting them off, of excitement; laying hold of them, of supplication. In the case of travels, the outer garments were girded up. They were thrown aside also when they would impede action.
Eating
The ancient Hebrews would not eat with the Egyptians. In the time of our Lord they would not eat with Samaritans and were astonished that he ate with publicans and sinners.
The Hebrews originally sat at table, but afterwards adopted the Persian and Chaldean practice of reclining. Their principal meal was at noon. The word eat is used metaphorically. Eating and drinking means believing in Christ. Women were never present as guests at meals.
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 Naomi and his two sons, went to dwell in the land of Moab. There he and his sons died. Naomi afterwards returned to Palestine with her daughter Ruth.
Ephratah
Fruitful. 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. The ancient name of Bethlehem in Judah. It is called Bethlehem-Judah, but the inhabitants are called Ephrathites; Bethlehem-Ephratah; Bethlehem in the land of Judah. It is mentioned as the place where David spent his youth, and where he heard much of the ark, although he never saw it till he found it long afterwards at Kirjath-jearim; the city of the wood, or the forest town.
Ephrathite
Citizen of Ephratah, the old name of Bethlehem, or Bethlehem-Judah.
Glean
The corners of fields were not to be reaped, and the sheaf accidentally left behind was not to be fetched away, according to the law of Moses. They were to be left for the poor to glean. Similar laws were given regarding vineyards and olive yards.
Goel
Kinsman; redeemer; avenger. The Jewish law gave the right of redeeming and repurchasing, as well as of avenging blood, to the next relative, who was accordingly called by this name.
Harvest
Season for gathering grain or fruit. On the 16th day of Abib a handful of ripe ears of corn was offered as a first fruit before the Lord, and immediately after this the harvest commenced. It began with the feast of Passover and ended with Pentecost, thus lasting for seven weeks. The harvest was a season of joy. This word is used figuratively.
Kiss
Affection; reconciliation; leave-taking; homage; spoken of as between parents and children; between male relatives. It accompanied social worship as a symbol of brotherly love. The worship of idols was by kissing the image or the hand toward the image.
Mahlon
Sickly, the elder of Elimelech the Bethlehemite's two sons by Naomi. He married Ruth and died childless, in the land of Moab.
Mara
Bitter; sad, a symbolical name which Naomi gave to herself because of her misfortunes.
Moab
The seed of the father, or, according to others, the desirable land, the eldest son of Lot, of incestuous birth. Used to denote the people of Moab. The land of Moab, called also the country of Moab, on the east of Jordan and the Dead Sea, and south of the Arnon. In a wider sense it included the whole region that had been occupied by the Amorites. It bears the modern name of Kerak.
In the Plains of Moab, opposite Jericho, the children of Israel had their last encampment before they entered the land of Canaan. It was at that time in the possession of the Amorites. Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, and died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.
Surely if we had nothing else to interest us in the land of Moab, the fact that it was from the top of Pisgah, its noblest height, this mightiest of the prophets looked out with eye undimmed upon the Promised Land; that it was here on Nebo, its loftiest mountain, that he died his solitary death; that it was here, in the valley over against Beth-peor, he found his mysterious sepulchre, we have enough to enshrine the memory in our hearts.
Mourn
Frequent references are found in Scripture to, Mourning for the dead. Abraham mourned for Sarah; Jacob for Joseph; the Egyptians for Jacob; Israel for Aaron, for Moses, and for Samuel; David for Abner; Mary and Martha for Lazarus; devout men for Stephen. For calamities, Job; Israel; the Ninevites; Israel, when defeated by Benjamin. Penitential mourning, by the Israelites on the day of atonement; under Samuel's ministry; predicted in Zechariah; in many of the psalms.
Mourning was expressed, by weeping; by loud lamentation; by the disfigurement of the person, as rending the clothes, wearing sackcloth, sprinkling dust or ashes on the person, shaving the head and plucking out the hair of the head or beard, neglect of the person or the removal of ornaments, fasting, covering the upper lip, cutting the flesh, and sitting in silence.
In the later times we find a class of mourners who could be hired to give by their loud lamentation the external tokens of sorrow. The period of mourning for the dead varied. For Jacob it was seventy days; for Aaron and Moses thirty days; and for Saul only seven days. We have a description of the great mourning for the death of Abner.
Naomi
The lovable; my delight, the wife of Elimelech, and mother of Mahlon and Chilion, and mother-in-law of Ruth. Elimelech and his wife left the district of Bethlehem-Judah, and found a new home in the uplands of Moab. In course of time he died, as also his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, who had married women of Moab, and three widows were left mourning the loss of their husbands. Naomi longs to return now to her own land, to Bethlehem. One of her widowed daughters-in-law, Ruth, accompanies her, and is at length married to Boaz.
Oath
A solemn appeal to God, permitted on fitting occasions, in various forms, and taken in different ways. God is represented as taking an oath, and Paul. The precept, Swear not at all, refers probably to ordinary conversation between man and man. But if the words are taken as referring to oaths, then their intention may have been to show that the proper state of Christians is to require no oaths; that when evil is expelled from among them every yea and nay will be as decisive as an oath, every promise as binding as a vow.
Orpah
Forelock or fawn, a Moabitess, the wife of Chilion. On the death of her husband she accompanied Naomi, her mother-in-law, part of the way to Bethlehem, and then returned to Moab.
Sop
A morsel of bread. Our Lord took a piece of unleavened bread, and dipping it into the broth of bitter herbs at the Paschal meal, gave it to Judas.
Wheat
One of the earliest cultivated grains. It was extensively cultivated in Palestine. There are various species of wheat. That which Pharaoh saw in his dream which bears several ears upon one stalk. The fat of the kidneys of wheat and the finest of the wheat denote the best of the kind.
It was exported from Palestine in great quantities. Parched grains of wheat were used for food in Palestine. The disciples, under the sanction of the Mosaic law, plucked ears of corn, and rubbing them in their hands, ate the grain not roasted. Before any of the wheat-harvest, however, could be eaten, the first-fruits had to be presented before the Lord.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
Elimelech and his sons die in the land of Moab. Elimelech's care to provide for his family, was not to be blamed; but his removal into the country of Moab could not be justified.
And the removal ended in the wasting of his family. It is folly to think of escaping that cross, which, being laid in our way, we ought to take up. Changing our place seldom is mending it.
Those who bring young people into bad acquaintance, and take them out of the way of public ordinances, thought they may think them well-principled, and armed against temptation, know not what will be the end.
It does not appear that the women the sons of Elimelech married, were proselyted to the Jewish religion. Earthly trials or enjoyments are of short continuance. Death continually removes those of every age and situation, and mars all our outward comforts: we cannot too strongly prefer those advantages which shall last for ever.
Naomi returns home. Naomi began to think of returning, after the death of her two sons. When death comes into a family, it ought to reform what is amiss there. Earth is made bitter to us, that heaven may be made dear. Naomi seems to have been a person of faith and piety. She dismissed her daughters-in-law with prayer. It is very proper for friends, when they part, to part with them thus part in love.
Did Naomi do well, to discourage her daughters from going with her, when she might save them from the idolatry of Moab, and bring them to the faith and worship of the God of Israel? Naomi, no doubt, desired to do that; but if they went with her, she would not have them to go upon her account.
Those that take upon them a profession of religion only to oblige their friends, or for the sake of company, will be converts of small value. If they did come with her, she would have them make it their deliberate choice, and sit down first and count the cost, as it concerns those to do who make a profession of religion.
And more desire to rest in the house of a husband, to or some worldly settlement or earthly satisfaction, than the rest to which Christ invites our souls; therefore when tried they will depart from Christ, though perhaps with some sorrow.
Orpah stays behind, but Ruth goes with Naomi. See Ruth's resolution, and her good affection to Naomi. Orpah was loth to part from her; yet she did not love her well enough to leave Moab for her sake.
Thus, many have a value and affection for Christ, yet come short of salvation by him, because they will not forsake other things for him.
They love him, yet leave him, because they do not love him enough, but love other things better. Ruth is an example of the grace of God, inclining the soul to choose the better part. Naomi could desire no more than the solemn declaration Ruth made.
See the power of resolution; it silences temptation. Those that go in religious ways without a stedfast mind, stand like a door half open, which invites a thief; but resolution shuts and bolts the door, resists the devil and forces him to flee.
They come to Bethlehem. Naomi and Ruth came to Bethlehem. Afflictions will make great and surprising changes in a little time. May God, by his grace, fit us for all such changes, especially the great change, Naomi signifies to pleasant, to or to amiable; to Mara, to bitter, to or to bitterness. to She was now a woman of a sorrowful spirit.
She had come home empty, poor, a widow and childless. But there is a fulness for believers of which they never can be emptied; a good part which shall not be taken from those who have it.
The cup of affliction is a to bitter to cup, but she owns that the affliction came from God. It well becomes us to have our hearts humbled under humbling providences. It is not affliction itself, but affliction rightly born, that does us good.
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