Over the centuries, there’s been a lot of debate about the names of the main characters who appear in the book of Ruth. Naomi which means “pleasant” or “delightful” or Elimelech which means “my God is king” are no big deal. They are common Hebrew names and simple to understand. The difficulty arises when we […]

In our current discussion of why Elimelech and his sons died, one question that might have popped up in your mind was… …was it wrong for Elimelech’s and Naomi’s sons to marry gentile or Moabite wives? I’ve already talked about how Elimelech’s family came under a curse for leaving the Promised Land simply because things […]

“Elimelekh, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left, she and her two sons.  They took wives for themselves from the women of Mo’av; the name of the one was ‘Orpah; and the name of the other was Rut. They lived there for about ten years. Then Machlon and Kilyon died, both of them; and the […]

“Elimelekh, Na‘omi’s husband, died; and she was left, she and her two sons.  They took wives for themselves from the women of Mo’av; the name of the one was ‘Orpah; and the name of the other was Rut. They lived there for about ten years. Then Machlon and Kilyon died, both of them; and the […]

“The man’s name was Elimelekh, his wife’s name was Na‘omi, and his two sons were named Machlon and Kilyon; they were Efratim from Beit-Lechem in Y’hudah. They arrived in the plain of Mo’av and settled there.  Elimelekh, Na‘omi’s husband, died; and she was left, she and her two sons.”-Ruth 1:2-3   Today I’m going to peel […]