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Texts -- Ruth 1:18-22 (NET)

Context
1:18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped trying to dissuade her.
Naomi and Ruth Arrive in Bethlehem
1:19 So the two of them journeyed together until they arrived in Bethlehem . When they entered Bethlehem , the whole village was excited about their arrival. The women of the village said , “Can this be Naomi ?” 1:20 But she replied to them, “Don’t call me ‘Naomi ’! Call me ‘Mara ’ because the Sovereign One has treated me very harshly . 1:21 I left here full , but the Lord has caused me to return empty-handed . Why do you call me ‘Naomi ,’ seeing that the Lord has opposed me, and the Sovereign One has caused me to suffer?” 1:22 So Naomi returned , accompanied by her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth , who came back with her from the region of Moab . (Now they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest .)

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • I. Naomi's predicament ch. 1A. The deaths of Naomi's husband and sons 1:1-5B. Naomi's inability to provide husbands for Ruth and Orpah 1:6-14C. Ruth's profession of faith in Yahweh 1:15-18D. Naomi's weak faith 1:19-21E. Hope ...
  • As is often true in literature, the structure of the piece sometimes reveals the purpose of the writer. This is certainly the case in the Book of Ruth. The writer constructed the whole book with a chiastic (crossing) structur...
  • God had promised the Israelites that if they departed from Him He would discipline them by sending famine on the Promised Land (Deut. 28:17, 23, 38-40, 42).16The famine on Israel at this time indicates God's judgment for unfa...
  • Ruth concluded that her prospects for loyal love and rest (vv. 8-9) were better if she identified with Israel than if she continued to identify with Moab. She had come to admire Israel's God. Elimelech and his family had fulf...
  • Naomi had experienced both blessing and loss since she had left Bethlehem. When she returned home she chose to emphasize her hardships. She had forgotten God's faithfulness and His promises to bless all Israel (Gen. 12:1-3, 7...
  • This summary sentence not only concludes chapter 1 but also prepares the reader for the remaining scenes of the story. Naomi had left Bethlehem pleasant (Heb. na'em) but returned bitter (v. 20). She had left with Elimelech, o...
  • Chapter 1 in a sense prepares for chapters 2-4 that constitute the heart of the book. Chapter 1 presents a problem, but chapters 2-4 provide the solution. The key to the solution on the human level was the planning of Naomi a...
  • Having obtained food and safety the two women could look beyond their immediate physical needs to their greater need. Whereas Ruth took the initiative in proposing a plan to obtain food (2:2), Naomi now suggested a plan to ge...
  • Verse 13 is a key verse in the book because it records the fulfillment of Naomi and Ruth's plans to obtain rest (2:2; 3:1-5).82A son was indispensable to the continuation of the line of Boaz as well as that of Mahlon and Elim...
  • Naaman (Aram. gracious) was commander of the Aramean army under Ben-Hadad II (cf. 1 Kings 15:18, 20). Leprosy in the ancient world degenerated the bodies of its victims and eventually proved fatal. At this time no one could c...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Ruth 1:16-22 The lovely idyl of Ruth is in sharp contrast with the bloody and turbulent annals of Judges. It completes, but does not contradict, these, and happily reminds us of what we are apt to forget in reading such pages...
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