5:2 (5:1) As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, 12
seemingly insignificant 13 among the clans of Judah –
from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf, 14
one whose origins 15 are in the distant past. 16
6:2 Hear the Lord’s accusation, you mountains,
you enduring foundations of the earth!
For the Lord has a case against his people;
he has a dispute with Israel! 17
2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem 18 in Judea, in the time 19 of King Herod, 20 wise men 21 from the East came to Jerusalem 22
2:6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are in no way least among the rulers of Judah,
for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” 23
2:18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud wailing, 24
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she did not want to be comforted, because they were 25 gone.” 26
1 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
2 tn Heb “Kattah, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem, twelve cities and their towns.” The words “their territory included” and “in all they had” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
3 sn The name “Elimelech” literally means “My God [is] king.” The narrator’s explicit identification of his name seems to cast him in a positive light.
4 tn Heb “and the name of his wife [was] Naomi.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
5 tn Heb “and the name[s] of his two sons [were] Mahlon and Kilion.”
6 tn Heb “[They were] Ephrathites.” Ephrathah is a small village (Ps 132:6) in the vicinity of Bethlehem (Gen 35:16), so close in proximity that it is often identified with the larger town of Bethlehem (Gen 35:19; 48:7; Ruth 4:11; Mic 5:2 [MT 5:1]; HALOT 81 s.v. אֶפְרָתָה); see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 64. The designation “Ephrathites” might indicate that they were residents of Ephrathah. However, the adjectival form אֶפְרָתִים (ephratim, “Ephrathites”) used here elsewhere refers to someone from the clan of Ephrath (cf. 1 Chr 4:4) which lived in the region of Bethlehem: “Now David was the son of an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in Judah whose name was Jesse” (1 Sam 17:12; cf. Mic 5:2 [MT 5:1]). So it is more likely that the virtually identical expression here – “Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah” – refers to the clan of Ephrath in Bethlehem (see R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth [NICOT], 91).
7 tn Heb “and were there”; KJV “continued there”; NRSV “remained there”; TEV “were living there.”
8 tn Following the jussive, the imperative with prefixed vav indicates purpose or result.
9 tn The phrase וַעֲשֵׂה־חַיִל (va’aseh-khayil, literally, “do strength”) has been variously translated: (1) financial prosperity: “may you become rich” (TEV), “may you be a rich man” (CEV), “may you achieve wealth” (NASB), “may you prosper” (NKJV, NJPS); (2) social prominence: “may you become powerful” (NCV), “may you have standing” (NIV), “may you be great” (NLT), “may you do well” (NAB); (3) reproductive fertility: “may you produce children” (NRSV); and (4) social activity: “may you do a worthy deed” (REB).
10 tc Heb “and call a name.” This statement appears to be elliptical. Usually the person named and the name itself follow this expression. Perhaps וּקְרָא־שֵׁם (uqÿra’-shem) should be emended to וְיִקָּרֵא־שֵׁם (vÿyiqqare’-shem), “and your name will be called out,” that is, “perpetuated” (see Gen 48:16, cf. also Ruth 4:14b). The omission of the suffix with “name” could be explained as virtual haplography (note the letter bet [ב], which is similar to kaf [כ], at the beginning of the next word). The same explanation could account for the omission of the prefixed yod (י) on the verb “call” (yod [י] and vav [ו] are similar in appearance). Whether one reads the imperative (the form in the MT) or the jussive (the emended form), the construction indicates purpose or result following the earlier jussive “may he make.”
11 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
12 sn Ephrathah is either an alternate name for Bethlehem or the name of the district in which Bethlehem was located. See Ruth 4:11.
13 tn Heb “being small.” Some omit לִהְיוֹת (lihyot, “being”) because it fits awkwardly and appears again in the next line.
14 tn Heb “from you for me one will go out to be a ruler over Israel.”
15 tn Heb “his goings out.” The term may refer to the ruler’s origins (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) or to his activities.
16 tn Heb “from the past, from the days of antiquity.” Elsewhere both phrases refer to the early periods in the history of the world or of the nation of Israel. For מִקֶּדֶם (miqqedem, “from the past”) see Neh 12:46; Pss 74:12; 77:11; Isa 45:21; 46:10. For מִימֵי עוֹלָם (mimey ’olam, “from the days of antiquity”) see Isa 63:9, 11; Amos 9:11; Mic 7:14; Mal 3:4. In Neh 12:46 and Amos 9:11 the Davidic era is in view.
17 tn This verse briefly interrupts the
18 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
19 tn Grk “in the days.”
20 sn King Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37
21 sn The Greek term magi here describes a class of wise men and priests who were astrologers (L&N 32.40).
22 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
23 sn A quotation from Mic 5:2.
24 tc The LXX of Jer 38:15 (31:15 ET) has “lamentation, weeping, and loud wailing”; most later
25 tn Grk “are”; the Greek text uses a present tense verb.
26 sn A quotation from Jer 31:15.