When they entered 4 Bethlehem, 5 the whole village was excited about their arrival. 6 The women of the village said, 7 “Can this be Naomi?” 8
1:1 During the time of the judges 9 there was a famine in the land of Judah. 10 So a man from Bethlehem 11 in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner 12 in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons. 13
12:17 So the crowd who had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were continuing to testify about it. 21 12:18 Because they had heard that Jesus 22 had performed this miraculous sign, the crowd went out to meet him. 12:19 Thus the Pharisees 23 said to one another, “You see that you can do nothing. Look, the world has run off after him!”
1 sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.
2 tn The suffix “them” appears to be masculine, but it is probably an archaic dual form (E. F. Campbell, Ruth [AB], 65; F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 75-76).
3 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
4 tn The temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi, “and it was”) here introduces a new scene.
5 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
6 tn Heb “because of them” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “excited to see them.”
7 tn Heb “they said,” but the verb form is third person feminine plural, indicating that the women of the village are the subject.
8 tn Heb “Is this Naomi?” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). The question here expresses surprise and delight because of the way Naomi reacts to it (F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 92).
9 tn Heb “in the days of the judging of the judges.” The LXX simply reads “when the judges judged,” and Syriac has “in the days of the judges.” Cf. NASB “in the days when the judges governed (ruled NRSV).”
10 tn Heb “in the land.” The phrase “of Judah” is supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.
11 sn The name Bethlehem (בֵּית לֶחֶם, bet lekhem) is from “house, place” (בֵּית) and “bread, food” (לֶחֶם), so the name literally means “House of Bread” or “Place of Food.” Perhaps there is irony here: One would not expect a severe famine in such a location. This would not necessarily indicate that Bethlehem was under divine discipline, but merely that the famine was very severe, explaining the reason for the family’s departure.
12 tn Or “to live temporarily.” The verb גּוּר (gur, “sojourn”) may refer to (1) temporary dwelling in a location (Deut 18:6; Judg 17:7) or (2) permanent dwelling in a location (Judg 5:17; Ps 33:8). When used of a foreign land, it can refer to (1) temporary dwelling as a visiting foreigner (Gen 12:10; 20:1; 21:34; 2 Kgs 8:1-2; Jer 44:14) or (2) permanent dwelling as a resident foreigner (Gen 47:4; Exod 6:4; Num 15:14; Deut 26:5; 2 Sam 4:3; Jer 49:18,33; 50:40; Ezek 47:22-23). Although Naomi eventually returned to Judah, there is some ambiguity whether or not Elimelech intended the move to make them permanent resident foreigners. Cf. NASB “to sojourn” and NIV “to live for a while,” both of which imply the move was temporary, while “to live” (NCV, NRSV, NLT) is more neutral about the permanence of the relocation.
13 tn Heb “he and his wife and his two sons.” The LXX omits “two.”
14 tn Heb “they.” The verb is 3rd person masculine plural referring to Naomi’s sons, as the translation indicates.
15 tn Heb “and they lifted up for themselves Moabite wives.” When used with the noun “wife,” the verb נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to lift up, carry, take”) forms the idiom “to take a wife,” that is, to marry (BDB 673 s.v. Qal.3.d; 2 Chr 11:21; 13:21; 24:3; Ezra 9:2,12; 10:44; Neh 13:25).
16 tn Heb “the name of the one [was] Orpah and the name of the second [was] Ruth.”
17 tn Or “did not understand these things at first”; Grk “formerly.”
18 sn When Jesus was glorified, that is, glorified through his resurrection, exaltation, and return to the Father. Jesus’ glorification is consistently portrayed this way in the Gospel of John.
19 tn Grk “and that they had done these things,” though the referent is probably indefinite and not referring to the disciples; as such, the best rendering is as a passive (see ExSyn 402-3; R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:458).
20 sn The comment His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened (a parenthetical note by the author) informs the reader that Jesus’ disciples did not at first associate the prophecy from Zechariah with the events as they happened. This came with the later (postresurrection) insight which the Holy Spirit would provide after Jesus’ resurrection and return to the Father. Note the similarity with John 2:22, which follows another allusion to a prophecy in Zechariah (14:21).
21 tn The word “it” is not included in the Greek text. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.
22 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.