Genesis 30:2

30:2 Jacob became furious ¹  with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” ² 

Genesis 33:5

33:5 When Esau ³  looked up ⁴  and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob ⁵  replied, “The children whom God has graciously given ⁶  your servant.”

Ruth 4:11-14

4:11 All the people who were at the gate and the elders replied, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the house of Israel! May ⁷  you prosper ⁸  in Ephrathah and become famous ⁹  in Bethlehem. ¹⁰  4:12 May your family ¹¹  become like the family of Perez ¹²  – whom Tamar bore to Judah – through the descendants ¹³  the Lord gives you by this young woman.”

A Grandson is Born to Naomi

4:13 So Boaz married Ruth and had sexual relations with her. ¹⁴  The Lord enabled her to conceive ¹⁵  and she gave birth to a son. 4:14 The village women said to Naomi, “May the Lord be praised because he has not left you without a guardian ¹⁶  today! May he ¹⁷  become famous in Israel! ¹⁸ 

Ruth 4:1

Boaz Settles the Matter

4:1 Now Boaz went up ¹⁹  to the village gate and sat there. Then along came the guardian ²⁰  whom Boaz had mentioned to Ruth! ²¹  Boaz said, “Come ²²  here and sit down, ‘John Doe’!” ²³  So he came ²⁴  and sat down.

Ruth 1:20

1:20 But she replied ²⁵  to them, ²⁶  “Don’t call me ‘Naomi’! ²⁷  Call me ‘Mara’ ²⁸  because the Sovereign One ²⁹  has treated me very harshly. ³⁰ 

Ruth 1:1

A Family Tragedy: Famine and Death

1:1 During the time of the judges ³¹  there was a famine in the land of Judah. ³²  So a man from Bethlehem ³³  in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner ³⁴  in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons. ³⁵ 

Ruth 2:20-21

2:20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be rewarded by the Lord because he ³⁶  has shown loyalty to the living on behalf of the dead!” ³⁷  Then Naomi said to her, “This man is a close relative of ours; he is our guardian.” ³⁸  2:21 Ruth the Moabite replied, “He even ³⁹  told me, ‘You may go along beside my servants ⁴⁰  until they have finished gathering all my harvest!’” ⁴¹ 

Ruth 2:1

Ruth Works in the Field of Boaz

2:1 Now Naomi ⁴²  had a relative ⁴³  on her husband’s side of the family named Boaz. He was a wealthy, prominent man from the clan of Elimelech. ⁴⁴ 

Ruth 1:5

1:5 Then Naomi’s two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, also died. ⁴⁵  So the woman was left all alone – bereaved of her two children ⁴⁶  as well as her husband!

Ruth 1:4-5

1:4 So her sons ⁴⁷  married ⁴⁸  Moabite women. (One was named Orpah and the other Ruth.) ⁴⁹  And they continued to live there about ten years. 1:5 Then Naomi’s two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, also died. ⁵⁰  So the woman was left all alone – bereaved of her two children ⁵¹  as well as her husband!

Psalms 127:3

127:3 Yes, ⁵²  sons ⁵³  are a gift from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb is a reward.

Isaiah 8:18

8:18 Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me ⁵⁴  are reminders and object lessons ⁵⁵  in Israel, sent from the Lord who commands armies, who lives on Mount Zion.

Isaiah 56:3-5

56:3 No foreigner who becomes a follower of ⁵⁶  the Lord should say,

‘The Lord will certainly ⁵⁷  exclude me from his people.’

The eunuch should not say,

‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”

56:4 For this is what the Lord says:

“For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths

and choose what pleases me

and are faithful to ⁵⁸  my covenant,

56:5 I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument ⁵⁹ 

that will be better than sons and daughters.

I will set up a permanent monument ⁶⁰  for them that will remain.

[30:2]  ¹ tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”

[30:2]  ² tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”

[33:5]  ³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

[33:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:5]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew verb means “to be gracious; to show favor”; here it carries the nuance “to give graciously.”

[4:11]  ⁷ tn Following the jussive, the imperative with prefixed vav indicates purpose or result.

[4:11]  ⁸ 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).

[4:11]  ⁹ 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.”

[4:11]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[4:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your house” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[4:12]  ¹² tn Heb “and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, from the offspring whom the Lord gives to you from this young woman.”

[4:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “from the seed” (KJV, ASV both similar); NASB, NIV “through the offspring”; NRSV “through the children.”

[4:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife and he went in to her.” Here the phrase “went in to her” (so NASB) is a euphemism for having sexual relations (cf. NCV); NLT “When he slept with her.”

[4:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “gave her conception” (so KJV); NRSV “made her conceive”; NLT “enabled her to become pregnant.”

[4:14]  ¹⁶ tn Or “redeemer.” See the note on the phrase “guardian of the family interests” in 3:9. As the following context indicates, the child is referred to here.

[4:14]  ¹⁷ tn The “guardian” is the subject of the verb, as the next verse makes clear.

[4:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “may his name be called [i.e., “perpetuated”; see Gen 48:16] in Israel.”

[4:1]  ¹⁹ tn The disjunctive clause structure (note the pattern vav [ו] + subject + verb) here signals the beginning of a new scene.

[4:1]  ²⁰ tn Sometimes translated “redeemer.” See the note on the phrase “guardian of the family interests” in 3:9.

[4:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “look, the guardian was passing by of whom Boaz had spoken.”

[4:1]  ²² tn Heb “turn aside” (so KJV, NASB); NIV, TEV, NLT “Come over here.”

[4:1]  ²³ tn Heb “a certain one”; KJV, ASV “such a one.” The expression פְלֹנִי אַלְמֹנִי (pÿloni ’almoni) is not the name of the nearest relative, but an idiom which literally means “such and such” or “a certain one” (BDB 811-12 s.v. פְלֹנִי), which is used when one wishes to be ambiguous (1 Sam 21:3; 2 Kgs 6:8). Certainly Boaz would have known his relative’s name, especially in such a small village, and would have uttered his actual name. However the narrator refuses to record his name in a form of poetic justice because he refused to preserve Mahlon’s “name” (lineage) by marrying his widow (see 4:5, 9-10). This close relative, who is a literary foil for Boaz, refuses to fulfill the role of family guardian. Because he does nothing memorable, he remains anonymous in a chapter otherwise filled with names. His anonymity contrasts sharply with Boaz’s prominence in the story and the fame he attains through the child born to Ruth. Because the actual name of this relative is not recorded, the translation of this expression is difficult since contemporary English style expects either a name or title. This is usually supplied in modern translations: “friend” (NASB, NIV, RSV, NRSV, NLT), “so-and-so” (JPS, NJPS). Perhaps “Mr. So-And-So!” or “Mr. No-Name!” makes the point. For discussion see Adele Berlin, Poetics and Interpretation of Biblical Narrative, 99-101; R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 233-35; F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 196-97. In the present translation “John Doe” is used since it is a standard designation for someone who is a party to legal proceedings whose true name is unknown.

[4:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and he turned aside” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “And he went over.”

[1:20]  ²⁵ tn Heb “said.” For stylistic reasons the present translation employs “replied” here.

[1:20]  ²⁶ tn The third person feminine plural form of the pronominal suffix indicates the women of the village (see v. 19) are the addressees.

[1:20]  ²⁷ sn The name Naomi means “pleasant.”

[1:20]  ²⁸ sn The name Mara means “bitter.”

[1:20]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Shaddai”; traditionally “the Almighty.” The etymology and meaning of this divine name is uncertain. It may be derived from: (1) שָׁדַד (shadad, “to be strong”), cognate to Arabic sdd, meaning “The Strong One” or “Almighty”; (2) שָׁדָה (shadah, “mountain”), cognate to Akkadian shadu, meaning “The Mountain Dweller” or “God of the Mountains”; (3) שָׁדַד (shadad, “to devastate”) and שַׁד (shad, “destroyer”), Akkadian Shedum, meaning “The Destroyer” or “The Malevolent One”; or (4) שֶׁ (she, “who”) plus דִּי (diy, “sufficient”), meaning “The One Who is Sufficient” or “All-Sufficient One” (HALOT 1420-22 s.v. שַׁדַּי, שַׁדָּי). In terms of use, Shaddai (or El Shaddai) is presented as the sovereign king/judge of the world who grants life/blesses and kills/judges. In Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he blesses/protects and also takes away life/happiness. In light of Naomi’s emphasis on God’s sovereign, malevolent deprivation of her family, one can understand her use of this name for God. For discussion of this divine name, see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72.

[1:20]  ³⁰ tn Or “caused me to be very bitter”; NAB “has made it very bitter for me.”

[1:1]  ³¹ 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).”

[1:1]  ³² tn Heb “in the land.” The phrase “of Judah” is supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.

[1:1]  ³³ 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.

[1:1]  ³⁴ 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.

[1:1]  ³⁵ tn Heb “he and his wife and his two sons.” The LXX omits “two.”

[2:20]  ³⁶ tn Many English versions translate this statement, “May he [Boaz] be blessed by the Lord, who has not abandoned his loyalty to the living and dead.” In this case the antecedent of אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “who”) would be the immediately preceding “the Lord.” However, this understanding of the construction is not accurate. The antecedent of אֲשֶׁר is Boaz, not the Lord. Elsewhere when אֲשֶׁר follows the blessing formula בָּרוּךְ (barukh, Qal passive participle) + proper name/pronoun, it always introduces the reason the recipient of the blessing deserves a reward. (For this reason one could analyze אֲשֶׁר as a causal conjunction in this construction.) If אֲשֶׁר refers to the Lord here, then this verse, unlike others using the construction, gives no such reason for the recipient being blessed. 2 Sam 2:5, which provides the closest structural parallel to Ruth 2:20, supports this interpretation: בְּרֻכִים אַתֶּם לַיהוָה אֲשֶׁר עֲשִׂיתֶם הַחֶסֶד הַזֶּה עִם־אֲדֹנֵיכֶם עִם־שָׁאוּל, “May you [plural] be blessed by the Lord, you who [plural]/because you [plural] have extended such kindness to your master Saul.” Here אֲשֶׁר refers back to the second plural pronoun אַתֶּם (’atem, “you”) in the formula, as the second plural verb עֲשִׂיתֶם(’asitem) after אֲשֶׁר indicates. Though יְהוָה (yÿhvah) is in closer proximity to אֲשֶׁר, it is not the antecedent. The evidence suggests that Ruth 2:20 should be translated and interpreted as follows: “May he [Boaz] be blessed by the Lord, he who [i.e., Boaz]/because he [i.e., Boaz] has not abandoned his loyalty to the living and dead.” Cf. NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT. See B. A. Rebera, “Yahweh or Boaz? Ruth 2.20 Reconsidered,” BT 36 (1985): 317-27, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 134-36. By caring for the impoverished widows’ physical needs, Boaz had demonstrated loyalty to both the living (the impoverished widows) and the dead (their late husbands). See R. B. Chisholm, From Exegesis to Exposition, 72.

[2:20]  ³⁷ tn Heb “to the living and the dead” (so KJV, NASB).

[2:20]  ³⁸ tn The Hebrew term גָּאַל (ga’al) is sometimes translated “redeemer” here (NIV “one of our kinsman-redeemers”; NLT “one of our family redeemers”). In this context Boaz, as a “redeemer,” functions as a guardian of the family interests who has responsibility for caring for the widows of his deceased kinsmen.

[2:21]  ³⁹ tn On the force of the phrase גָּם כִּי (gam ki) here, see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 138-39.

[2:21]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “with the servants who are mine you may stay close.” The imperfect has a permissive nuance here. The word “servants” is masculine plural.

[2:21]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “until they have finished all the harvest which is mine”; NIV “until they finish harvesting all my grain.”

[2:1]  ⁴² tn The disjunctive clause (note the vav [ו] + prepositional phrase structure) provides background information essential to the following narrative.

[2:1]  ⁴³ tc The marginal reading (Qere) is מוֹדַע (moda’, “relative”), while the consonantal text (Kethib) has מְיֻדָּע (miyudda’, “friend”). The textual variant was probably caused by orthographic confusion between consonantal מְיֻדָּע and מוֹדַע. Virtually all English versions follow the marginal reading (Qere), e.g., KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV “kinsman”; NIV, NCV, NLT “relative.”

[2:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and [there was] to Naomi a relative, to her husband, a man mighty in substance, from the clan of Elimelech, and his name [was] Boaz.”

[1:5]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and the two of them also died, Mahlon and Kilion.”

[1:5]  ⁴⁶ tn The term יֶלֶד (yeled, “offspring”), from the verb יָלַד (yalad, “to give birth to”), is used only here of a married man. By shifting to this word from the more common term בֵּן (ben, “son”; see vv. 1-5a) and then using it in an unusual manner, the author draws attention to Naomi’s loss and sets up a verbal link with the story’s conclusion (cf. 4:16). Although grown men, they were still her “babies” (see E. F. Campbell, Ruth [AB], 56; F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 66).

[1:4]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “they.” The verb is 3rd person masculine plural referring to Naomi’s sons, as the translation indicates.

[1:4]  ⁴⁸ 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).

[1:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “the name of the one [was] Orpah and the name of the second [was] Ruth.”

[1:5]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “and the two of them also died, Mahlon and Kilion.”

[1:5]  ⁵¹ tn The term יֶלֶד (yeled, “offspring”), from the verb יָלַד (yalad, “to give birth to”), is used only here of a married man. By shifting to this word from the more common term בֵּן (ben, “son”; see vv. 1-5a) and then using it in an unusual manner, the author draws attention to Naomi’s loss and sets up a verbal link with the story’s conclusion (cf. 4:16). Although grown men, they were still her “babies” (see E. F. Campbell, Ruth [AB], 56; F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 66).

[127:3]  ⁵² tn or “look.”

[127:3]  ⁵³ tn Some prefer to translate this term with the gender neutral “children,” but “sons” are plainly in view here, as the following verses make clear. Daughters are certainly wonderful additions to a family, but in ancient Israelite culture sons were the “arrows” that gave a man security in his old age, for they could defend the family interests at the city gate, where the legal and economic issues of the community were settled.

[8:18]  ⁵⁴ sn This refers to Shear-jashub (7:3) and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (8:1, 3).

[8:18]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “signs and portents” (NAB, NRSV). The names of all three individuals has symbolic value. Isaiah’s name (which meant “the Lord delivers”) was a reminder that the Lord was the nation’s only source of protection; Shear-jashub’s name was meant, at least originally, to encourage Ahaz (see the note at 7:3), and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz’s name was a guarantee that God would defeat Israel and Syria (see the note at 8:4). The word מוֹפֶת (mofet, “portent”) can often refer to some miraculous event, but in 20:3 it is used, along with its synonym אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) of Isaiah’s walking around half-naked as an object lesson of what would soon happen to the Egyptians.

[56:3]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “who attaches himself to.”

[56:3]  ⁵⁷ tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[56:4]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “and take hold of” (so KJV); NASB “hold fast.”

[56:5]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “a hand and a name.” For other examples where יָד (yad) refers to a monument, see HALOT 388 s.v.

[56:5]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “name” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).