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 48:9

48:9 Joseph said to his father, “They are the ³  sons God has given me in this place.” His father ⁴  said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.” ⁵ 

Ruth 4:13

A Grandson is Born to Naomi

4:13 So Boaz married Ruth and had sexual relations with her. ⁶  The Lord enabled her to conceive ⁷  and she gave birth to a son.

Ruth 4:1

Boaz Settles the Matter

4:1 Now Boaz went up ⁸  to the village gate and sat there. Then along came the guardian ⁹  whom Boaz had mentioned to Ruth! ¹⁰  Boaz said, “Come ¹¹  here and sit down, ‘John Doe’!” ¹²  So he came ¹³  and sat down.

Ruth 1:1

A Family Tragedy: Famine and Death

1:1 During the time of the judges ¹⁴  there was a famine in the land of Judah. ¹⁵  So a man from Bethlehem ¹⁶  in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner ¹⁷  in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons. ¹⁸ 

Ruth 1:1

A Family Tragedy: Famine and Death

1:1 During the time of the judges ¹⁹  there was a famine in the land of Judah. ²⁰  So a man from Bethlehem ²¹  in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner ²²  in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons. ²³ 

Ruth 1:5

1:5 Then Naomi’s two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, also died. ²⁴  So the woman was left all alone – bereaved of her two children ²⁵  as well as her husband!

Psalms 127:3

127:3 Yes, ²⁶  sons ²⁷  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 ²⁸  are reminders and object lessons ²⁹  in Israel, sent from the Lord who commands armies, who lives on Mount Zion.

Hebrews 2:13

2:13 Again he says, ³⁰  “I will be confident in him,” and again, “Here I am, ³¹  with ³²  the children God has given me.” ³³ 

[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.”

[48:9]  ³ tn Heb “my.”

[48:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph’s father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[48:9]  ⁵ tn The cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose after the imperative.

[4:13]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “gave her conception” (so KJV); NRSV “made her conceive”; NLT “enabled her to become pregnant.”

[4:1]  ⁸ tn The disjunctive clause structure (note the pattern vav [ו] + subject + verb) here signals the beginning of a new scene.

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

[4:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “look, the guardian was passing by of whom Boaz had spoken.”

[4:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “turn aside” (so KJV, NASB); NIV, TEV, NLT “Come over here.”

[4:1]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “and he turned aside” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “And he went over.”

[1:1]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in the land.” The phrase “of Judah” is supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.

[1:1]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he and his wife and his two sons.” The LXX omits “two.”

[1:1]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Heb “in the land.” The phrase “of Judah” is supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.

[1:1]  ²¹ 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]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn Heb “he and his wife and his two sons.” The LXX omits “two.”

[1:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and the two of them also died, Mahlon and Kilion.”

[1:5]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ tn or “look.”

[127:3]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ sn This refers to Shear-jashub (7:3) and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (8:1, 3).

[8:18]  ²⁹ 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.

[2:13]  ³⁰ tn Grk “and again,” as a continuation of the preceding.

[2:13]  ³¹ tn Grk “behold, I,” but this construction often means “here is/there is” (cf. BDAG 468 s.v. ἰδού 2).

[2:13]  ³² tn Grk “and.”

[2:13]  ³³ sn A quotation from Isa 8:17-18.