Judges 19:1-2

Sodom and Gomorrah Revisited

19:1 In those days Israel had no king. There was a Levite ¹  living temporarily in the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. He acquired a concubine ²  from Bethlehem ³  in Judah. 19:2 However, she ⁴  got angry at him ⁵  and went home ⁶  to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. When she had been there four months,

Genesis 35:19

35:19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ⁷ 

Joshua 19:15

19:15 Their territory included Kattah, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem; ⁸  in all they had twelve cities and their towns. ⁹ 

Ruth 1:1-2

A Family Tragedy: Famine and Death

1:1 During the time of the judges ¹⁰  there was a famine in the land of Judah. ¹¹  So a man from Bethlehem ¹²  in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner ¹³  in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons. ¹⁴  1:2 (Now the man’s name was Elimelech, ¹⁵  his wife was Naomi, ¹⁶  and his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. ¹⁷  They were of the clan of Ephrath ¹⁸  from Bethlehem in Judah.) They entered the region of Moab and settled there. ¹⁹ 

Micah 5:2

A King Will Come and a Remnant Will Prosper

5:2 (5:1) As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, ²⁰ 

seemingly insignificant ²¹  among the clans of Judah –

from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf, ²² 

one whose origins ²³  are in the distant past. ²⁴ 

Matthew 2:1

The Visit of the Wise Men

2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem ²⁵  in Judea, in the time ²⁶  of King Herod, ²⁷  wise men ²⁸  from the East came to Jerusalem ²⁹ 

Matthew 2:5-6

2:5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they said, “for it is written this way by the prophet:

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.’” ³⁰ 

[19:1]  ¹ tn Heb “a man, a Levite.”

[19:1]  ² sn See the note on the word “concubine” in 8:31.

[19:1]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[19:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and his concubine.” The pronoun (“she”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:2]  ⁵ tn Or “was unfaithful to him.” Many have understood the Hebrew verb וַתִּזְנֶה (vattizneh) as being from זָנָה (zanah, “to be a prostitute”), but it may be derived from a root meaning “to be angry; to hate” attested in Akkadian (see HALOT 275 s.v. II זנה).

[19:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “went from him.”

[35:19]  ⁷ sn This explanatory note links the earlier name Ephrath with the later name Bethlehem.

[19:15]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[19:15]  ⁹ 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.

[1:1]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in the land.” The phrase “of Judah” is supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.

[1:1]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he and his wife and his two sons.” The LXX omits “two.”

[1:2]  ¹⁵ 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.

[1:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and the name of his wife [was] Naomi.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and the name[s] of his two sons [were] Mahlon and Kilion.”

[1:2]  ¹⁸ 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).

[1:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and were there”; KJV “continued there”; NRSV “remained there”; TEV “were living there.”

[5:2]  ²⁰ sn Ephrathah is either an alternate name for Bethlehem or the name of the district in which Bethlehem was located. See Ruth 4:11.

[5:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “being small.” Some omit לִהְיוֹת (lihyot, “being”) because it fits awkwardly and appears again in the next line.

[5:2]  ²² tn Heb “from you for me one will go out to be a ruler over Israel.”

[5:2]  ²³ tn Heb “his goings out.” The term may refer to the ruler’s origins (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) or to his activities.

[5:2]  ²⁴ 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.

[2:1]  ²⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[2:1]  ²⁶ tn Grk “in the days.”

[2:1]  ²⁷ sn King Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

[2:1]  ²⁸ sn The Greek term magi here describes a class of wise men and priests who were astrologers (L&N 32.40).

[2:1]  ²⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:6]  ³⁰ sn A quotation from Mic 5:2.