Ruth 1:3

1:3 Sometime later ¹  Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, so she and her two sons were left alone.

Ruth 1:5

1:5 Then Naomi’s two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, also died. ²  So the woman was left all alone – bereaved of her two children ³  as well as her husband!

[1:3]  ¹ tn Heb “And Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died.” The vav (ו) functions in a consecutive sense (“then”), but the time-frame is not explicitly stated.

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “and the two of them also died, Mahlon and Kilion.”

[1:5]  ³ 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).