Ruth 1:1-5·~1 min

Naomi Becomes a Widow

A famine in the days of the judges drives Elimelech, Naomi, and their two sons from Bethlehem to Moab, where the family settles. The narrator names them and fixes the story in a particular household and place.

I¹n the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the land of Moab. ²The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah, and they entered the land of Moab and settled there.

Elimelech dies, and Naomi is left with her sons, who marry Orpah and Ruth in Moab. After about ten years the sons also die, leaving Naomi without husband or children.

³Then Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons, ⁴who took Moabite women as their wives, one named Orpah and the other named Ruth. ⁵And after they had lived in Moab about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and without her husband.

Section summaryIn a time of famine, Elimelech leaves Bethlehem with Naomi and their sons for Moab, where the family settles. Elimelech dies there, and after the sons marry Moabite women, they also die, leaving Naomi without husband or sons.

Role in the chapterThis opening section lays the chapter’s grief in plain view. It strips Naomi of family security and places the story’s need, vulnerability, and foreign setting before any turn toward hope.