Ruth 1:20

20 She replied to them, "Don't call me Naomi,^[a] but call me Mara,^[b] for the Almighty^[c] has made me very bitter.

Ruth 1:20 Meaning and Commentary

Ruth 1:20

And she said, call me not Naomi, call me Mara
The one signifying "prosperity", according to Josephus ^F13, and the other "grief"; but he is not always correct in his interpretation of Hebrew words, or to be depended on; by this indeed her different states are well enough expressed, and he rightly observes, that she might more justly be called the one than the other; but the words signify, the one "sweet" and pleasant, and the other "bitter", see ( Exodus 15:23 ) , and the reason she gives confirms it:

for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me;
had wrote bitter things against her, brought bitter afflictions on her, which were very disagreeable to the flesh, as the loss of her husband, her children, and her substance; see ( lam 3:15 lam 3:19 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 9. sect. 2.

Ruth 1:20 In-Context

18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her about it.

19 So both of them went along until they arrived at Bethlehem. When they arrived at Bethlehem, the whole town was excited on account of them, and the women of the town asked, "Can this be Naomi?"

20 She replied to them, "Don't call me Naomi, but call me Mara, for the Almighty has made me very bitter.

21 I went away full, but the LORD has returned me empty. Why would you call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has deemed me guilty?"

22 Thus Naomi returned. And Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, returned with her from the territory of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

Footnotes

• [a]. Naomi means pleasant.
• [b]. Mara means bitter.
• [c]. Heb El Shaddai or God of the Mountain