Ruth 1:20

20 She said to them, "Don't call me Na`omi, call me Mara; for Shaddai has dealt very bitterly with me.

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 she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, she left off speaking to her.

19 So they two went until they came to Beit-Lechem. It happened, when they were come to Beit-Lechem, that all the city was moved about them, and [the women] said, Is this Na`omi?

20 She said to them, "Don't call me Na`omi, call me Mara; for Shaddai has dealt very bitterly with me.

21 I went out full, and the LORD has brought me home again empty; why do you call me Na`omi, seeing the LORD has testified against me, and Shaddai has afflicted me?"

22 So Na`omi returned, and Rut the Mo'avite, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the country of Mo'av: and they came to Beit-Lechem in the beginning of barley harvest.