Ruth 1:3

3 Then Naomi's husband, Elimelech, died, and she was left with her two sons.

Ruth 1:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ruth 1:3

And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died
According to Josephus F24, after he had dwelt in the land ten years, and had married his two sons to Moabitish women; but, as Alshech observes, the text shows that while he was living they were not married to them, but after his death; and it is said of them only that they dwelt there about ten years; so that it is most probable that their father died quickly after he came into the land of Moab: and she was left, and her two sons; in a strange land, she without a husband, and they without a father.


FOOTNOTES:

F24 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 9. sect. 1.)

Ruth 1:3 In-Context

1 Long ago when the judgesn ruled Israel, there was a shortage of food in the land. So a man named Elimelech left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to live in the country of Moab with his wife and his two sons. His wife was named Naomi, and his two sons were named Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathahites from Bethlehem in Judah. When they came to Moab, they settled there.
3 Then Naomi's husband, Elimelech, died, and she was left with her two sons.
4 These sons married women from Moab. One was named Orpah, and the other was named Ruth. Naomi and her sons had lived in Moab about ten years
5 when Mahlon and Kilion also died. So Naomi was left alone without her husband or her two sons.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.