Ruth 1:20

20 And she said to them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath 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 resolved to go with her, then she left speaking to her.

19 So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when they had come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, [Is] this Naomi?

20 And she said to them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.

21 I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why [then] call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?

22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab: and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley-harvest.