Ruth 1:3

3 Now, Naomi's husband Elimelech died, and she was left alone 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.

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FOOTNOTES:

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

Ruth 1:3 In-Context

1 In the days when the judges were ruling, there was a famine in the land. A man from Bethlehem in Judah went with his wife and two sons to live for a while in the country of Moab.

2 The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name was Naomi, and the names of their two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were descendants of Ephrathah from Bethlehem in the territory of Judah. They went to the country of Moab and lived there.

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

4 Each son married a woman from Moab. One son married a woman named Orpah, and the other son married a woman named Ruth. They lived there for about ten years.

5 Then both Mahlon and Chilion died as well. So Naomi was left alone, without her two sons or her husband.