19So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said,Is this Naomi? 20And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me [hath inflicted bitter sorrow upon me]. 21I went out full, and the Lord [Jehovah] hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord [Jehovah] hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? 22So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, which returned out of the country [territories] of Moab: and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley-harvest.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
[1Rth_1:19.—
úֵּäֹí
Niphal imperf. of
äָîַí
, cf. Ges. 67, Rem. 5; 22, 1. So Ges., Berth., Ewald, etc. Keil, Fürst, etc., consider it Niph. imperf. of
äåּí
.—Tr.]
[2Rth_1:19.—
åַúֹּàîַøְðָä
: fem. plural (cf.
òֲìֵéäֶï
, etc. in Rth_1:20). Not exactly, dicebantque mulieres, as the Vulg. has it; the population of the city are the subject of the verb, but in a matter of this kind women would naturally be so prominent as to lead the narrator insensibly to use the feminine. Perhaps Naomi arrived at an hour of the day when the labors of the field left none but women in the city.—Tr.]
[3Rth_1:22.—
äַùָּׁáָäîִùְּׁãֵéîåֹàָá
: Dr. Cassel translates the whole clause thus: “And so Naomi was returned home, and Ruth, the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, [who accompanied her] after [or on, cf. the Com. below] her departure from the fields of Moab.” This rendering, is, of course, intentionally free, and is designed to indicate that what seems an unnecessary remark, really adds to the sense, namely, that Ruth was the (only) one that clave to Naomi, that came with her from Moab. But this seems rather forced. As the same expression occurs, at Rth_4:3, in connection with Naomi, it may be supposed that it became customary to speak of Naomi and Ruth as “the returned from Moab,” or as we should say, popularly, “the returned Moabites.” In that case, it would be best (with Berth.) to take
äַùָּׁáַä
(accented in the text as 3d fem. perf., with the art. as relative, cf. Ges. 109, 2d paragr.), as the fem. participle. The epithet would be applied to Ruth by virtue of her connection with Naomi, cf. Rth_1:7.—Tr.]
EXEGETICAL AND DOCTRINAL
Rth_1:19. So they two went. Naomi said nothing more. She ceased to dissuade. She allowed Ruth to go with her, and the latter was as good as her words. She actually accompanied her mother-in-law; and so it came to pass, that Naomi did not return home alone, that is to say, entirely forsaken and helpless.
The whole city was moved about them. Naomi’s return was an uncommon occurrence. The city, and especially the women, were thrown into a peaceable uproar. Everybody ran, told the news, and wondered. For more than ten years had passed since she had left Bethlehem. Then there had doubtless been talk enough, as Naomi went away with her husband, in far different and better circumstances. It may be taken for granted that even then her character had awakened sympathy and affection in Bethlehem. Her husband, we know, belonged to a prominent family of the city. All this renders it natural that the news that Naomi had returned to Bethlehem, poor and sorrowful, spread like wildfire, and created what to her was an unpleasant sensation. “Is that Naomi!” is the universal exclamation.
Rth_1:20. Call me not Naomi, call me Mara. Undoubtedly, the general astonishment over such a return, gave rise to many reflections which a woman especially would feel deeply. Not merely the external comparison of “then” and “now,” but also the motives of the former departure are brought to mind. Then, Naomi’s life and circum stances corresponded with the amiable and joyous name she bore. Now, she were better named Mara, the bitter, sorrowful one. It is evident that names were still preserved with conscious reference to their meaning. Naomi manifestly intends, by these and the following words, to inform the inhabitants of Bethlehem of her fortunes. I am no longer the old Naomi; for what of happiness I possessed, I have lost. I have no more anything that is pleasant about me: my life, like a salty, bitter spring, is without flavor or relish.
For the Almighty (Shaddai) hath inflicted bitter sorrow upon me. Why Shaddai? The use of this divine surname must here also be connected with its pregnant, proper signification. The explanation which must necessarily be given to it, is not consistent with its derivation from
ùָׁãַã
, which always appears in a bad sense. What this explanation is, will become apparent when the passages are considered in which the name is first, and with emphasis, employed. We select, therefore, those of Genesis, in which book the name Shaddai occurs more frequently than in any other except Job, and always as designative of the gracious, fertile God, by whom the propagation of mankind is guaranteed. Thus, it is assumed by God in Gen_17:1 ff. where he says to Abram, “I make thee exceedingly fruitful,—to a father of a multitude of nations,” etc. So likewise, it occurs Gen_28:3 : “El Shaddai will bless thee and make thee fruitful.” Gen_35:11 : “I am El Shaddai, be fruitful, and multiply.” Gen_48:3 : “El Shaddai appeared unto me—and said, Behold, I make thee fruitful and multiply thee.” Gen_49:25 : “Shaddai shall bless thee—with blessings of the breasts (
ùָׁãַéִí
) and of the womb.” For the same reason it is used at Gen_43:14, where the fate of the children of Jacob is in question. This gracious God, the source of fruitfulness and life, gives his blessing to his chosen saints, but from sinners, and from those whom He tries, He takes away what to others He gives. Hence the frequent use of the name in Job, who is chastened in his children, cf. Job_8:3 : “Will Shaddai pervert justice? If thy children sinned against Him, He gave them over into the hand of their transgressions.” And in this sense Naomi also uses the name Shaddai, in speaking of her misery. For the death of her husband and her sons has rendered her family desolate and unfruitful. The word must therefore unquestionably be referred to a root
ùָׁãָä
, still in use in Arabic, in the sense “to water, to fertilize.” For that all fertility comes from water, by which aridity is removed and thirst assuaged, is a deeply rooted conception, especially in oriental antiquity. Numerous mythical pictures of heathenism represent their heroes as conquering drought and unfruitfulness by liberating the rain and the streams. The name of the Indian god Indra is derived from Ind = und, to flow, and is therefore equivalent to “the rain-giver,” who frees the clouds so that they can dispense their showers (cf. E. Meier, Ind. Liederb., p. 147 f.). The true Rain-giver, the dispenser and increaser of fertility, of the earth and among beasts and men, is the living, personal God, as Shaddai. The root
ùָׁãָä
must also explain
ùַׁã
, mamma, properly the fountain of rain and blessings for man and beast, as Gellius (12:1) calls it, fontem sanctissimum corporis, and the bringer up of the human race. Hence we are enabled to recognize the wide-spread philological root to which shadah, to water, shad (Aram tad), mamma, belong; for it is connected with the Sanskrit dhe, Greek
èῆóáé
, Gothic daddjan (Old German, tutta, etc., cf. Benfey, Gr. Gram. ii. 270), in all which forms the idea of giving drink, suckling, is present. From the Greek word, the name of the goddess Thetis is derived, as “Nurse of the Human Race” (cf. Welcker, Gr. Mythol., 1:618). That Artemis of Ephesus was represented as a multimammia, is known not only from antique sculptures, but also from the writings of the church fathers; cf. the words of Jerome (in Proœm Ep. Pauli ad Ephes.): omnium bestiarum et viventium esse nutricem mentiuntur. Naomi was rightly named when, with a flourishing family, she went to Moab—but now Shaddai, who gave the blessing, has taken it away.
Rth_1:21. I went out full, and Jehovah hath brought me home again empty. Full of family happiness, of joy in her sons, and of hope of a cheerful old age surrounded by children and children’s children; but empty now of all these, without possessions and without hope. A penitent feeling pervades her lamentation. I went away notwithstanding my fullness, and because I went full, do I return empty. For this reason she says: “I went away, and Jehovah has brought me home again.” I went because it was my will to go, not God’s; now, God’s judgment has sent me back. With that one word she gives vent to her sorrow that in those times of famine she forsook her people, although she herself was happy. What an evil thing it is to follow one’s own will, when that will is not directed by the commandments of God! Man goes, but God brings home. But beside this penitential feeling, there is another feature indicative of Naomi’s beautiful character, which must not be overlooked. She says, I went, me hath God afflicted; not, We went—my husband took me with him,—after all, I only followed as in duty bound. She utters not a breath of accusation against Elimelech or of excuse for herself. Properly speaking, the fault did lay with her husband and sons. They were the originators of the undertaking that ended so disastrously; but of this she has no memory. She neither accuses, nor yet does she commiserate and bewail them. Of the evils which they experienced, she does not speak. I went, and me has God brought home again, empty and bereft of husband and child. Therefore, she repeats, call me not Naomi! That name, when she hears it, suggests the entire contrast between what she was and what she now is.
For Jehovah hath testified against me,
òָðָä áִé
. The internal connection with the preceding thoughts confirms the correctness of the Masoretic pointing. The reading of the LXX., “he humbled me,” was justly departed from, for it is only a paraphrase of the sense. That which Bertheau considers to be the difficulty of the passage, that it makes God to testify against a person, while elsewhere only men bear testimony, is precisely the special thought of Naomi: “I went,” she says, “and God has testified that this going was a sin. Through the issue of my emigration God has testified that its inception was not rooted in Him, but in ourselves.” It is a peculiarity of piety that it ascribes the issue of all the affairs of life to God. “Was it right or not, that I (namely, Elimelech and she) went away to Moab?” Men might be in doubt about it. But the end, she says, bears witness against us, who followed our own inclinations. God testified against her, for “Shaddai hath afflicted me.” In other words, in that God, as Shaddai, made sorrow my portion, He testified against me. The two clauses,
éְäåָֹä òָðָä áִé
, and
ùַׁãַּé äֵøַòÎìִé
, are not so much parallel as mutually explanatory. In the loss of my children and family, says Naomi, I perceive that He “declares me guilty,” as the Targum also excellently renders
òָðָä áִé
. At the same time, the meaning of Shaddai comes here again clearly to view. For it is He who inflicts sorrow upon her, only in that her children are taken from her. That which God, as Shaddai, the giver of fruitful ness, did to her when he caused her sons to wither away, proves that God testifies against her.
äֵøַò
is here used just as it is in Jos_24:20 : “If ye forsake Jehovah—he will do you hurt (
äֵøַò ìָëֶí
) and utterly destroy you.”
Rth_1:22. So Naomi returned and Ruth with her. The curiosity of the inhabitants of Bethlehem is satisfied; they have also heard the history of Ruth; but with this their sympathy has likewise come to an end. Naomi was poor and God-forsaken,—at least according to the pious and penitential feeling of the good woman herself. How natural, that in her native place, too, she should stand alone. But Ruth was with her. She had continued firm on the road, and she remained faithful in Bethlehem. Since there also no one assisted her mother-in-law, she continued to be her only stay and the sole sharer of her lot. Her presence is once more expressly indicated: “and Ruth, the Moabitess, with her, on her departure from the fields of Moab.” No one was with her but Ruth,—who made the journey from Moab with her, in order to take care of her mother-in-law. What had become of Naomi, if Ruth, like Orpah, had forsaken her! She had sunk into poverty and humiliation more bitter than death. It is true, she too, with her husband, had left Israel in times of distress. But for this she could not be held responsible, although her generous spirit accused herself and no one else. On the other hand, she had been sufficiently punished, and had confessed her guilt. But in Bethlehem poor Naomi was made to feel that she now bore the name of Mara. Only Ruth had respect to neither before nor after. She reflected on neither happy nor sorrowful days. As she had loved in prosperity, so she remained true in adversity. Naomi, in her native place and among kindred, in Israel, had been alone and in want, had not the stranger, the widow of her son, accompanied her from her distant land. While such love was hers, Naomi was not yet wholly miserable; for God has respect to such fidelity.
And they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley-harvest. Consequently, in the beginning of the harvest season in general. This statement is made in order to intimate that the help of God did not tarry long. The harvest itself afforded the opportunity to prepare consolation and reward for both women in their highest need.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
“Call me not Naomi, but Mara.” Naomi does not conceal her condition when she reaches her native place. Usually, the natural man, even as a beggar, still desires to shine. She has lost everything; and what she had gained, the companionship of Ruth, is not yet able to console her. Her very love fills her with anxiety for this daughter. Recollections are very bitter, and the future is full of care. It is, however, only because she is empty of all joys, that she wishes to be called Mara. But it was made evident even in her misery that whatever she had lost, she had found the grace of God; for then too she was not only named, but truly was, Naomi. Nor will one who in sorrow does not cease to be lovely, retain the name of Mara. Pope Gregory the Great, when praised (by Leander) replied: “Call me not Naomi, i. e. beautiful, but call me Mara, since I am full of bitter grief. For I am no more the same person you knew: outwardly I have advanced, inwardly I have fallen. And I fear to be among those of whom it is said: Thou castedst them down when they were lifted up. For when one is lifted up, he is cast down; he advances in honors and falls in morals.”
Thomas a Kempis: “It is good at times to be in distress; for it reminds us that we are in exile.”
Bengel: “If God have loved thee, thou canst have had no lack of trouble.”
“For Shaddai hath afflicted me.” Naomi did not go to Moab of her own accord, for she followed her husband. Her stay also in the strange land was prolonged only because her sons had married there. After their death, although poor and empty, she returned home again, albeit she had but little to hope for. And yet in the judgment she perceives only her own guilt. Her loving heart takes all God’s judgments on itself. The more she loved, the more ready she was to repent. Being a Naomi, she did not accuse those she loved. The sign of true love is unselfishness, which ascribes ills to self, blessings to others. As long as she was in misery, she took the anger of God upon herself; but as soon as she perceived the favor of God, she praised Him as the God who showed kindness to the living and the dead.
[Fuller: “And all the city was moved,” etc. See here, Naomi was formerly a woman of good quality and fashion, of good rank and repute: otherwise her return in poverty had not been so generally taken notice of. Shrubs may be grubbed to the ground, and none miss them; but every one marks the felling of a cedar. Grovelling cottages may be evened to the earth, and none observe them; but every traveller takes notice of the fall of a steeple. Let this comfort those to whom God hath given small possessions. Should He visit them with poverty, and take from them that little they have, yet their grief and shame would be the less: they should not have so many fingers pointed at them, so many eyes staring on them, so many words spoken of them; they might lurk in obscurity: it must be a Naomi, a person of eminency and estate, whose poverty must move a whole city.—The same: “Seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me.” Who then is able to hold out suit with God in the court of heaven? For God himself is both judge and witness, and also the executor and inflicter of punishments.
Bp. Hall: Ten years have turned Naomi into Mara. What assurance is there of these earthly things whereof one hour may strip us? What man can say of the years to come, thus will I be?—Tr.]
Footnotes:
[Rth_1:19.—
úֵּäֹí
Niphal imperf. of
äָîַí
, cf. Ges. 67, Rem. 5; 22, 1. So Ges., Berth., Ewald, etc. Keil, Fürst, etc., consider it Niph. imperf. of
äåּí
.—Tr.]
[Rth_1:19.—
åַúֹּàîַøְðָä
: fem. plural (cf.
òֲìֵéäֶï
, etc. in Rth_1:20). Not exactly, dicebantque mulieres, as the Vulg. has it; the population of the city are the subject of the verb, but in a matter of this kind women would naturally be so prominent as to lead the narrator insensibly to use the feminine. Perhaps Naomi arrived at an hour of the day when the labors of the field left none but women in the city.—Tr.]
[Rth_1:22.—
äַùָּׁáָäîִùְּׁãֵéîåֹàָá
: Dr. Cassel translates the whole clause thus: “And so Naomi was returned home, and Ruth, the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, [who accompanied her] after [or on, cf. the Com. below] her departure from the fields of Moab.” This rendering, is, of course, intentionally free, and is designed to indicate that what seems an unnecessary remark, really adds to the sense, namely, that Ruth was the (only) one that clave to Naomi, that came with her from Moab. But this seems rather forced. As the same expression occurs, at Rth_4:3, in connection with Naomi, it may be supposed that it became customary to speak of Naomi and Ruth as “the returned from Moab,” or as we should say, popularly, “the returned Moabites.” In that case, it would be best (with Berth.) to take
äַùָּׁáַä
(accented in the text as 3d fem. perf., with the art. as relative, cf. Ges. 109, 2d paragr.), as the fem. participle. The epithet would be applied to Ruth by virtue of her connection with Naomi, cf. Rth_1:7.—Tr.]
The Midrash makes the scene still more dramatic by the explanation, that the concourse of the inhabitants was occasioned by the fact that the first wife of Boaz had that very day been carried to her grave (cf. Ruth Rabba, 31, d).
[And, therefore, hardly to be called a “reading.” That the LXX. read
òִðָּä
, as some have thought, is hardly possible, as that word could not be suitably construed with
ëְּ
. For the same reason Bertheau takes
òָðָä áְ
in the sense “to bestow labor on anything,” cf. Ecc_1:13. This general idea, he thinks, is then determined by what follows, so as to mean: “Jehovah has worked against me.” On
òָðַä áְ
, in the sense, to testify against, cf. Exo_20:16; 2Sa_1:16; Isa_3:9; etc. Bertheau’s objection seems to be sufficiently met above.—Tr.]
