1 And it cometh to pass, in the days of the judging of the judges, that there is a famine in the land, and there goeth a man from Beth-Lehem-Judah to sojourn in the fields of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
And there is a famine in the land, and Abram goeth down towards Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine `is' grievous in the land;
And there is a famine in the land, besides the first famine which was in the days of Abraham, and Isaac goeth unto Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.
And He calleth a famine on the land, The whole staff of bread He hath broken.
And the man goeth out of the city, out of Beth-Lehem-Judah, to sojourn where he doth find, and cometh to the hill-country of Ephraim, unto the house of Micah, to work his way.
That which hath been the word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah concerning the matters of the dearths:
And I also -- I have given to you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, And lack of bread in all your places, And ye have not turned back unto Me, an affirmation of Jehovah.
Is not before our eyes food cut off? From the house of our God joy and rejoicing? Rotted have scattered things under their clods, Desolated have been storehouses, Broken down have been granaries, For withered hath the corn. How have cattle sighed! Perplexed have been droves of oxen, For there is no pasture for them, Also droves of sheep have been desolated. Unto Thee, O Jehovah, I do call, For fire hath consumed comely places of a wilderness, And a flame hath set on fire all trees of the field. Also the cattle of the field long for Thee, For dried up have been streams of water, And fire hath consumed comely places of a wilderness!'
Spoiled is the field, mourned hath the ground, For spoiled is the corn, Dried up hath been new wine, languish doth oil. Be ashamed, ye husbandmen, Howl, vine-dressers, for wheat and for barley, For perished hath the harvest of the field.
`For thus said the Lord Jehovah: Although My four sore judgments -- sword, and famine, and wild beast, and pestilence -- I have sent unto Jerusalem, to cut off from it man and beast,
A fruitful land becometh a barren place, For the wickedness of its inhabitants.
And Elisha spake unto the woman whose son he had revived, saying, `Rise and go, thou and thy household, and sojourn where thou dost sojourn, for Jehovah hath called for a famine, and also, it is coming unto the land seven years.' And the woman riseth, and doth according to the word of the man of God, and goeth, she and her household, and sojourneth in the land of the Philistines seven years.
And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, saith unto Ahab, `Jehovah, God of Israel, liveth, before whom I have stood, there is not these years dew and rain, except according to my word.' And the word of Jehovah is unto him, saying, `Go from this `place'; and thou hast turned for thee eastward, and been hidden by the brook Cherith, that `is' on the front of the Jordan, and it hath been, from the brook thou dost drink, and the ravens I have commanded to sustain thee there.' And he goeth and doth according to the word of Jehovah, yea, he goeth and dwelleth by the brook Cherith, that `is' on the front of the Jordan, and the ravens are bringing to him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and of the brook he drinketh. And it cometh to pass, at the end of days, that the brook drieth up, for there hath been no rain in the land, and the word of Jehovah is unto him, saying, `Rise, go to Zarephath, that `is' to Zidon, and thou hast dwelt there; lo, I have commanded there a widow woman to sustain thee.' And he riseth, and goeth to Zarephath, and cometh in unto the opening of the city, and lo there, a widow woman gathering sticks, and he calleth unto her, and saith, `Bring, I pray thee, to me, a little water in a vessel, and I drink.' And she goeth to bring `it', and he calleth unto her and saith, `Bring, I pray thee, to me a morsel of bread in thy hand.' And she saith, `Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but the fulness of the hand of meal in a pitcher, and a little oil in a dish; and lo, I am gathering two sticks, and have gone in and prepared it for myself, and for my son, and we have eaten it -- and died.'
And there is a famine in the days of David three years, year after year, and David seeketh the face of Jehovah, and Jehovah saith, `For Saul and for the bloody house, because that he put to death the Gibeonites.'
And it cometh to pass, in those days, when there is no king in Israel, that there is a man a Levite, a sojourner in the sides of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he taketh to him a wife, a concubine, out of Beth-Lehem-Judah; and commit whoredom against him doth his concubine, and she goeth from him unto the house of her father, unto Beth-Lehem-Judah, and is there days -- four months.
And Jehovah raiseth up judges, and they save them from the hand of their spoilers; and also unto their judges they have not hearkened, but have gone a-whoring after other gods, and bow themselves to them; they have turned aside `with' haste out of the way `in' which their fathers walked to obey the commands of Jehovah -- they have not done so. And when Jehovah raised up to them judges -- then was Jehovah with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for it repenteth Jehovah, because of their groaning from the presence of their oppressors, and of those thrusting them away.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Ruth 1
Commentary on Ruth 1 Matthew Henry Commentary
An Exposition, With Practical Observations, of
The Book of Ruth
Chapter 1
In this chapter we have Naomi's afflictions.
All these things were melancholy and seemed against her, and yet all were working for good.
Rth 1:1-5
The first words give all the date we have of this story. It was in the days when the judges ruled (v. 1), not in those disorderly times when there was no king in Israel; but under which of the judges these things happened we are not told, and the conjectures of the learned are very uncertain. It must have been towards the beginning of the judges' time, for Boaz, who married Ruth, was born of Rahab, who received the spies in Joshua's time. Some think it was in the days of Ehud, others of Deborah; the learned bishop Patrick inclines to think it was in the days of Gideon, because in his days only we read of a famine by the Midianites' invasion, Judges 6:3, 4. While the judges were ruling, some one city and some another, Providence takes particular cognizance of Bethlehem, and has an eye to a King, to Messiah himself, who should descend from two Gentile mothers, Rahab and Ruth. Here is,
Rth 1:6-18
See here,
The Chaldee paraphrase thus relates the debate between Naomi and Ruth:-Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, for I will be a proselyte. Naomi said, We are commanded to keep sabbaths and good days, on which we may not travel above 2000 cubits-a sabbath-day's journey. Well, said Ruth, whither thou goest I will go. Naomi said, We are commanded not to tarry all night with Gentiles. Well, said Ruth, where thou lodgest I will lodge. Naomi said, We are commanded to keep 613 precepts. Well, said Ruth, whatever thy people keep I will keep, for they shall be my people. Naomi said, We are forbidden to worship any strange god. Well, said Ruth, thy God shall be my God. Naomi said, We have four sorts of deaths for malefactors, stoning, burning, strangling, and slaying with the sword. Well, said Ruth, where thou diest I will die. We have, said Naomi, houses of sepulchre. And there, said Ruth, will I be buried.
Rth 1:19-22
Naomi and Ruth, after many a weary step (the fatigue of the journey, we may suppose, being somewhat relieved by the good instructions Naomi gave to her proselyte and the good discourse they had together), came at last to Bethlehem. And they came very seasonably, in the beginning of the barley-harvest, which was the first of their harvests, that of wheat following after. Now Naomi's own eyes might convince her of the truth of what she had heard in the country of Moab, that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread, and Ruth might see this good land in its best state; and now they had opportunity to provide for winter. Our times are in God's hand, both the events and the time of them. Notice is here taken,