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JPS Old Testament

Ruth 1:1

And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem in Judah went to sojourn in the field of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Bethlehem;   Canaan;   Readings, Select;   Scofield Reference Index - Ruth;   Thompson Chain Reference - Abundance-Want;   Famine;   Sojourners;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Famine;   Judah, the Tribe of;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Famine;   Mahlon;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Bethlehem;   Widow;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Foreigner;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Dearth;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Bethlehem;   Economic Life;   Famine and Drought;   Moab and the Moabite Stone;   Ruth;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Bethlehem;   Chilion;   Famine;   Ruth (Book of);   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Bethlehem;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Bethlehem ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Bethlehem;   Certain;   Elimelech;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Famine;   Moab;   Ruth (2);   Smith Bible Dictionary - Beth'lehem;   Mo'ab;   Ruth, Book of,;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Bethlehem;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Reign of the Judges;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Charity and Charitable Institutions;   Famine;   Jonah, Book of;   Naomi;   Ruth Rabbah;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for August 2;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
During the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to stay in the territory of Moab for a while.
Hebrew Names Version
It happened in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. A certain man of Beit-Lechem-Yehudah went to sojourn in the country of Mo'av, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
King James Version
Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
Lexham English Bible
And it happened in the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem of Judah went to reside in the countryside of Moab—he and his wife and his two sons.
English Standard Version
In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
New Century Version
Long ago when the judges ruled Israel, there was a shortage of food in the land.
New English Translation
During the time of the judges there was a famine in the land of Judah. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons.
Amplified Bible
In the days when the judges governed [Israel], there was a famine in the land [of Canaan]. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live temporarily in the country of Moab with his wife and his two sons.
New American Standard Bible
Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to reside in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons.
Geneva Bible (1587)
In the time that the Iudges ruled, there was a dearth in the lande, and a man of Beth-lehem Iudah went for to soiourne in the countrey of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sonnes.
Legacy Standard Bible
Now it happened in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the fields of Moab with his wife and his two sons.
Contemporary English Version
Before Israel was ruled by kings, Elimelech from the tribe of Ephrath lived in the town of Bethlehem. His wife was named Naomi, and their two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. But when their crops failed, they moved to the country of Moab. And while they were there,
Complete Jewish Bible
Back in the days when the judges were judging, at a time when there was a famine in the land, a certain man from Beit-Lechem went to live in the territory of Mo'av — he, his wife and his two sons.
Darby Translation
And it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man went from Bethlehem-Judah, to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
Easy-to-Read Version
Long ago, during the time the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man named Elimelech left the town of Bethlehem in Judah. He, his wife, and his two sons moved to the country of Moab.
George Lamsa Translation
NOW it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man from Beth-lehem of Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
Good News Translation
Long ago, in the days before Israel had a king, there was a famine in the land. So a man named Elimelech, who belonged to the clan of Ephrath and who lived in Bethlehem in Judah, went with his wife Naomi and their two sons Mahlon and Chilion to live for a while in the country of Moab. While they were living there,
Literal Translation
And it happened in the days of the judging of those judging, there was a famine in the land. And a man from Bethlehem-judah went to live in the fields of Moab, he and his wife, and his two sons.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
In ye tyme whan the Iudges ruled, there was a derth in the londe. And there wente a ma from Bethlee Iuda to take his iourney into the londe of the Moabites wt his wife and two sonnes,
American Standard Version
And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
Bible in Basic English
Now there came a time, in the days of the judges, when there was no food in the land. And a certain man went from Beth-lehem-judah, he and his wife and his two sons, to make a living-place in the country of Moab.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
It came to passe that whe the iudges ruled, there fel a dearth in the land, & a certein man of Bethlehe Iuda went for to soiourne in the countrey of Moab, he and his wyfe, and his two sonnes.
King James Version (1611)
Nowe it came to passe in the dayes when ye Iudges ruled, that there was a famine in the land: and a certaine man of Bethlehem Iudah, went to soiourne in the countrey of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sonnes.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And it came to pass when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land: and a man went from Bethleem Juda to sojourn in the land of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
English Revised Version
And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
Berean Standard Bible
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the land of Moab.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
In the daies of o iuge, whanne iugis weren souereynes, hungur was maad in the lond; and a man of Bethleem of Juda yede to be a pylgrym in the cuntrei of Moab, with his wijf and twey fre sones.
Young's Literal Translation
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.
Update Bible Version
And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
Webster's Bible Translation
Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem-judah went to dwell in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
World English Bible
It happened in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. A certain man of Bethlehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
New King James Version
Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
New Living Translation
In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him.
New Life Bible
In the days when there were judges to rule, there was a time of no food in the land. A certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to visit the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons.
New Revised Standard
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And it came to pass, in the days when the Judges administered justice, that there was a famine in the land, - and so a certain man went his way, out of Bethlehem-judah to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
Douay-Rheims Bible
In the days of the judges, when the judges ruled, there came a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem Juda, went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons.
Revised Standard Version
In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
THE MESSAGE
Once upon a time—it was back in the days when judges led Israel— there was a famine in the land. A man from Bethlehem in Judah left home to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The man's name was Elimelech; his wife's name was Naomi; his sons were named Mahlon and Kilion—all Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They all went to the country of Moab and settled there.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons.

Contextual Overview

1 And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem in Judah went to sojourn in the field of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. 2 And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth-lehem in Judah. And they came into the field of Moab, and continued there. 3 And Elimelech Naomi's husband died; and she was left, and her two sons. 4 And they took them wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth; and they dwelt there about ten years. 5 And Mahlon and Chilion died both of them; and the woman was left of her two children and of her husband.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the judges: Judges 2:16, Judges 12:8

ruled: Heb. judged

a famine: Genesis 12:10, Genesis 26:1, Genesis 43:1, Leviticus 26:19, Deuteronomy 28:23, Deuteronomy 28:24, Deuteronomy 28:38, 2 Samuel 21:1, 1 Kings 17:1-12, 1 Kings 18:2, 2 Kings 8:1, 2 Kings 8:2, Psalms 105:16, Psalms 107:34, Jeremiah 14:1, Ezekiel 14:13, Ezekiel 14:21, Joel 1:10, Joel 1:11, Joel 1:16-20, Amos 4:6, Beth-lehem-judah, Judges 17:8, Judges 19:1, Judges 19:2

Reciprocal: Judges 17:7 - General 1 Samuel 22:3 - the king 2 Kings 4:13 - among mine 1 Chronicles 8:8 - in the 2 Chronicles 6:28 - if there be dearth Daniel 2:44 - in the days Matthew 2:5 - General Acts 13:20 - he gave

Cross-References

Genesis 1:4
And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
Genesis 1:5
And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
Genesis 1:11
And God said: 'Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit-tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth.' And it was so.
Genesis 1:12
And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:16
And God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and the stars.
Genesis 1:17
And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
Genesis 1:19
And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
Genesis 1:20
And God said: 'Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let fowl fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.'
Genesis 1:22
And God blessed them, saying: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.'
Genesis 1:30
and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, [I have given] every green herb for food.' And it was so.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled,.... So that it appears that this history is of time and things after the affair of Micah, and of the concubine of the Levite, and of the war between Israel and Benjamin; for in those times there was no king nor judge in Israel; but to what time of the judges, and which government of theirs it belongs to, is not agreed on. Josephus o places it in the government of Eli, but that is too late for Boaz, the grandfather of Jesse, the father of David, to live. Some Jewish writers, as Jarchi, say it was in the times of Ibzan, who they say p is the same with Boaz, but without proof, and which times are too late also for this history. The Jewish chronology q comes nearer the truth, which carries it up as high as the times of Eglon, king of Moab, when Ehud was judge; and with which Dr. Lightfoot r pretty much agrees, who puts this history between the third and fourth chapters of Judges, and so must belong to the times of Ehud or Shamgar. Junius refers it to the times of Deborah and Barak; and others s, on account of the famine, think it began in the times the Midianites oppressed Israel, and carried off the fruits of the earth, which caused it, when Gideon was raised up to be their judge; Alting t places it in the time of Jephthah; such is the uncertainty about the time referred to:

that there was a famine in the land; the land of Canaan, that very fruitful country. The Targum says this was the sixth famine that had been in the world, and it was in the days of Boaz, who is called Ibzan the just, and who was of Bethlehemjudah; but it is more probable that it was in the days of Gideon, as before observed, than in the days of Ibzan

and a certain man of Bethlehemjudah; so called to distinguish it from another Bethlehem in the tribe of Zebulun, Joshua 19:15 which had its name from the fruitfulness of the place, and the plenty of bread in it, and yet the famine was here; hence this man with his family removed from it:

and went to sojourn in the country of Moab; where there was plenty; not to dwell there, but to sojourn for a time, until the famine was over:

he and his wife, and his two sons; the names of each of them are next given.

o Antiqu. l. 5. c. 9. sect. 1. p T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 91. 1. Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 8. 2. Jarchi & Abendana in loc. q Seder Olam Rabba, c. 12. p. 33. r Works, vol. 1. p. 48. s Rambachius in loc. & Majus in ib. so Biship Patrick. Lampe Hist. Eccl. l. 1. c. 5. p. 22. t Theolog. Hist. loc. 2. p. 84.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

In the days when the Judges ruled - “Judged.” This note of time, like that in Ruth 4:7; Judges 18:1; Judges 17:6, indicates that this Book was written after the rule of the judges had ceased. The genealogy Ruth 4:17-22 points to the time of David as the earliest when the Book of Ruth could have been written.

A famine - Caused probably by one of the hostile invasions recorded in the Book of Judges. Most of the Jewish commentators, from the mention of Bethlehem, and the resemblance of the names Boaz and Ibzan, refer this history to the judge Ibzan Judges 12:8, but without probability.

The country of Moab - Here, and in Ruth 1:2, Ruth 1:22; Ruth 4:3, literally, “the field” or “fields.” As the same word is elsewhere used of the territory of Moab, of the Amalekites, of Edom, and of the Philistines, it would seem to be a term pointedly used with reference to a foreign country, not the country of the speaker, or writer; and to have been specially applied to Moab.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

THE BOOK OF RUTH

-Year before the common year of Christ, 1186.

-Year from the Flood, 1162.

-Year before the first Olympiad, 410.

-Creation from Tisri, or September, 2818.

-This chronology is upon the supposition that Obed was forty years of age at the birth of Jesse; and Jesse, fifty at the birth of David.

CHAPTER I

Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their two sons, Mahlon and

Chilion, flee from a famine in the land of Israel, and go

to sojourn tn Moab, 1, 2.

Here his two sons marry; and, in the space of ten years, both

their father and they die, 3-6.

Naomi sets out on her return to her own country, accompanied by

her daughters-in-law Orpah and Ruth; whom she endeavours to

persuade to return to their own people, 7-13.

Orpah returns, but Ruth accompanies her mother-in-law, 14-18.

They arrive at Beth-lehem in the time of the barley harvest,

19-22.

NOTES ON CHAP. I

Verse Ruth 1:1. When the judges ruled — We know not under what judge this happened; some say under Ehud, others under Shamgar. See the preface.

There was a famine — Probably occasioned by the depredations of the Philistines, Ammonites, c., carrying off the corn as soon as it was ripe, or destroying it on the field.

The Targum says: "God has decreed ten grievous famines to take place in the world, to punish the inhabitants of the earth, before the coming of Messiah the king. The first in the days of Adam the second in the days of Lamech; the third in the days of Abraham; the fourth in the days of Isaac; the fifth in the days of Jacob; the sixth in the days of Boaz, who is called Abstan, (Ibzan,) the just, of Beth-lehem-judah; the seventh in the days of David, king of Israel; the eighth in the days of Elijah the prophet; the ninth in the days of Elisha, in Samaria; the tenth is yet to come, and it is not a famine of bread or of water but of hearing the word of prophecy from the mouth of the Lord; and even now this famine is grievous in the land of Israel."


 
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