These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years,
English Standard Version (ESV)
While the Moabite women's origins raise questions about potential sin, the text itself doesn't condemn their marriages, subtly suggesting a different perspective than immediate judgment. The focus on "about ten years" also quietly hints at the brevity of worldly attachments, framing this period as a temporary stage before larger divine purposes unfold.
These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years,
English Standard Version (ESV)
After Elimelech's family moved to Moab due to famine, his sons married local women, Orpah and Ruth. This decision, potentially against Israelite custom, marked a significant period of about ten years during which the family lived in this foreign land. The story is setting the stage for the profound events that will unfold for these women.
Elimelech's sons married women from Moab. Was this a wise choice, or a dangerous one?
Seeking New Beginnings Abroad
Elimelech's family left Bethlehem during a famine, seeking refuge and sustenance in Moab. While understandable, this move had significant cultural and religious implications.
Blending Cultures, Raising Questions
The sons, Mahlon and Chilion, married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. This act raised immediate questions, both then and now:
Regardless of whether the women were proselytes at the time of marriage or not, the act itself was viewed by many with concern, highlighting the delicate balance between adapting to new environments and staying true to one's covenant commitments.
Ask a follow-up
Ten years is a long time. What does this period represent for Elimelech's family?
The Unfolding Consequences
The phrase 'they lived there about ten years' marks a significant, albeit seemingly quiet, period in the family's sojourn in Moab.
More Than Just Time Passing
This decade wasn't just a neutral waiting period. It was a time during which:
Understand the original words
'ishshah · Hebrew Noun
A term referring to the legal union between a man and a woman, which in Old Testament theology is a covenantal commitment mirroring the relationship between God and His people.
The marriages in Ruth 1:4 occurred during a period of famine and foreign sojourn, raising questions about obedience to Israelite law versus necessity or adaptation in a foreign land.
c. 1100 BC
Period of the Judges
A time of decentralized Israelite rule marked by cycles of sin, oppression, deliverance, and peace.
c. 1100 BC - 1090 BC
Famine in Judah
A severe famine in Bethlehem, Judah, prompts Elimelech to migrate his family to the neighboring land of Moab.
c. 1090 BC— this verse
Elimelech's sons marry Moabite women
Mahlon and Chilion, sons of Elimelech, marry Orpah and Ruth, women from Moab. This act was controversial due to laws restricting marriage with foreigners.
c. 1090 BC - 1080 BC
Family resides in Moab
The Israelite family lives in Moab for approximately ten years, during which time Elimelech and his two sons die.
c. 1080 BC
Naomi prepares to return to Bethlehem
Upon hearing the famine has ended, Naomi decides to return to Judah, prompting her daughters-in-law to face a difficult choice.
This passage lays out the prohibition against intermarrying with the Canaanites, establishing a precedent for avoiding foreign religious influences that is relevant to the sons' marriages in Moab.
Nehemiah 13:23-27This later historical account shows the ongoing concern with and prohibition of marrying foreign women, highlighting the seriousness of the decision made by Elimelech's sons.
Ezra 9:1-2Ezra's lament over the people of Israel intermarrying with surrounding nations reveals the deep-seated concern within Israelite tradition about the potential spiritual dilution and sin that such unions could bring.
Malachi 2:11-12This prophecy condemns Judah for acting treacherously by marrying the daughter of a foreign god, emphasizing the spiritual danger and consequences of such unfaithfulness to God's covenant.
henryRuth 1:1-5: "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."
1:1-5 Elimelech's care to provide for his family, was not to be blamed; but his removal into the country of Moab could not be justified. And the removal ended in the wasting of his family. It is folly to think of escaping that cross, which, being laid in our way, we ought to take…
clarkeRuth 1:4: "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 dwelled there about ten years."
And they took them wives - The Targum very properly observes, that they transgressed the decree of the word of the Lord, and took to themselves strange women.
While the Moabite women's origins raise questions about potential sin, the text itself doesn't condemn their marriages, subtly suggesting a different perspective than immediate judgment. The focus on "about ten years" also quietly hints at the brevity of worldly attachments, framing this period as a temporary stage before larger divine purposes unfold.
After Elimelech's family moved to Moab due to famine, his sons married local women, Orpah and Ruth. This decision, potentially against Israelite custom, marked a significant period of about ten years during which the family lived in this foreign land. The story is setting the stage for the profound events that will unfold for these women.
After Elimelech's family moved to Moab due to famine, his sons married local women, Orpah and Ruth. This decision, potentially against Israelite custom, marked a significant period of about ten years during which the family lived in this foreign land. The story is setting the stage for the profound events that will unfold for these women.
"These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years," — While the Moabite women's origins raise questions about potential sin, the text itself doesn't condemn their marriages, subtly suggesting a different perspective than immediate judgment. The focus on…
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Last reviewed October 2026