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cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="topverse">Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.</div><div id="jump">Jump to: <a href="/commentaries/barnes/ruth/1.htm" title="Barnes' Notes">Barnes</a> • <a href="/commentaries/benson/ruth/1.htm" title="Benson Commentary">Benson</a> • <a href="/commentaries/illustrator/ruth/1.htm" title="Biblical Illustrator">BI</a> • <a href="/commentaries/cambridge/ruth/1.htm" title="Cambridge Bible">Cambridge</a> • <a href="/commentaries/clarke/ruth/1.htm" title="Clarke's Commentary">Clarke</a> • <a href="/commentaries/darby/ruth/1.htm" title="Darby's Bible Synopsis">Darby</a> • <a href="/commentaries/ellicott/ruth/1.htm" title="Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers">Ellicott</a> • <a href="/commentaries/expositors/ruth/1.htm" title="Expositor's Bible">Expositor's</a> • <a 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class="padleft"><div class="comtype">EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)</div><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/ruth/1.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(6) <span class= "bld">That she might return.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">and she returned. </span>Clearly, therefore, the three women actually began the journey; and when the start has been made. Naomi urges her companions to return. Then, as with Pliable in the <span class= "ital">Pilgrim’s Progress, </span>so with Orpah: the dangers and difficulties of the way were too much for her affection.<p><span class= "bld">The Lord had visited His people.</span>—The famine had ceased, and Naomi’s heart yearns for the old home. Perhaps, too, the scenes where everything reminded her of her husband and sons, filled her with sadness (for it would appear that she set out immediately after her sons’ death), and perhaps, too, her conscience smote her for distrusting the mercies of the God of Israel.<p><a name="mhc" id="mhc"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/mhc/ruth/1.htm">Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary</a></div>1:6-14 Naomi began to think of returning, after the death of her two sons. When death comes into a family, it ought to reform what is amiss there. Earth is made bitter to us, that heaven may be made dear. Naomi seems to have been a person of faith and piety. She dismissed her daughters-in-law with prayer. It is very proper for friends, when they part, to part with them thus part in love. Did Naomi do well, to discourage her daughters from going with her, when she might save them from the idolatry of Moab, and bring them to the faith and worship of the God of Israel? Naomi, no doubt, desired to do that; but if they went with her, she would not have them to go upon her account. Those that take upon them a profession of religion only to oblige their friends, or for the sake of company, will be converts of small value. If they did come with her, she would have them make it their deliberate choice, and sit down first and count the cost, as it concerns those to do who make a profession of religion. And more desire rest in the house of a husband, or some wordly settlement or earthly satisfaction, than the rest to which Christ invites our souls; therefore when tried they will depart from Christ, though perhaps with some sorrow.<a name="bar" id="bar"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/barnes/ruth/1.htm">Barnes' Notes on the Bible</a></div>Marriages of Israelites with women of Ammon or Moab are nowhere in the Law expressly forbidden, as were marriages with the women of Canaan <a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/7-1.htm">Deuteronomy 7:1-3</a>. In the days of Nehemiah the special law <a href="http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/23-3.htm">Deuteronomy 23:3-6</a> was interpreted as forbidding them, and as excluding the children of such marriages from the congregation of Israel <a href="http://biblehub.com/nehemiah/13-1.htm">Nehemiah 13:1-3</a>. Probably the marriages of Mahlon and Chilion would be justified by necessity, living as they were in a foreign land. Ruth was the wife of the older brother, Mahlon <a href="/ruth/4-10.htm">Ruth 4:10</a>. <a name="jfb" id="jfb"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/jfb/ruth/1.htm">Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary</a></div>Ru 1:6-18. Naomi Returning Home, Ruth Accompanies Her.<p>6, 7. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law, that she might return from the country of Moab—The aged widow, longing to enjoy the privileges of Israel, resolved to return to her native land as soon as she was assured that the famine had ceased, and made the necessary arrangements with her daughters-in-law.<div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/poole/ruth/1.htm">Matthew Poole's Commentary</a></div> i.e. Food; so she staid no longer than necessity forced her. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="gil" id="gil"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/gill/ruth/1.htm">Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible</a></div>Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab,.... After the death of her two sons, and having heard of the ceasing of the famine in Israel, she had a desire to go into her own country, where she would have better opportunities of serving the Lord; and having no heart to stay in Moab, an idolatrous country, where she had lost her husband, and her two sons; and therefore prepared for her journey, and set forward, and her two daughters-in-law with her, to accompany her some part of the way; for it does not appear to be their intention, at least at first setting out, to go with her into the land of Canaan; and therefore it is only said, that they arose <p>that she might return, &c. <p>for she had heard in the country of Moab: which was near the land of Israel, the borders of it reaching to the salt sea; the Targum says she heard it by the mouth of an angel, but it is highly probable it was by common fame: <p>that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread; that he had been kind and gracious to the people of Israel, by granting them plenty of provisions; which might be their happy case after Gideon had vanquished the Midianites, who came yearly, and destroyed and carried off the fruits of the earth, which had caused a famine; see <a href="/judges/6-3.htm">Judges 6:3</a>. It seems as if the famine had continued ten years, see <a href="/ruth/1-4.htm">Ruth 1:4</a> nor need this be thought incredible, since there was a famine in Lydia, which lasted eighteen years (b). <p>(b) Herodot Clio, sive, l. 1. c. 94. <a name="gsb" id="gsb"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/gsb/ruth/1.htm">Geneva Study Bible</a></div><span class="cverse2">Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had <span class="cverse3">{d}</span> visited his people in giving them bread.</span><p>(d) By sending them plenty again.</div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><div class="comtype">EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)</div><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/cambridge/ruth/1.htm">Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges</a></div><span class="bld">6</span>. <span class="ital">the Lord had visited his people</span>] i. e. shewn a practical interest in; cf. <a href="/genesis/1-24.htm" title="And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.">Genesis 1:24</a> f E, <a href="/exodus/3-16.htm" title="Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:">Exodus 3:16</a>; <a href="/exodus/4-31.htm" title="And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.">Exodus 4:31</a> J; St <a href="/luke/1-68.htm" title="Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he has visited and redeemed his people,">Luke 1:68</a>; <a href="/luke/7-16.htm" title="And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God has visited his people.">Luke 7:16</a>. Apparently the famine lasted ten years, <span class="ital"><a href="/ruth/1-4.htm" title="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.">Ruth 1:4</a></span>. With <span class="ital">giving them bread</span> cf. <a href="/psalms/132-15.htm" title="I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.">Psalm 132:15</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="pul" id="pul"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/ruth/1.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 6.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Then</span> - the conjunction in Hebrew is the common generic copulative <span class="accented">and</span> - she arose. She had been <span class="accented">sitting</span>, as it were, where her husband had settled, and she now rose up to depart (see ver. 4). <span class="cmt_word">She, and her daughters-in, law.</span> The word for "her daughters-in-law -" <span class="hebrew">כַּלּתֶיהָ</span> - is literally "her brides," that is, the brides of her sons. That she might return - an admirable rendering into English idiom. The phrase in the original is simply "and she returned," that is, "and she began to return." <span class="cmt_word">From the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread.</span> Or, more literally, "<span class="accented">for</span> she heard in the country of Moab that Jehovah" - or, rather, "Yahveh," or, as Epiphanius gives it, <span class="greek">Ἰαβέ</span> - "<span class="accented">had</span> visited his people to give them bread." There is no warrant, however, and no need, to add, with the Chaldee Targumist, that the news was conveyed <span class="accented">by the mouth of an angel</span>. And the representation is not that Yahveh, in giving, bread to his people, had thereby visited them; it is that he hid visited them" to give them bread. The word <span class="hebrew">פָקַד</span>, rendered <span class="accented">visited</span>, is quite peculiar, with no analogue in English, German, Greek, or Latin. Yahveh had <span class="accented">directed his attention</span> to his people, and had, so to speak, <span class="accented">made inquisition into their state</span>, and had hence taken steps to give them bread (see <a href="/exodus/3-16.htm">Exodus 3:16</a>; <a href="/exodus/4-31.htm">Exodus 4:31</a>). They had already got it, or, as the Septuagint translates, they had got <span class="accented">loaves</span> (<span class="greek">ἀρτοῦς</span>). The Vulgate translates it <span class="accented">meats</span> (eseas). It is assumed in the tidings that the seasons and their products, and all beneficent influences in nature, belong to Yahveh. It is likewise assumed that the Hebrews were his people, albeit not in such a sense as to secure for them more "bread" and "milk and honey" than other peoples enjoyed. Their chief prerogatives were spiritual and moral. <span class="accented">They were his Messianic people</span>. That is the key to unlock the secret of the whole Old Testament Scriptures. Ruth 1:6<a name="kad" id="kad"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/kad/ruth/1.htm">Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament</a></div>After the loss of her husband and her two sons, Naomi rose up out of the fields of Moab to return into the land of Judah, as she had heard that Jehovah had visited His people, i.e., had turned His favour towards them again to give them bread. From the place where she had lived Naomi went forth, along with her two daughters-in-law. These three went on the way to return to the land of Judah. The expression "to return," if taken strictly, only applies to Naomi, who really returned to Judah, whilst her daughters-in-law simply wished to accompany her thither. <div class="vheading2">Links</div><a href="/interlinear/ruth/1-6.htm">Ruth 1:6 Interlinear</a><br /><a href="/texts/ruth/1-6.htm">Ruth 1:6 Parallel Texts</a><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/niv/ruth/1-6.htm">Ruth 1:6 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/ruth/1-6.htm">Ruth 1:6 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/ruth/1-6.htm">Ruth 1:6 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/ruth/1-6.htm">Ruth 1:6 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/ruth/1-6.htm">Ruth 1:6 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="http://bibleapps.com/ruth/1-6.htm">Ruth 1:6 Bible Apps</a><br /><a href="/ruth/1-6.htm">Ruth 1:6 Parallel</a><br /><a href="http://bibliaparalela.com/ruth/1-6.htm">Ruth 1:6 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="http://holybible.com.cn/ruth/1-6.htm">Ruth 1:6 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="http://saintebible.com/ruth/1-6.htm">Ruth 1:6 French Bible</a><br /><a href="http://bibeltext.com/ruth/1-6.htm">Ruth 1:6 German Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a><br /></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td align="center"><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script><br /><br /> </div> <div id="left"><a href="../ruth/1-5.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Ruth 1:5"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Ruth 1:5" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../ruth/1-7.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Ruth 1:7"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Ruth 1:7" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div> <div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>