When we think about the story of Ruth, we often think about the second half. We think about Ruth’s mother-in-law, Naomi, and how she encouraged Ruth to “make her move” on Boaz, their kinsman-redeemer. The move works, and Ruth and Boaz experience a blissful marriage and have a baby. Through that baby, Obed, Ruth becomes part of the line of King David and later Jesus. But what about the “before” part of the book of Ruth? Do we know much about Naomi’s husband Elimelech?
If you have a cursory knowledge of the book of Ruth, you may know that Elimelech was married to Naomi, that he had a connection to Boaz, and that he died from mysterious circumstances. But not much beyond that. If that’s the case, don't worry. He doesn’t get more than a few verses dedicated to him. But his story still can teach us a lot. Let’s dive into what we know about Elimelech.
How Was Elimelech Related to Boaz?
The Bible doesn’t have a different word for cousin or brother. This is why some people believe that the “brothers” Jesus had were cousins. Some Catholics and other traditions hold to Mary’s perpetual virginity because of this.
We bring this up because Boaz's exact relationship with Elimelech is unclear. They are either brothers or cousins.
Either way, this qualifies Boaz as the kinsman-redeemer to Ruth’s new family when tragedy strikes. What tragedy struck? Ruth, Naomi, and Ruth’s sister-in-law Orpah lost their husbands in a short period. Orpah leaves, but Naomi and Ruth return to Israel. There, Ruth meets Boaz, and Naomi begins matchmaking.
A kinsman-redeemer is a person who marries a widow to help support them and create a future family through their bloodline. Few women worked liveable wages back then, so God created a support system to help the most needy in Israel.
We know Boaz was probably much older than Ruth, but Ruth doesn’t seem to mind. Naomi probably considered him a better candidate for Ruth than herself because Ruth was far more fertile. Ruth had a better chance of passing down a line of generations since Naomi had passed her menopausal stage.
When we hear about Ruth meeting Boaz, this probably brings up another question in our minds . . . why did Elimelech tell his family to leave Bethlehem?
Why Did Elimelech and Naomi Leave Bethlehem?
You may or may not know that Ruth wasn’t originally an Israelite. She hailed from the land of Moab—a sometimes ambivalent nation, sometimes enemy of the people of God.
Orpah also hailed from the same land.
So why did Elimelech move his family and eligible sons out of Israel?
Scripture gives us some hints. A famine had overtaken the land. Although most Israelites stayed behind, waiting out the disaster, Elimelech made the executive decision for his family to head out of Israel for the time being. Elimelech comes from the tribe of Judah. If that sounds familiar, it’s because Jesus came from the same tribe, so we refer to him as the “lion of Judah.”
We know this happens during the period of the judges, most like one of the earlier judges like Ehud, or perhaps a little after him. Scripture tells us they’re Ephrathites. This basically means that they lived in the upper regions of Judah, think the Bethlehem area.
The Bible doesn’t really tell us how long they live in the land of Moab. But tragedy seems to befall Elimelech before seeing his sons’ weddings.
What Happened to Elimelech?
Elimelech dies suddenly.
We don’t hear what the Bible never says. Some scholars surmise that a plague had wiped him out and, later, his sons.
We also have to keep in mind that Elimelech and his sons don’t die at the same time.
Ten years rest between the deaths of the father and then his sons.
A lot of theologians are quick to jump into the reason for Elimelech’s death: he didn’t trust God enough to stay in Israel.
Furthermore, his sons later married foreign women, and so theologians say that God struck them down for disobeying the Mosaic law and marrying non-Israelites.
Here, I pause these assertions, fearing that we may sound more like Job’s friends. Although it’s our first conclusion to jump to the conclusion that someone experiences pain due to sin, I think we also need to recognize the ecclesiastic principle that sometimes bad things happen to people for seemingly no reason.
Yes, God’s plan entailed Ruth and Naomi to go back to Israel. But often, his plans work amid tragedy, a tragedy he didn’t personally cause (consult the book of Job for a prime example).
Perhaps Elimelech was trusting God when he went to Moab. Many of the fathers reading this, I imagine, can feel the pressure that Elimelech would’ve been under during the midst of a terrible famine. After all, Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt for some time during Herod’s infanticide. God never chastises them for doing this.
Elimelech could have been a very godly man. The Bible doesn’t give us any indication to the contrary.
What’s important about his death is not the circumstances that could’ve potentially caused it but what happens after.
Ten years after his death, Naomi returns to Bethlehem. There, she sets up a relationship between Ruth and Boaz. After experiencing so much tragedy, she receives a new grandson and a son-in-law who can take care of her in her old age.
What Can We Learn from the Life of Elimelech?
We may think that we will have a hard time learning about a man who existed and died, serving more as a pawn in the backdrop of the book of Ruth than an active character. But God includes all people in the Bible for a reason. We can learn much from Elimelech’s life, his legacy, and some conclusions we draw about him. Let’s dive into three major life lessons we can learn from him below.
First, Elimelech likely cared greatly for Naomi: We see the bitterness Naomi experienced when she lost her husband and two sons. Yes, her station had decreased a great deal. She and Ruth will have to live on scraps. But someone doesn’t change their name from Naomi to Marah (“bitter”) over someone who meant nothing to her. Elimelech cared enough about his family to see they couldn’t last the famine and decided to preserve them in a foreign land. We can imagine he wrestled a great deal with this choice.
Second, Elimelech may not died from sin: We don’t know whether God directly called Elimelech into Moab for a short period. We don’t know if he told Elimelech to stay in Israel, and Elimelech disobeyed. The Bible does not give us enough information to speculate whether Elimelech obeyed or disobeyed God. What we do know is that Christians need to hold back from blaming every tragedy on someone’s sins. Like Job’s friends, if we do this, we are being of no help and are operating from very poor theology. No one can truly know the mind of God or understand why bad things happen to seemingly good people. We can, instead, comfort the grieving. They need all of the consolation they can get.
Finally, Elimelech’s tragedy led to something beautiful: Amid the most difficult circumstances, we can wonder if God abandoned us. Perhaps he can’t hear our prayers like he has all those times before, we think. And we can imagine the anguish and solitude Naomi experienced. Nevertheless, through the deaths of her husband and sons, she experiences a new family through Ruth and Boaz.
Photo Credit:©GettyImages/Filmstax
Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.
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