Elimelech and Naomi

Elimelech and Naomi are figures from the Jewish and Christian Bibles.

The name “Elimelech” means “My God is King,” indicating that his father, at his birth, considered God to be King. However, by Elimelech’s generation, the people no longer regarded God as King, even “not knowing the Lord or the works that he had done for Israel.” Consequently, the “land experienced famine.”

The name “Naomi” means “My delight” or “sweet,” suggesting that her father felt the sweetness of God’s blessing when she was born. Yet, in Naomi’s generation, she bore a son named “Mahlon,” meaning “sickly,” and another named “Chilion,” meaning “failing” or “pining away.” These names—Mahlon and Chilion—have appeared in Ugaritic texts from the 14th-12th centuries BC, indicating they were typical Canaanite names.

Elimelech and Naomi lived during the period of the Judges, a time when famine struck the land. Faced with the famine, Elimelech did not turn back to God in repentance but acted “as he pleased.” As the head of his household, he led his entire family out of the Promised Land to sojourn among the Moabites, hoping to solve their problems through his own methods. His sons, Mahlon and Chilion, both married Moabite women. Subsequently, Elimelech and both of his sons died in a foreign land. Naomi then returned to her homeland, served by her daughter-in-law, Ruth. 

Upon returning home, Naomi introduced herself to the women of Bethlehem as Mara (meaning “bitter”): “…the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.” This was because her husband (Elimelech) and two sons (Mahlon and Chilion) had all died.

In Israelite custom, if a man died childless, his brother had an obligation to marry the widow (levirate marriage) to produce offspring for him, thus preserving his name (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). However, Naomi had no other sons, so if her two daughters-in-law remained with her, they would have no further descendants and would face a future without support, leading to extremely difficult lives. Naomi’s daughter-in-law Ruth decided to follow her, while her other daughter-in-law Orpah chose to accept her mother-in-law’s advice to return to Moab. Later, Ruth married Boaz, and their son, Obed, was raised by Naomi. Obed later became the grandfather of King David, and also an ancestor of Jesus.