Ruth 1:21-22

The Voice

There is a Hebrew wordplay here from Naomi, “pleasant,” to Mara, “bitterness.” Even Orpah (“neck”) turns her back on Naomi.

²¹    I left this place full, in spite of the famine,
        but the Eternal has brought me back empty from a plentiful land.
    Why would you call me “Pleasant”
        when the Eternal has testified against me,
        and the Highest One has brought disaster upon me?

Naomi’s story is similar to the story of Job. God tests them, as Job and Naomi have full lives. Then they go from emptiness to vindication, and finally to redemption.

²²This was how Naomi came into Bethlehem with her daughter-in-law, Ruth, from Moab. It was at the beginning of the barley harvest when they returned to the land.

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