Ruth 4:16
in Ruth 4And Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became a nurse to him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.
KJV
And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.
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This verse in Ruth 4
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
And Naomi took the child
on Ruth 4:16-17
The neighbour women give the child his name and neither parent is recorded doing it, which is odd enough that John Gill cites Josephus making Naomi the namer on their advice. There is a son born to Naomi is said of a child who is legally the heir of Mahlon and the son of Boaz, and it closes the account the book opened when she lost a husband and two sons. Obed means serving, and verse 15 has already said whom he serves, the old age of the woman holding him. The name David enters Scripture in this verse, and the chapter ends on it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Let Tamar rejoice that her Lord has come, for her name announced the son of her Lord, and her appellation called you to come to her.By you honorable women made themselves contemptible, [you] the One who makes all chaste. She stole you at the crossroads, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom,.... As a token of her most tender love and affection for it; this it is probable she did quickly after the birth of it: and became a nurse unto it; that is, after the mother had suckled and weaned it, then she took it from her, and brought it up.
Grandmothers are often the most fond. Ruth is hereby brought in among the ancestors of David and Christ, which was the greatest honour. The genealogy is here drawn from Pharez, through Boaz and Obed, to David, and so leads towards the Messiah, and therefore it is not an endless genealogy.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Naomi took the child - This might do for Naomi, but it was bad for the child. A child, unless remarkably healthy and robust, will suffer considerably by being nursed by an old woman, especially if the child sleep with her. The aged gain refreshment and energy by sleeping with the young; and from the same means the young derive premature decrepitude. The vigor which is absorbed by the former is lost by the latter. It is a foolish and destructive custom to permit young children, which is a common case, to sleep with aged aunts and old grandmothers.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
"And she nourished." It means to care for and sustain, as in the phrase "And Joseph nourished his father." Some also interpret it as "to provide," as in "And who will provide for the day of his coming."
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתִּקַּ֨ח | vatikach | and she took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| נָעֳמִ֤י | noomi | Naomi | H5281 → | 21 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַיֶּ֙לֶד֙ | haiyeled | the child | H3206 → | |
| וַתְּשִׁתֵ֣הוּ | vateshitehu | and she placed him | H7896 → | |
| בְחֵיקָ֔הּ | vecheikah | on bosom her | H2436 → | |
| וַתְּהִי־ | vatehi- | and she became | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | of him | ||
| לְאֹמֶֽנֶת׃ | leomenet | <into> a nurse | H539 → |
וַתִּקַּ֨חand she took
vatikachH3947 →966 times
נָעֳמִ֤יNaomi
noomiH5281 →21 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַיֶּ֙לֶד֙the child
haiyeledH3206 →
וַתְּשִׁתֵ֣הוּand she placed him
vateshitehuH7896 →
בְחֵיקָ֔הּon bosom her
vecheikahH2436 →
וַתְּהִי־and she became
vatehi-H1961 →3559 times
ל֖וֹof him
lo
לְאֹמֶֽנֶת׃<into> a nurse
leomenetH539 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Ruth
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ephrem the Syrian, HYMNS ON THE NATIVITY 9.12-16; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.