And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.
And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.
And Naomi taketh the lad, and layeth him in her bosom, and is to him for a nurse;
And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse to it.
Ruth — A Moabite widow's loyalty to her Israelite mother-in-law during the days of the judges. Four chapters, four acts, chiastically arranged — emptying and filling, gleaning and threshing floor, gate and genealogy into David.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
Voices4
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.
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)reformed
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, …
Ephrem the Syrian· HYMNS ON THE NATIVITY 9.12-16, 373patristic
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.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832evangelical
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.
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan
