Ruth 1:13

Rth 1:13 Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.

Ver. 13. Would ye tarry for them?] Heb., Hope. The Hebrew word that signifieth hope, signifieth a line: because by hope the heart is stretched out as a line, to the thing it hopeth for.

Till they were grown.] Children are not to be married till mature and marriageable.

Nay, my daughters,] q.d., If you mean to marry at all, marry in due time, and defer not too long. Every Jew at this day is bound to marry before he is twenty years old, else he is looked upon as one that liveth in sin.

For it grieveth me much.] I have much bitterness: "remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall." {Lam 3:19} But did not Naomi herself cast this gall into God’s cup, by her impatiency and excess of grief? which yet was much mitigated, no doubt, when she considered that it was -

The hand of the Lord that was gone out against her.] That her afflictions befell her not by fate or blind fortune. Among philosophers the most noted sect for patience was that of the Stoics, who ascribed all to fate. God’s people have better comforts. Virtus lecythos habet in malis.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rth 1:13. It grieveth me — That you are left without the comfort of husbands or children; that I must part with such affectionate daughters; and that my circumstances are such that I cannot invite you to go along with me. For her condition was so mean at this time that Ruth, when she came to her mother’s city, was forced to glean for a living. It is with me that God has a controversy. This language becomes us when we are under affliction; though many others share in the trouble, yet we are to hear the voice of the rod, as if it spake only to us. But did not she wish to bring them to the worship of the God of Israel? Undoubtedly she did. But she would have them first consider upon what terms, lest, having set their hand to the plough, they should look back.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Or, more than you.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

the hand of the Lord is gone out against me--that is, I am not only not in a condition to provide you with other husbands, but so reduced in circumstances that I cannot think of your being subjected to privations with me. The arguments of Naomi prevailed with Orpah, who returned to her people and her gods. But Ruth clave unto her; and even in the pages of Sterne, that great master of pathos, there is nothing which so calls forth the sensibilities of the reader as the simple effusion he has borrowed from Scripture--of Ruth to her mother-in-law [CHALMERS].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(13) It grieveth me much for your sakes.—A much more probable translation is, it is far more bitter for me than for you. An exact parallel to the construction is found in Gen_19:9. The ancient versions are divided, the LXX., Peshito Syriac, and Targum support this translation; the Vulg. is rather loose in its rendering.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. would ye therefore tarry till they were grown?] The narrative in Genesis 38. shews that the custom of levirate marriage was presupposed for the patriarchal age, but in a more primitive form than that of the modified law in Deuteronomy 25. According to Genesis 38. a son, though not of marriageable age, is bound by a positive requirement of the divine will to marry his brother’s widow, and she must remain a widow till he be grown up (ib. Rth_1:11). The identity of the latter expression with that in the present verse seems to imply a reminiscence of the patriarchal narrative. But Naomi’s imaginary sons, the offspring of an impossible second marriage, would be half-brothers to Mahlon and Chilion; and there is nothing to shew that a levirate marriage was customary in such a case. Moreover, the object of this kind of marriage was to prevent the extinction of a family and the transference of the family property into the hands of strangers. As a matter of fact, however, Naomi is not thinking of this at all; she is not lamenting that her sons died without children, but that Ruth and Orpah have lost their husbands; her one anxiety is for the future welfare of her daughters in law. Hence, though her language is coloured by a reference to a well-known social institution, the reference is not exact, not intended to be taken literally.

It is noticeable that several words in this verse point to the post-exilic date of the writer: therefore is represented by a pure Aramaic word, Dan_2:6; Dan_2:9; Dan_4:27 [Aram. 24]; tarry, again in Est_9:1, Psa_119:166 (‘hoped’); stay, lit. be restrained, shut up, only here in the O. T.; in Aramaic the pass. ptcp. is used of a wife tied to a husband and deserted and prohibited from marrying again, e.g. Talm. Jerus. Giṭṭin iv. 45c.

it grieveth me much for your sakes] lit. it is very bitter for me because of you; for this use of the prep. (min=because of) cf. Ecc_2:10, Psa_31:11; Psa_107:17 etc. Naomi’s sympathy goes out to the young widows, and she urges them to seek happiness elsewhere. The rendering in the marg. means, ‘You can go back and marry again; a worse lot is in store for me, I must remain a solitary.’ The rendering of the text is to be preferred as more in accordance with Naomi’s unselfish feeling.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Would you tarry for them till they were grown?.... It is not to be thought that they would tarry till she was married and had children, and then till these infants were grown up to men's estate, and be marriageable; for though Tamar tarried for Shelah, yet he was born, and of some years of age, though not a grown man, Gen 38:11.

would ye stay for them from having husbands? they were young widows, and it was fit they should marry again; and it could not be imagined that they would deny themselves having husbands, in expectation of any sons of her's:

nay, my daughters; I am well satisfied you will never tarry for them, nor deprive yourselves of such a benefit; it is unreasonable to suppose it:

for it grieveth me much for your sakes; that she could be of no manner of service to them, either to give them husbands, or to support and maintain them, should they go with her; or "I have exceedingly more bitterness than you" (d); her condition and circumstances were much worse than theirs; for though they had lost their husbands, she had lost both husband and children: or it was more bitter and grievous to her to be separated from them, than it was for them to be separated from her; her affection to them was as strong, or stronger than theirs to her; or they had friends in their own country that would be kind to them, but as for her, she was in deep poverty and distress, and when she came into her own country, knew not that she had any friends left to take any notice of her:

that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me; in taking away her husband and children, and reducing her to a low estate, penniless and friendless; so poor, as it appears, that her daughter-in-law, when come to the land of Canaan, was obliged to glean for the livelihood of them both, as in the next chapter.

(d) "amaritudo mihi (est) valde prae nobis", Montanus, Rambachius; so Pagninus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Marry. Hebrew, "would you stay for them from having husbands!"

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Would ye stay for them from having husbands? it is unreasonable for me to expect it, or for you to perform it.

For your sakes; that you are left without the comfort of husbands or children; that I must part with such dear and affectionate daughters; and that my circumstances are such that I cannot invite nor encourage you to go along with me. For her condition was so mean at this time, that Ruth, when she came to her mother’s city, was forced to glean for a living, Rth 2:2.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

13. It grieveth me much for your sakes — More literally, It is much more bitter to me than to you that, etc. My hopes for earthly comfort in my own land are poorer than yours in Moab.

The hand of the Lord is gone out against me — In my own family a severe and mysterious Providence has cut off all temporal hope for you and for me. This was indeed a source of grief. Keil observes that Naomi omitted to notice one possible case, namely, that her daughters in law might find other husbands in Judea. He supposes she did not hint at this chiefly from feelings of delicacy on account of their Moabitish descent, which would be an obstacle to their marriage among the Israelites.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It grieveth me - That you are left without the comfort of husbands or children; that I must part with such affectionate daughters; and that my circumstances are such, that I cannot invite you to go alone with me. For her condition was so mean at this time, that Ruth, when she came to her mother's city, was forced to glean for a living. It is with me, that God has a controversy. This language becomes us, when we are under affliction; tho' many others share in the trouble, yet we are to hear the voice of the rod, as if it spake only to us. But did not she wish to bring them to the worship of the God of Israel? Undoubtedly she did. But she would have them first consider upon what terms, lest having set their hand to the plow, they should look back.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Would you wait for them Heb. תְּשַּׂבֵּרְנָה. This is a question: Would you wait for them until they grew up? This is an expression similar to (Ps. 146:5): “his hope (שִּׂבְרוֹ) is in the Lord his God.”

Would you shut yourselves off Heb. תֵּעָגֵנָה. An expression of being bound and imprisoned, like (Taanith 3: 8): “He made a round hole (עָג עוּגָה) and stood within it.” Others interpret it as an expression of עִגוּן, anchoring, being unable to marry, but that cannot be, for if so, the “nun” should have been punctuated with a “dagesh” or it should have been spelled with two “nuns”.

for the hand of the Lord has gone forth against me Said Rabbi Levi: Wherever it says “the hand of the Lord,” it refers to a plague of pestilence, and the classic example is (Exod. 9:3): “Behold the hand of the Lord will be.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

"Would you tarry for them?": The final nun (נ) replaces a mem (מ), and it contrasts with "for it grieves me much for your sakes." The phrase "they came to Bethlehem" shows that "tarry for them" is connected to the letter lamed (ל) or the word "el" (אֶל), similar to "the eyes of all wait upon you" (Psalms 145:15).

"Refrain": This verb is in the Nifal form and has no parallel.

"From having husbands": Each one of them having a husband, similar to "and they hanged both of them on a tree" (Esther 9:14).

"No, my daughters": Meaning, do not go with me.

"That the hand of the Lord is gone out against me": A decree from God that has come forth from Him or that was issued and has reached me, making itself seen.

"The hand of the Lord": A metaphor for affliction, using the term "hand" as a way humans speak.

"The one who went up to your brother-in-law's house": From the root of "yabam" (levirate marriage); it has already been explained in the Torah.

"To her people and to her gods": Evidence that they converted.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.