What does Ruth 1:4 mean?
Naomi is an Israelite who fled to Moab with her husband and two sons when Bethlehem was struck by a famine. Elimelech, Naomi's husband, has died, but she still has her two sons, Mahlon, which might mean "sickly," and Chilion, which may refer to something "frail" (Ruth 1:2).This verse gives a glimpse of an underlying cultural theme of that era: children and grandchildren are essential for the safety and strength of the family. Naomi apparently feels this so acutely that she would rather the boys marry in Moab than wait until the family can return to Israel and find wives from their own people.
The relationship between the Moabites and Israelites has been strained ever since the Israelites passed by their cousins on their way to the Promised Land. Afraid of the Israelites' strength, the king of Moab hired the prophet Balaam to curse the fledgling nation. When that didn't work, Balaam suggested the Moabite women entice the Israelite men. Many of the men succumbed, having relations with the women, and worshiping their gods (Numbers 22:1—25:5; 31:16).
The propriety of Mahlon's and Chilion's marriages are debated. Because the Moabites refused to show the traveling Israelites hospitality, God banned Moabites from entering the "assembly of the Lord" to the tenth generation (Deuteronomy 23:3–4). Israelites are forbidden to marry women from the nations they dispossess in the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 7:1–4), and after the Babylonian exile, Jews are not allowed to marry foreign women (Ezra 9:1—10:44). But it's unclear if an Israelite man is banned from marrying a Moabite woman at this time—especially if she converted to Yahweh worship.
The timing is also uncertain. We aren't told if the "ten years" is the total amount of time Naomi and her sons live in Moab or the amount of time they live there after the sons married. If Ruth 1:3–4 are strictly chronological, which seems the case, the three stay ten years after Mahlon and Chilion are married. This would work to Naomi's advantage in that they have strong ties to two resident families, but even that convenience is shattered when the men die.
