Question 1

Why were the people of Bethlehem moved when Naomi returned?

Accepted Answer

When Naomi came back to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because they remembered how she used to be. Earlier in life she had lived in a respected and comfortable way, with her husband and sons. Now she returned as a widow, without her children, and in poor condition. Her appearance and situation were so changed that people could hardly believe it was the same woman. Some likely felt pity, some may have felt a bit of judgment, and others were simply shocked. Her return reminded them how quickly life can change and how suffering can mark a person.

Question 2

What does Naomi mean by saying, “Call me not Naomi, call me Mara”?

Accepted Answer

Naomi’s name means something like “pleasant,” but she felt her life was no longer pleasant at all. By asking to be called “Mara,” which means “bitter,” she was saying that her story now tasted bitter because of all she had lost. She was not throwing a temper tantrum against God, but honestly admitting her pain and seeing God’s hand in it. Her new name showed how deeply her husband’s and sons’ deaths, and the loss of her former life, had affected her heart.

Question 3

What does Naomi mean when she says, “I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty”?

Accepted Answer

When Naomi says she went out full, she is thinking of the time she left Bethlehem with her husband and two sons, and likely with enough goods to live on. Her “fullness” was not just money, but family and a settled life. Now she has come back a widow, with her sons dead, and her possessions gone. She feels empty of what once gave her joy. Yet she also says the Lord brought her home, which shows she recognizes that God is in control of both her going out and her coming back, even when it hurts.

Question 4

Why does Naomi say that the Lord has testified against her and afflicted her?

Accepted Answer

Naomi believes her suffering is not random. By saying the Lord has testified against her, she speaks as if God’s heavy hand on her life is like a witness that something is wrong and he is displeased. The deaths and losses feel to her like God is arguing a case against her. She does not spell out a specific sin, but she reads her pain as God’s dealing with her. At the same time, she submits to his power, calling him the Almighty, and accepts that her bitter path is in his hands.

Question 5

Who is Ruth the Moabitess in this passage, and why is her background mentioned?

Accepted Answer

Ruth is Naomi’s daughter‑in‑law, a woman from Moab who chose to leave her own country and gods to stay with Naomi and follow Israel’s God. The passage repeats that she is a Moabitess and that she returned from the country of Moab to highlight that she is a foreigner coming into Israel. This matters because Bethlehem is the place where the promised Messiah would one day come from, and here a Gentile woman is being quietly woven into that story. Her loyalty to Naomi and her presence with her at this low point will become important in what follows.

Question 6

What is the significance of arriving in Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest?

Accepted Answer

The beginning of the barley harvest was the first part of the harvest season, around early spring, when God was again giving bread to his people after famine. For Naomi and Ruth, arriving then meant there would be work in the fields and food to gather, which would become clear in the next part of the story. It also hints that, even though Naomi feels empty and bitter, God is already providing the setting for help and future hope. The timing is not an accident but part of how God orders events and seasons.

Question 7

What does this passage teach about how to view suffering and loss?

Accepted Answer

This passage shows that it is honest and right to feel the bitterness of loss and to speak that pain to others. Naomi does not pretend all is fine, and she does not hide that she feels emptied and afflicted. At the same time, she sees God’s hand in her story, saying the Lord has brought her home and that the Almighty has dealt with her. Her example encourages us to bring our grief under God’s rule, to humble our hearts when our condition is brought low, and to trust that our times, and their timing, are in his hands.

Question 8

How can Naomi’s response help someone who feels their life has fallen apart?

Accepted Answer

Naomi shows that you can be deeply honest about sorrow without giving up on God’s rule. She does not cling to a pleasant image of herself; instead, she accepts a humbler name that fits her current state. She does not deny God’s power, but calls him the Almighty and sees him as the one who has emptied her. For someone whose life has collapsed, this passage can help them say, “My pain is real, and God’s hand is real too.” It gently points us to accept humbling times and seek a heart that bends, not breaks, under them.

Ruth 1:19

¶ So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?

The Return to Bethlehem

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Ruth 1:19

¶ So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?

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The Return to Bethlehem

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