Ruth 1:21

Footnotes

1. 69 I left here full. That is, with a husband and two sons.
2. 70 Heb “but empty the Lord has brought me back.” The disjunctive clause structure (vav + adverb + verb + subject) highlights the contrast between her former condition and present situation. Cf. “has brought me back without a thing.” Empty-handed. This statement is highly ironic, for ever-loyal Ruth stands by her side even as she speaks these words. These words reflect Naomi’s perspective, not the narrator’s, for Ruth will eventually prove to be the one who reverses Naomi’s plight and “fills” her “emptiness.” Naomi’s perspective will prove to be inaccurate and the women will later correct Naomi’s faulty view of Ruth’s value (see 4:15).
3. 71 The disjunctive clause structure (vav [ו] + subject + verb) here introduces either an attendant circumstance (“when the Lord has opposed me”) or an explanation (“seeing that the Lord has opposed me”).
4. 72 The reads “humbled me” here, apparently understanding the verb as a Piel (עָנָה, ’anah) from a homonymic root meaning “afflict.” However, עָנָה (“afflict”) never introduces its object with בְּ (bet); when the preposition בְּ is used with this verb, it is always adverbial (“in, with, through”). To defend the reading one would have to eliminate the preposition. Heb “has testified against me” (, both similar); “has pronounced against me.” The idiom עָנַה בִי (’anah viy, “testify against”) is well attested elsewhere in legal settings (see 773 עָנָה Qal.3.a; I ענה qal.2). Naomi uses a legal metaphor and depicts the Lord as testifying against her in court.
5. 73 The divine name translated Sovereign One is שַׁדַּי (shadday, “Shaddai”). See further the note on this term in .
6. 74 Or “brought disaster upon me”; “brought misfortune (calamity ) upon me”; “has sent such tragedy.”