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Person · Tribe of Judah

Elimelech

Man living before Israel's Monarchy

Elimelech was Naomi's husband from Bethlehem who died in Moab.

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Also known as Elimelek

Elimelech was a man from Bethlehem in Judah, the husband of Naomi and the father of Mahlon and Chilion (Rut.1.2). During a time of famine, Elimelech and his family moved to the country of Moab (Rut.1.1-2). While in Moab, Elimelech died, leaving Naomi a widow (Rut.1.3). Naomi's sons, Mahlon and Chilion, married Moabite women named Ruth and Orpah, but they also died after about ten years (Rut.1.4-5). After the death of her husband and sons, Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem, and her daughter-in-law Ruth accompanied her (Rut.1.6-22). Elimelech's family had owned land in Bethlehem, which was later acquired by Boaz, a relative who married Ruth (Rut.4.3,9). Through this marriage, Elimelech's lineage was preserved, and his family's property remained within the clan.

Family

Father
Salma
Spouse or partner
Naomi
Children
MahlonChilion

Connections

Part of: Judges era and the road to David

Naomi and Ruth: mother-in-law and daughter-in-law

FamilyStated in the text

After Elimelech and their sons died in Moab, Naomi returned to Bethlehem; her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth refused to leave ("Your people shall be my people"). Their bond drives the plot, and the women of Bethlehem call the child born to Ruth "Naomi's son".

NaomiIsraelite woman, mother-in-law of Ruth.RuthMoabite womanElimelechFather of Mahlon
Where the text shows it: Ruth 1:16-17 — Ruth's pledgeRuth 3:1-5 — Naomi plans Ruth's futureRuth 4:14-17 — The women bless Naomi; the child is Naomi's

Sources: Ruth 1:16-17 · Ruth 3:1-5 · Ruth 4:14-17

More background: search Wikipedia ↗

Bible dictionary

Elimelech Easton Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)

God his king, a man of the tribe of Judah, of the family of the Hezronites, and kinsman of Boaz, who dwelt in Bethlehem in the days of the judges. In consequence of a great dearth he, with his wife Naomi and his two sons, went to dwell in the land of Moab. There he and his sons died (Ruth 1:2, 3; 2:1, 3; 4:3, 9). Naomi afterwards returned to Palestine with her daughter Ruth.

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Elimelech Smith Smith’s Bible Dictionary (1863)

(my God is king), a man of the tribe of Judah and of the family of the Hezronites, who dwelt in Bethlehem-Ephratah in the days of the Judges. (B.C. 1312.) In consequence of a great death in the land he went with his wife, Naomi, and his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, to dwell in Moab, where he and his sons died without posterity. (Ruth 1:2,3) etc.

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Elimelech Hitchcock Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary (1869)

my God is king

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Elimelech Hastings Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible (1898)

ELIM'ELECH (God is his king), a Bethlemite, and the husband of Naomi, Ruth's mother-in-law. Ruth 1:2-3; Ruth 2:1, Num 2:3; Ruth 4:3,Ruth 4:9.

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Elimelech Schaff Schaff’s Dictionary of the Bible

ELIM'ELECH (God is his king), a Bethlemite, and the husband of Naomi, Ruth's mother-in-law. Ruth 1:2-3; Ruth 2:1, Num 2:3; Ruth 4:3,Ruth 4:9.

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Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.

Where Elimelech appears

6 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H0458

Ruth6

Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.