Woman living before Israel's Monarchy
Orpah was Naomi's daughter-in-law who stayed in Moab after the death of her husband, while Ruth accompanied Naomi to Bethlehem.
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Orpah was the daughter-in-law of Naomi and the wife of Chilion, one of Naomi's sons (Rut.1.4). She was a Moabite woman who married into a Hebrew family that had settled in Moab due to a famine in Judah (Rut.1.1-2). After the deaths of Naomi's husband and sons, Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem (Rut.1.6-7). Initially, both Orpah and Ruth, Naomi's other daughter-in-law, insisted on accompanying her (Rut.1.10). However, Naomi urged them to return to their own families in Moab (Rut.1.11-13). Orpah eventually agreed to stay in Moab, but Ruth remained steadfast in her commitment to Naomi (Rut.1.14). Orpah's decision to stay in Moab is contrasted with Ruth's loyalty and devotion to Naomi and her God (Rut.1.16-17). While Orpah is not mentioned again in the Bible, her brief appearance in the story of Ruth highlights the significant choice that Ruth made in following Naomi and embracing the God of Israel.
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Forelock or fawn, a Moabitess, the wife of Chilion (Ruth 1:4; 4:10). On the death of her husband she accompanied Naomi, her mother-in-law, part of the way to Bethlehem, and then returned to Moab.
(a gazelle), a Moabite woman wife of Chilion son of Naomi, and thereby sister-in-law to Ruth. (Ruth 2:4,14) (B.C. 1360.)
OR'PAH (fawn, or mane), the daughter-in-law of Naomi, who with Ruth accompanied her part of the way on the road to Bethlehem. Her affection, however was not so strong as Ruth's, and, kissing Naomi, she returned to her people and her gods. Ruth 1:4, 2 Kgs 22:14.
OR'PAH (fawn, or mane), the daughter-in-law of Naomi, who with Ruth accompanied her part of the way on the road to Bethlehem. Her affection, however was not so strong as Ruth's, and, kissing Naomi, she returned to her people and her gods. Ruth 1:4, 2 Kgs 22:14.
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.
2 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H6204
who took Moabite women as their wives, one named Orpah and the other named Ruth. And after they had lived in Moab about ten years,
Again they wept aloud, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.
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.