Discovery BoxRuth 1:11-12 
Context1:11 But Naomi replied, “Go back home, my daughters! There is no reason for you to return to Judah with me! 1 I am no longer capable of giving birth to sons who might become your husbands! 2 1:12 Go back home, my daughters! For I am too old to get married again. 3 Even if I thought that there was hope that I could get married tonight and conceive sons, 4
1 tn Heb “Why would you want to come with me?” Naomi’s rhetorical question expects a negative answer. The phrase “to Judah” is added in the translation for clarification.
2 tn Heb “Do I still have sons in my inner parts that they might become your husbands?” Again Naomi’s rhetorical question expects a negative answer.
3 sn Too old to get married again. Naomi may be exaggerating for the sake of emphasis. Her point is clear, though: It is too late to roll back the clock.
4 tn Verse 12b contains the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, which is completed by the rhetorical questions in v. 13. For a detailed syntactical analysis, see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 78-79.
