Ruth 1:5

Then Naomi’s two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, also died. ¹  So the woman was left all alone – bereaved of her two children ²  as well as her husband!

De 32:39; Ps 89:30-32; Isa 49:21; Jer 2:19; Mt 22:25-27; Lu 7:12

¹ tn Heb “and the two of them also died, Mahlon and Kilion.”

² tn The term יֶלֶד (yeled, “offspring”), from the verb יָלַד (yalad, “to give birth to”), is used only here of a married man. By shifting to this word from the more common term בֵּן (ben, “son”; see vv. 1-5a) and then using it in an unusual manner, the author draws attention to Naomi’s loss and sets up a verbal link with the story’s conclusion (cf. 4:16). Although grown men, they were still her “babies” (see E. F. Campbell, Ruth [AB], 56; F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 66).