The sons married women from Moab. One was named Orpah [meaning ”gazelle”, derived from the Hebrew word for ”neck” and ”stiff-necked”, she married Chilion] and the other was named Ruth [which means ”friendship”, married Machlon, see ]. They lived there for about 10 years.
Then they burst into tears again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye [and went back], but Ruth stayed close (close, literally ”clung to, was glued to”) to Naomi.
[The Book of Ruth is used as a template when someone wants to convert to Judaism. Some rabbis reject the convert several times to test the authenticity of the decision. There are also parallels with how Jesus urges those who want to become his disciple to calculate the cost, see . Interestingly, the meaning of Orpah’s name comes from the word for neck (Heb. oref) and can be associated with being stiff-necked. Some people also associate the word with gazelle / deer and can then describe someone who is easily frightened and runs away. Stiff-necked is an expression that recurs when God describes those who are rebellious against him, see .]
