Nehemia 13:1

Further Reforms by Nehemiah

13:1 On that day the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing ¹  of the people. They found ²  written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God,

Nehemia 13:3

13:3 When they heard the law, they removed from Israel all who were of mixed ancestry.

Keluaran 34:16

34:16 and you then take ³  his daughters for your sons, and when his daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will make your sons prostitute themselves to their gods as well.

Rut 1:4

1:4 So her sons ⁴  married ⁵  Moabite women. (One was named Orpah and the other Ruth.) ⁶  And they continued to live there about ten years.

Nehemia 10:30

10:30 “We will not give our daughters in marriage to the neighboring peoples, and we will not take their daughters in marriage for our sons.

[13:1]  ¹ tn Heb “ears.”

[13:1]  ² tn Heb “it was found.” The Hebrew verb is passive.

[34:16]  ³ tn In the construction this verb would follow as a possible outcome of the last event, and so remain in the verbal sequence. If the people participate in the festivals of the land, then they will intermarry, and that could lead to further involvement with idolatry.

[1:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “they.” The verb is 3rd person masculine plural referring to Naomi’s sons, as the translation indicates.

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “and they lifted up for themselves Moabite wives.” When used with the noun “wife,” the verb נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to lift up, carry, take”) forms the idiom “to take a wife,” that is, to marry (BDB 673 s.v. Qal.3.d; 2 Chr 11:21; 13:21; 24:3; Ezra 9:2,12; 10:44; Neh 13:25).

[1:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “the name of the one [was] Orpah and the name of the second [was] Ruth.”

[1:4]  sn The name Orpah (עָרְפָּה, ’orpah) is from the noun עֹרֶף (’oref, “back of the neck”) and the related verb (“to turn one’s back”). The name Ruth (רוּת, rut) is from the noun רְעוּת (rÿ’ut, “friendship”), derived from the root רֵעַ (rea’, “friend, companion”). Ironically, Orpah will eventually turn her back on Naomi, while Ruth will display extraordinary friendship as her life-long companion (see 1:14). Since they seem to mirror the most definitive action of these women, perhaps they designate character types (as is the case with the name Mara in 1:21 and Peloni Almoni in 4:2) rather than their original birth names.