Commentary for Ruth 1:2
וְשֵׁ֣ם הָאִ֣ישׁ אֱֽלִימֶ֡לֶךְ וְשֵׁם֩ אִשְׁתּ֨וֹ נָעֳמִ֜י וְשֵׁ֥ם שְׁנֵֽי־בָנָ֣יו ׀ מַחְל֤וֹן וְכִלְיוֹן֙ אֶפְרָתִ֔ים מִבֵּ֥ית לֶ֖חֶם יְהוּדָ֑ה וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ שְׂדֵי־מוֹאָ֖ב וַיִּֽהְיוּ־שָֽׁם׃
And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth-lehem in Judah. And they came into the field of Moab, and continued there.
Rashi on Ruth
Ephrathites. Important people, and similarly, “the son of Tochu, the son of Tzuph, an Ephrathite,”6I Shmuel 1:1. [meaning] an aristocrat. Look how important they were, for Eglon the King of Mo’av married off his daughter to Machlon, as the Master said, “Rus was the daughter of Eglon.”7Maseches Sanhedrin 105b. Another explanation of “Ephratites,” [they were from Beis Lechem,] because Beis Lechem is called Ephros.8See Bereishis 48:7, “and I buried her [Rachel] on the way to Ephros which is Beis Lechem.”
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Nachal Eshkol on Ruth
Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah: (Rut. 1:2) The verse repeats “Ephraithites of Bethlehem in Judah “ to teach us that the sons of Elimelech were not forced to leave the land of Israel since they were adults and it was within their power to protest or agree. The expression Ephrathites means “important;”3See Rashi on Rut. 1:2 therefore, they were caught up in the sin of their father and Scripture states that they left Bethlehem in Judah.
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