נׇעֳמִי

Ruth 1:2 נָעֳמִ֜י [was] Naomi

The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah, and they entered the land of Moab and settled there.

Ruth 1:3 נָעֳמִ֑י Naomi

Then Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons,

Ruth 1:8 נָעֳמִי֙ Naomi

Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you to your mother’s home. May the LORD show you loving devotion, as you have shown to your dead and to me.

Ruth 1:11 נָעֳמִי֙ Naomi

But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb to become your husbands?

Here: Her name means something like 'my pleasantness' or 'my delight'. Here it is set ironically against her bitter words, which reach their peak in vv. 13 and 20 ('call me Mara, bitter').

Ruth 1:19 נָעֳמִֽי׃ Naomi

So Naomi and Ruth traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women of the town exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

Ruth 1:20 נָעֳמִ֑י Naomi

“Do not call me Naomi,” she replied. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has dealt quite bitterly with me.

Here: The name comes from the root n‑ʿ‑m, 'pleasant, sweet, lovely', and means something like 'my pleasantness' or 'my delight'. She turns down the name because her life no longer fits it.

Ruth 1:21 נָעֳמִ֔י Naomi

I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? After all, the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me.”

Ruth 1:22 נָעֳמִ֗י Naomi

So Naomi returned from the land of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. And they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

Ruth 2:1 וּֽלְנָעֳמִ֞י and [belonged] to Naomi

Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a prominent man of noble character from the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

Ruth 2:2 נָעֳמִ֗י Naomi

And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go into the fields and glean heads of grain after someone in whose sight I may find favor.” “Go ahead, my daughter,” Naomi replied.

Ruth 2:6 נָעֳמִ֖י Naomi

The foreman answered, “She is the Moabitess who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab.

Ruth 2:20 נָעֳמִ֜י נָעֳמִ֗י Naomi

Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, who has not withdrawn His kindness from the living or the dead.” Naomi continued, “The man is a close relative. He is one of our kinsman-redeemers.”

Here: Her name means something like 'my pleasant one'. In 1:20 she asked to be called Mara, 'bitter'. Here, for the first time since then, she speaks of God's goodness, so the name starts to fit her again.

Ruth 2:22 נָעֳמִ֖י Naomi

And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “My daughter, it is good for you to work with his young women, so that nothing will happen to you in another field.”

Ruth 3:1 נָעֳמִ֣י Naomi

One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek a resting place for you, that it may be well with you?

Here: Her name means something like "my pleasantness" or "pleasant one". In 1:20 she told the town to call her Mara, "bitter", but the narrator keeps calling her Naomi. Here she acts in a way that fits her name: she sets out to make things good for Ruth.

Ruth 4:3 נָעֳמִ֔י Naomi

And he said to the kinsman-redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech.

Here: The subject comes after the verb and the object. She is the widow of Elimelech and the only surviving member of his household, so she is the one with standing to dispose of the plot.

Ruth 4:5 נָעֳמִ֑י Naomi

Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi and also from Ruth the Moabitess, you must also acquire the widow of the deceased in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.”

Ruth 4:9 נָעֳמִֽי׃ Naomi

At this, Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon.

Here: The widow who came back 'empty' (1:21). In law she is the family's surviving representative, and the transfer goes through her.

Ruth 4:14 נָעֳמִ֔י Naomi

Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a kinsman-redeemer. May his name become famous in Israel.

Ruth 4:16 נָעֳמִ֤י Naomi

And Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became a nurse to him.

Ruth 4:17 לְנָעֳמִ֑י to Naomi

The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse, the father of David.