Naomi

Who is Naomi?

Naomi is Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth. Later, she called herself Mara, or "bitter", she said to the women on Bethlehem, "Do not call me Naomi call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me," referring to the death of her husband and her two sons. In Ruth 1:13, she had said to her two daughters-in-law "it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me,", but the NIV translates this as "It is more bitter for me than for you..." which indicates that Naomi is indeed bitter. Barry Webb points out that there is both an objective element in her life being bitter, as well as a subjective element - the bitterness she feels.

Naomi had with her a faithful daughter-in-law named Ruth who decided to follow her, while Orpah, her other daughter-in-law, chose to go back to Moab. Ruth marries Boaz and they have a son, whom Naomi cares for, and so the women of the town say "Naomi has a son". In this way, the book can be seen to be Naomi's story: Gregory Goswell argues that Naomi is the central character of the book, whereas Ruth is the main character. The son in question was Obed, who later became the grandfather of David.