Death of Elimelech and his two sons Elimelech is a biblical figure mentioned in the

Book of Ruth The Book of Ruth (, ''Megillath Ruth'', "the Scroll of Ruth", one of the Five Megillot) is included in the third division, or the Writings ( Ketuvim), of the Hebrew Bible. In most Christian canons it is treated as one of the historical books ...

. According to the

The Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...

, Elimelech is a descendant of the

Tribe of Judah According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe of Judah (, ''Shevet Yehudah'') was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel, named after Judah (son of Jacob), Judah, the son of Jacob. Judah was one of the tribes to take its place in Canaan, occupying it ...

, and was the husband of

Naomi Naomi or Naomie may refer to: People and biblical figures * Naomi (given name), a given name and a list of people with the name * Naomi (biblical figure), Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth * Naomi (Romanian singer) (born 1977 ...

and the father of Machalon and Chilyon. The family lived in

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

. Due to famine, Elimelech and his family left the Land of Israel and settled in

Moab Moab () was an ancient Levant, Levantine kingdom whose territory is today located in southern Jordan. The land is mountainous and lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by ...

, where he died. His children, Machalon and Chilyon, married two Moabite women,

Ruth Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ark ...

and Arpah. When Elimelech's two sons later died, Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem. Ruth later married

Boaz Boaz (; Hebrew: בֹּעַז ''Bōʿaz''; ) is a biblical figure appearing in the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible and in the genealogies of Jesus in the New Testament and also the name of a pillar in the portico of the historic Temple in Jeru ...

, a relative of Elimelech.

Talmud and Midrash

According to the Talmud, Elimelch was the son of Nachshon Ben Aminadav, the Nasi of the Tribe of Judah. Bava Basra 91a. Regarding him and why he left the Land of Israel,

Chazal Chazal or Ḥazal () are the Jewish sages of the Mishnaic and Talmudic eras, spanning from the final 300 years of the Second Temple period until the 7th century, or . Their authority was mostly in the field of ''Halakha'' (Jewish law) and les ...

said: "Elimelech was a great man and leader of his generation. When the years of hunger came he said: Now all the Jews will wander from door to door collecting and they'll come to my door. What did he do? He escaped".

Yalkut Shimoni The ''Yalkut Shimoni'' (), or simply ''Yalkut'', is an aggadic compilation on the books of the Hebrew Bible. It is a compilation of older interpretations and explanations of Biblical passages, arranged according to the sequence of those portions ...

, Ruth, Remez 598. When the Book of Ruth recalls his death it states: "Elimelech the husband of Na'ami died". From this Chazal derived that the main consequence of a man's death is to his wife. From the story of Elimelech, Chazal derived the severity of emigrating from Eretz Yisrael. As they say: Why were Elimelch Machalon and Chilyon punished? For they exited the Land of Israel and entered the Diaspora... for even merit from his ancestry does not stand for individuals who leave Eretz Yisrael".

References

{{Book of Ruth People from Bethlehem Book of Ruth people Hebrew Bible people