Mahlon ( ''Maḥlōn'') and Chilion (כִּלְיוֹן ''Ḵilyōn'') were two brothers mentioned in the

Book of Ruth The Book of Ruth ( he, מגילת רות, ''Megilath 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 ...

. They were the sons of Elimelech 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, the son of Jacob. Judah was the first tribe to take its place in the Land of Israel, occupying the southern ...

and his wife

Naomi Naomi or Naomie may refer to: People and biblical figures * Naomi (given name), a female 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) (bor ...

. Together with their parents, they settled in the land of

Moab Moab ''Mōáb''; Assyrian: 𒈬𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Mu'abâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Ma'bâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒀊 ''Ma'ab''; Egyptian: 𓈗𓇋𓃀𓅱𓈉 ''Mū'ībū'', name=, group= () is the name of an ancient Levantine kingdom whose territo ...

during the period of the

Israelite The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

Judges A judge is an official who presides over a court. Judge or Judges may also refer to: Roles *Judge, an alternative name for an adjudicator in a competition in theatre, music, sport, etc. *Judge, an alternative name/aviator call sign for a membe ...

. On foreign soil, Mahlon married the Moabite convert

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, Ar ...

(Ruth 4:10) while Chilion married the Moabite convert

Orpah Orpah ( he, עָרְפָּה ''ʿOrpā'', meaning "neck" or "fawn") is a woman mentioned in the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible. She was from Moab and was the daughter-in-law of Naomi and wife of Chilion. After the death of her husband, Orpah a ...

Biography

The test of childless Ruth and Orpah

Elimelech and his sons all died in Moab, leaving Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah widowed. Ruth and Orpah did not bear Jewish children, too. The story in the book tells that Naomi plans to return to Israel, and that she tests her daughters-in-law. She gives them the advice to return to their mother's home: which would mean drastically violating

Jewish Law ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws which is derived from the Torah, written and Oral Tora ...

and reverting to Moabite culture and

idol worship Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or "idol" as though it were God. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the A ...

Ruth in Israel

While Orpah returns and leaves Judaism, Ruth chooses to stay with Naomi, thus proving her former conversion to be a real one. The

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

discusses this and hints that Ruth and Orpah might have been very young, when they converted, e. g. in a family conversion together with their parents. Since they had been young, their conversion had been imbued in abeyance. The Talmud calls her a convert, though. In Israel, Ruth then takes part in a

levirate marriage Levirate marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother's widow. Levirate marriage has been practiced by societies with a strong clan structure in which exogamous marriage (i.e. marriage out ...

, according to Jewish law. By marrying a relative of Mahlon's, she is doing an act which will ensure that Mahlon's paternal lineage is not forgotten. Any child she bears in the levirate marriage will be considered as if it were Mahlon's child. Actually, she marries a relative of Elimelech,

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 Jerusa ...

. Her child, Obed (biologically Boaz's but counted as if Mahlon's), becomes the paternal grandfather of David ha-Melech (King David).

Meaning of the names

Mahlon literally means "sickness" and Chilion "wasting", so the names align closely with the characters' role in the story (as do the other characters' names). This stylisation helps give a consciously fairytale-like quality to the story.Christopher E. Ortega (2015)
The Book of Ruth - Fairy Tale or Truth?
/ref> It also reflects a culture of naming children based on external events, such as Naomi, changing her name to Mara. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has dealt quite bitterly with me." Abram changing his name to Abraham, Peleg being named after the division of nations (the name means division). "Sickness" and "Chilion" being born in a time of famine follows this trend.

References

Moab Hebrew Bible people Brother duos People from Bethlehem Book of Ruth Tribe of Judah {{Tanakh-stub