What Does Ruth 4:17 Mean in the King James?
And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The women give the child a name meaning “one who serves,” and that service becomes the seed of a lineage reaching David, the beloved.
THE MEANING
Your future is not sealed by what loss has taken: belonging can take shape around new life. The women call Obed Naomi’s son, and his name carries service; his line reaches Jesse and David, where service and belovedness meet.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie this undoes is that bereavement leaves a person with no place in a family’s future. The women name Naomi into a continuing line through Obed.
THE ROOT
עוֹבֵד
ʿōvēḏ
GROWS FROM
עבד
ʿ-b-d
To work, serve, or labor.
Obed is the participial form of עבד: “one serving.” The name makes service part of the child’s identity before any deed is told, and that identity stands at the beginning of the line that reaches David.
ALSO GROWS
ʿāvaḏ: To serve or work.
עָבַד
This is the verb behind Obed’s name, revealing service as the name’s living action.
ʿeḇeḏ: Servant.
עֶבֶד
The related noun makes the connection between Obed and the nature of service unmistakable.
ʿăḇōḏāh: Work or service.
עֲבֹדָה
This branch shows the same root extending from the one who serves to the service itself.
דָּוִד
Dāwīḏ
GROWS FROM
דוד
d-w-d
Beloved; kinsman.
David’s name echoes דוד, “beloved” or “kinsman,” so the genealogy ends with a name that carries belovedness. Beside Obed, the line holds service and belovedness together.
ALSO GROWS
dōḏ: Beloved one or kinsman.
דּוֹד
This related word lets the name David carry the closeness and belovedness hidden by its familiar English form.
dōḏī: My beloved.
דּוֹדִי
The possessive form makes the root’s language of intimate belonging audible within the genealogy’s final name.
THE PATTERN
A name can carry a person’s nature or calling, speaking meaning into the story as the life unfolds.
And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.THE THREAD
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.Obed comes from עבד, the root behind “serve”; Joshua’s repeated “serve” uses that same root. The name opens as more than a family label: service can be an identity expressed through chosen loyalty.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us