We continue today with our review of the Old Testament discovering the names of the biblical heroines , telling their meaning and remembering their lives full of emotions and teachings. We also hope that these beautiful female names will inspire you if you are deciding which one your baby will have.
I must tell you that I am really enjoying this series of articles. It had been years since I had read the Bible but I did not remember all the stories well and rediscovering them to tell them is bringing me closer to this fascinating book, sometimes terrible and full of knowledge. Also, by the way, my son is also learning a lot.
We stayed in the Book of Judges, although we took a little jump to tell you about the mother of the prophet Samuel. Now we go back, because we can not stop naming one of those women of ill repute and powerful will that also appear in the Bible: Delilah .
Then we will continue with the Book of Ruth, one of the oldest in the Bible and possibly one of the most tender. We will tell you about Ruth and Naomi .
Dalila
Samson was a hero of Herculean strength and indomitable will who had faced the Philistines, enemies of Israel, already on numerous occasions, always defeating them. His power came from God, whom his mother had consecrated by having him in her womb and, therefore, he had to fulfill a series of precepts throughout his life: do not cut your hair, do not drink wine, and be faithful to divine commands.
But Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah and she was tempted by the Philistines who offered her a lot of money if she would seduce and betray him. She agreed and became his partner.
As a proof of love, night after night Delilah demanded that Samson trust her and tell her where the secret of her superhuman strength lay. Finally he gave up and told her: he couldn’t cut his hair. While he slept, Delilah laid him on his knees and cut his seven braids, tying him tightly and, when he woke up and his enemies fell on him, he could not face them and he was defeated. We do not know what would become of Delilah after her betrayal.
Delilah’s name comes from the Hebrew DELILAH , which can mean weak and / or longing, it depends on the vowels, which in principle in Hebrew are “hidden” when writing. It is usually translated as “debilitating”, perhaps the story and the meaning are not suggestive, but of course the name is precious.
Naomi and Ruth
Naomi was a Hebrew married to a man named Elimelech, from the tribe of Judah. With her husband and two sons, she emigrated to Moab due to a famine in their place of origin. He lived there for many years and his children ended up marrying non-Hebrew women from the region. But, over time, both the husband and the children passed away, leaving Naomi without a direct family to take care of her in her old age.
Naomi changed her name, which means “lovable” or “nice” and wanted to be known as Mara , due to her misfortune, since that word means “bitter”.
Naomi decided to return to her hometown, Bethlehem, and dismissed her daughters-in-law, whom she loved dearly, advising them to return to their parents’ home and get on with their lives, remarry, and have children of their own. One of them, Orpá , whose name means “rigid” or “who turns her back” agreed and left her, although she left sad. But the other daughter-in-law, Ruth , refused to leave her and promised to remain by her side as her daughter was, taking care of her and worrying that she would not lack sustenance even though they were completely poor.
It is then that in the book of Ruth we can find one of the most quoted passages in the Bible and, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful. It’s about what Ruth says to her mother-in-law when she tries to convince her to leave her side.
Don’t beg me to leave you, and to get away from you: because wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.
Arriving in Bethlehem, Naomi told Ruth to go to the fields of a wealthy landowner with whom her late husband was related. This relative was Boaz, son of Salmon and Rahab, the one who had been the prostitute who helped in the taking of Jericho of which I have already spoken.
Ruth gleaned the fields of Boaz, that is, she walked behind the workers who were gathering the grain crop, collecting what fell from them. Boaz, aware of her sad story and her virtuous behavior with her mother-in-law, had her treated well, not disturbed, and fed.
Finally Naomi advised Ruth to go to the age of night, when the men slept there after hard work, and to huddle at Boaz’s feet, as a sign of being under his protection.
Boaz, finally, fell in love with the simplicity and strength of young Ruth and decided to marry her, despite the fact that she was not Hebrew by birth, being the parents of Obed, whom Naomi cared for as if he were her real grandmother since she did not he would have grandchildren of his own. In addition, this Obed will be the great-grandfather of King David and, through Solomon, ancestor according to the genealogies offered to us in the New Testament, of Jesus, for whom, as we have seen, the past of his grandmothers did not matter.
Ruth’s name translates as “friendship” or “companion” and, the truth is, in addition to being a beautiful name, she has a woman worthy of admiration behind her.
We will continue reading the Old Testament and offering the most beautiful stories of its heroines, telling the meaning of those precious female names so that you can value them if you are looking for one for your babies.
In Babies and more | Female baby names: Old Testament characters (I), (II) and ( III ), (IV), (V)
