In brief
Orpah is one of the two Moabite women married to the sons of Elimelech and Naomi, in Moab, in the days of the judges. Widowed, she first sets out on the road to Judah with Naomi and Ruth. Naomi urges them to go back to their mothers’ homes. Orpah weeps, kisses her mother-in-law and returns to her people and her gods, while Ruth stays with Naomi. The Bible says nothing more about her: her name appears only in Ruth 1.
What does the name Orpah mean?
The name Orpah is generally linked to a Hebrew word that evokes the back of the neck, hence the idea of “the one who turns her back,” but this meaning remains uncertain. The Bible gives no explanation of this name.
The world of Orpah
The book of Ruth opens “In the days when the judges judged” (Ruth 1:1), that is, before the kings of Israel. By the usual reckoning, this period is placed between the thirteenth and eleventh centuries before Christ, without fixing a precise date for this story. A famine strikes the land of Judah. A man of Bethlehem, Elimelech, goes with his wife Naomi and his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, to live for a while in the country of Moab. Moab is a neighboring country of Israel, east of the Dead Sea, whose people serve other gods than the God of Israel. The text notes that the family settles there and that the sons take Moabite wives. Orpah is one of them. She thus enters a family from Judah living far from its homeland, and she shares ten years of life with Naomi, then the mourning. The Bible describes in a few verses the sequence of these losses: Naomi’s husband dies, then her two sons. In this chapter three women find themselves widows, with the road to Moab or the road to Judah before them. This context helps us see that Orpah’s choice is not a simple matter of feelings, but that of a young widow facing her people, her family and her future.
The story of Orpah
A famine and a departure for Moab
Ruth 1:1-2In the days of the judges, there is a famine in the land. A man of Bethlehem Judah goes to live in the country of Moab with his wife and his two sons. The text gives their names: Elimelech, Naomi, Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem Judah. When they arrive in Moab, they settle there. What was meant to be a stay becomes a settling down. Orpah is not yet named, but it is in this country, outside the land God had given to Israel, that her story with this family will be tied.
Two marriages in Moab
Ruth 1:3-4Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, dies, and she is left with her two sons. They take Moabite wives, one named Orpah and the other Ruth, and they live there about ten years. The text says nothing of how they met or of their families of origin, and it does not specify which of the two married which son. It simply names Orpah first, then Ruth. For about ten years she shares the life of a family from Judah, with its habits, its language of faith and its attachment to the God of Israel, of whom Naomi speaks further on.
Three widows
Ruth 1:5Mahlon and Chilion both die as well, and Naomi is left bereaved of her two sons and her husband. The verse is brief, but it tells the depth of the mourning. Orpah and Ruth are widows in their turn. None of the three has a child, and no man of the household remains. The text does not describe their tears here, nor does it explain why these deaths follow one another. It simply establishes the situation: three women alone in the country of Moab, each having to ask where to go and with whom to live.
The departure for Judah
Ruth 1:6-7Naomi arises with her daughters-in-law to leave the country of Moab, for she has heard in the country of Moab how Yahweh had visited his people in giving them bread. She goes out of the place where she was, with her two daughters-in-law, and they set out on the way to return to the land of Judah. Orpah therefore makes the first part of the journey with her. She does not stay in Moab when Naomi leaves: she takes the road, which shows a real attachment to her mother-in-law.
Naomi’s farewell
Ruth 1:8-13On the road Naomi says to her daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house.” She prays that Yahweh will deal kindly with them, as they have dealt with the dead and with her, and grant them to find rest in the house of a husband. She kisses them, and they lift up their voices and weep. They tell her they will return with her to her people. Naomi insists: she has no more sons to give them as husbands, she is too old to have a husband, and for their sakes, she says, it grieves her seriously, for Yahweh’s hand has gone out against her.
Orpah kisses Naomi and goes back
Ruth 1:14-15They lift up their voices and weep again. Then “Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth stayed with her.” Naomi says to Ruth, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her god. Follow your sister-in-law.” The text makes no reproach to Orpah and does not say what becomes of her. It shows two decisions facing the same road, the same words and the same tears. Orpah’s choice is an affectionate farewell, while Ruth’s is an attachment that does not let go.
Ruth’s answer and the arrival at Bethlehem
Ruth 1:16-22Ruth answers Naomi, “where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God.” Seeing that she is determined, Naomi stops urging her. They make the journey together as far as Bethlehem, where all the city is excited about them. Naomi asks to be called Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with her. They arrive at the beginning of barley harvest. This contrast with Orpah prepares what follows in the book, but the text leaves Orpah in Moab, without judgment.
Orpah's family
What Orpah teaches us
- Sincere tears and affection are not enough: following God calls for a decision that commits the whole of life.
- The contrast between Orpah and Ruth invites us to ask what we are turning toward: our own people and gods, or the God of Israel.
- An open door toward God is not to be taken halfway: Ruth stays with Naomi, where Orpah kisses her and leaves.
- We should not judge Orpah beyond the text: the Bible presents her with real affection and says nothing about what follows.
- God can work through a single decision of faith, like Ruth’s, which places a foreigner in his plan.
Key verses
Naomi asks her daughters-in-law to return to their mothers’ homes and prays that Yahweh will deal kindly with them. Orpah is recognized for her kindness toward the dead and toward Naomi.
“Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth stayed with her.” The verse shows the same scene and two outcomes: an affectionate farewell on one side, an attachment that does not let go on the other.
Naomi says that Ruth’s sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her god. The verse shows that Orpah’s choice is spiritual as well as family-related.
Bible verses to meditate on
Sermons about Orpah
- From Mara to Joy: Glean by Faith, God Repays You DoubleHe recalls that Naomi urges her daughters-in-law to go back: Orpah kisses Naomi and leaves, while Ruth clings to her and chooses to follow her God.
- Ruth: Gleaning by Faith When You Can't See a ThingHe notes that Orpah ends up obeying Naomi, while Ruth holds on: a moving confession of faith from the mouth of a young foreign widow.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Orpah in the Bible?
Orpah is a Moabite, Naomi’s daughter-in-law, married to one of Elimelech’s sons. Widowed, she begins the journey to Judah with Naomi and Ruth, then kisses her mother-in-law and returns to her people and her gods (Ruth 1:4, 14-15). The Bible says nothing else about her.
What does the name Orpah mean?
The meaning of the name Orpah remains uncertain. It is generally linked to a Hebrew word for the back of the neck, which gave rise to the idea of “the one who turns her back.” The Bible does not explain this name or draw any lesson from it: it is wiser to stay cautious and stick to the story.
Where can I find the story of Orpah in the Bible?
Orpah appears only in the first chapter of the book of Ruth. She is named in Ruth 1:4, then in verse 14, where she kisses her mother-in-law, before Naomi speaks of her return to her people and her gods in verse 15.
Who was Orpah’s husband?
The text does not say directly. It names Naomi’s two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, and says that they took Moabite wives, one named Orpah and the other Ruth (Ruth 1:2-4). Later, Boaz declares that he is acquiring Ruth the Moabitess as his wife, the wife of Mahlon (Ruth 4:10). By inference, Orpah would therefore have married the other son, Chilion, but the Bible does not write this expressly. It is better to keep this reserve. What is certain is that Orpah was married to one of Naomi’s sons, that she became a widow, and that she first took the road to Judah with her mother-in-law.
Did Orpah do wrong by going back to Moab?
The text does not blame her. It is Naomi who asks her daughters-in-law to return each to her mother’s house and who prays that Yahweh will deal kindly with them, as they have dealt with the dead and with her (Ruth 1:8). She insists several times (verses 11-13). Orpah obeys, after weeping and kissing her mother-in-law (verse 14). We can therefore say that her decision corresponds to what Naomi had asked. What the book brings to light is the contrast with Ruth, who chooses to cling to Naomi and to take Yahweh as her God, without the text condemning Orpah.
Why does Naomi want to send her daughters-in-law away?
Naomi gives her reasons: she has no more sons to give them as husbands, she is too old to have a husband, and even if she had hope, they would not wait until any sons grew up (Ruth 1:11-13). She adds that, for their sakes, it grieves her seriously, for Yahweh’s hand has gone out against her. She is thinking of her daughters-in-law’s future, which she sees as safer in Moab, in their mother’s house. She does not ask them to renounce anything: she frankly lays out what she can offer them, which is almost nothing.
What does “to her people and to her god” mean?
Naomi says to Ruth, “your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her god” (Ruth 1:15). The verse shows that Orpah’s return is not only a return to her family or her country: it also involves her religion. Moab had other gods than the God of Israel. Ruth’s answer provides the contrast: “Your people will be my people, and your God my God” (verse 16). The text says nothing of Orpah’s spiritual life after this farewell. It notes only that at this crossroads, Naomi presents Orpah’s choice as a return to the gods of her people.
What difference does the text make between Orpah and Ruth?
The two women are placed in the same situation: widows, foreigners to Judah, facing the same words from Naomi. They both weep (Ruth 1:9, 14). Then verse 14 separates them: “Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth stayed with her.” Ruth does not settle for a farewell, she commits herself: she wants to go where Naomi goes, stay where she stays, die where she dies (verses 16-17). This difference prepares what follows in the book, where Ruth gleans in Boaz’s fields and becomes the ancestor of David (Ruth 4:17). Orpah, for her part, disappears from the account.
Did Orpah love Naomi?
The text gives several signs of affection. Orpah leaves Moab with Naomi (Ruth 1:7). When Naomi kisses them, they lift up their voices and weep, then say they will go with her (verses 9-10). They weep again, and Orpah kisses her mother-in-law before leaving (verse 14). Naomi herself acknowledges their kindness: she prays that Yahweh will deal kindly with them, as they have dealt with the dead and with her (verse 8). The Bible therefore does not attribute to Orpah a lack of love. Her story shows that sincere affection and tears are not always enough to commit a whole life behind the God of Israel.