Person Old Testament
Chilion
Also known as Chilion =ESV, KJV; Kilion =NIV
Chilion was the son of Elimelech and Naomi, and the husband of Orpah. Mentioned in 3 verses across 1 book, first at Ruth 1:2.
Why it matters. Son of Elimelech and Naomi; husband of Orpah
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Chilion
Chilion was the son of Elimelech and Naomi, from Bethlehem in Judah. He had a brother named Mahlon. During a famine, Elimelech, Naomi, and their two sons went to live in the country of Moab (Rut.1.1-2). While in Moab, Chilion married a Moabite woman named Orpah, and Mahlon married Ruth (Rut.1.4). Tragically, Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon died in Moab, leaving Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah as widows (Rut.1.3,5). When Naomi decided to return to Judah, Orpah remained in Moab, while Ruth chose to accompany her mother-in-law (Rut.1.6-18). Later, when Boaz redeemed the land that had belonged to Elimelech, he also acquired the right to marry Ruth and continue the lineage of Mahlon and Chilion (Rut.4.9-10).
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
Appears in Scripture
Named in 3 verses across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.