Person Old Testament
Elimelech
Also known as Elimelech =ESV, KJV; Elimelek =NIV
Elimelech was Naomi's husband from Bethlehem who died in Moab. Mentioned in 6 verses across 1 book, first at Ruth 1:2.
Why it matters. Naomi's husband from Bethlehem.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Elimelech
Elimelech was a man from Bethlehem in Judah, the husband of Naomi and the father of Mahlon and Chilion (Rut.1.2). During a time of famine, Elimelech and his family moved to the country of Moab (Rut.1.1-2). While in Moab, Elimelech died, leaving Naomi a widow (Rut.1.3). Naomi's sons, Mahlon and Chilion, married Moabite women named Ruth and Orpah, but they also died after about ten years (Rut.1.4-5). After the death of her husband and sons, Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem, and her daughter-in-law Ruth accompanied her (Rut.1.6-22). Elimelech's family had owned land in Bethlehem, which was later acquired by Boaz, a relative who married Ruth (Rut.4.3,9). Through this marriage, Elimelech's lineage was preserved, and his family's property remained within the clan.
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 6 verses across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.