Elimelech

Man from Bethlehem who took his wife, Naomi, and his sons, Mahlon and Chilion, to sojourn in Moab because of famine in Judah (Ru 1:2–3). While in Moab, he died; then his sons also died; and Naomi decided to return to Judah. One daughter-in-law, Orpah, preferred to remain in Moab; the other, Ruth, chose to accompany Naomi. Boaz, a kinsman of Elimelech, bought Elimelech’s land and married Ruth (4:9–10). From this union came a great-grandson, David, and the royal line in which the Messiah would eventually be born. See Ruth, Book of.