H0458 H0458
Elimelech, 'God is king'; Naomi's husband who emigrated to Moab during a Bethlehem famine.
A theophoric proper name meaning 'God is king' or 'my God is king,' combining אֵל ('God') and מֶלֶךְ ('king'). Elimelech is the husband of Naomi and father of Mahlon and Chilion in the book of Ruth. Driven by famine, he relocated his family from Bethlehem to Moab, where he died (Ruth 1:2-3). His name carries poignant irony: the man whose name declares divine sovereignty dies in a foreign land, yet God's providential kingship unfolds through the very family line he left behind.
Senses
1. Elimelech — Elimelech (אֱלִימֶלֶךְ, 'God is king'), Naomi's husband in the book of Ruth. He leaves Bethlehem during a famine and settles in Moab, where he dies, setting in motion the events that bring Ruth into the covenant community (Ruth 1:2-3). His property and legacy become central to the kinsman-redeemer narrative (Ruth 2:1, 3; 4:3, 9). Spanish renders the name as Elimelec, French as Elimelec, with directional forms like a-Elimelec ('to Elimelech') reflecting contexts where his name appears in possessive or relational constructions. 6×
AR["أَلِيمَالِكَ", "أَلِيمَالِكُ", "لِ-أَلِيمَالِكَ"]·ben["ইলীমেলক", "ইলীমেলকের"]·DE["Elimelech", "zu-Elimelech"]·EN["Elimelech", "to-Elimelech"]·FR["Élimélec", "à-Élimélec"]·heb["אלימלך", "ל-אלימלך"]·HI["एलीमेलेक", "एलीमेलेक-का"]·ID["Elimelekh", "milik-Elimelekh"]·IT["Elimelec", "a-Elimelec"]·jav["Elimelek", "kangge-Elimelek"]·KO["엘리멜렉에게", "엘리멜렉의", "엘리멜렉이", "엘리멜렉이었고"]·PT["'Elimelekh", "de-'Elimelekh"]·RU["Элимелех", "Элимелеха", "Элимелеху"]·ES["Elimélec", "a-Elimélec"]·SW["Elimeleki", "cha-Elimeleki", "ya-Elimeleki"]·TR["Elimeleh", "Elimeleh'in"]·urd["الیملک", "الیملک-کا", "الیملک-کے"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† אֱלִימֶ֫לֶךְ (& ־מֶ֑לֶךְ Ru 2:1) n.pr.m. (God is king, cf. מַלְכִּיאֵל) husband of Naomi Ru 1:2, 3; 2:3; 4:3, 9.