0^)  Kissed. — Orpah,  though  unwilling  to  leave  her
mother-in-law,  and  though  warmly  attached  to  her,  still
thinks  of  the  hardships  of  the  journey,  of  tlie  hardships
when  the  journey  is  done ;  and  the  comforts  of  home
detain  her.
(^)  Naomi,  now  armed  with  a  fresh  argument,  mges
Buth  to  follow  her  sister-in-law's  example.
Her  gods. — Naomi  doubtless  views  the  Moabite
idols  as  realities,  whose  power  is,  however,  confined  to
the  land  of  Moab.  She  is  not  sufficiently  enlightened
in  her  religion  to  see  in  the  Lord  more  than  the  Crod  of
Israel.
(16)  Intreat  me  not. — Buth's  nobleness  is  proof
against  all.  The  intensity  of  her  feeling  comes  out  all
the  more  strongly  now  tliat  ;Bhe  pleads  alone :  **  I  will
undertake  with  thee  the  toilsome  loumey,  I  will  lodge
with  thee  however  hardly,  I  wul  venture  among  a
strangepeople,  and  will  worship  a  new  god."

(17)  The  Lord  do  so  to  me.— Buth  cliudies  her
resolutions  with  a  solemn  oath,  in  which,  if  we  are  to
take  the  words  literally,  she  swears  by  the  name  of  the
God  of  Israel  With  this  Naomi  yields;  after  so
solemn  a  protest  she  can  ur^  no  more.
(W)  They  went.— The  journey  for  two  women  ap-
parently alone  was  long  and  toilsome,  and  not  me
from  danger.  Two  rivers,  Amon  and  Jordan,  had  to
be  forded  or  otherwise  crossed;  and  the  distance  of
actual  journeying  cannot  have  been  less  than  fifhr
miles.  Thus,  weary  and  travel-stained,  they  reacn
Bethlehem,  and  neighbours,  doubtless  never  looking  to
see  Naomi  again,  are  all  astir  with  excitement.  It  would
seem  that  thouj^h  the  news  of  the  end  of  the  famine
had  reached  I^mi  in  Moab,  news  of  her  had  not
reached  Bethlehem.
280


Naomi  ai  BeMehem.
RUTH,  II.
