MAHLON AND CHILION

MAHLON AND CHILION
MAHLON AND CHILION (Heb. מַחְלוֹן and כִּלְיוֹן), the two sons of Elimelech and Naomi (Ruth 1:2ff.; 4:9–10). They were Ephrathites of Bethlehem who migrated to Moab, together with their parents, during a drought in the time of the Judges. After their father's death, the two brothers married Moabite women, Chilion marrying Orpah, and Mahlon, ruth . Both died childless. Their names have been taken to mean "sickness" and "destruction" and have been explained as symbolic of their untimely death. But Mahlon could be connected with mahol, "dance," and Chilion with a word meaning "completion." -In the Aggadah Mahlon and Chilion are identified with Joash and Saraph of I Chronicles 4:22, the different names indicating their characteristics   and destiny. Joash was so called because he lost hope (from the root יאשׁ, "to give up hope") of the messianic era; Saraph because he was condemned to be burned (from the root שרף, "to burn"); Mahlon, because he committed acts of profanation (from the root חלל, "to profane"); and Chilion because he was condemned by God to destruction (כלה "to destroy"; BB 91b). They sinned in leaving Ereẓ Israel (BB 91a), and in that they neither proselytized their wives nor ensured that they performed ritual immersion (Ruth R. 2:9). Before they died, they were rendered penniless (Ruth R.2:10). -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Noth, Personennamen, 54, 249; Ginzberg, Legends, 4 (1925), 31; 6 (1925), 189; Y. Ḥasida, Ishei ha-Tanakh (1964), 258–9.

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

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  • Mahlon and Chilion — Mahlon (מחלון) and Chilion (כליון) were two brothers mentioned in the Book of Ruth. They were the sons of Elimelech of the tribe of Judah and his wife Naomi. Together with their parents, they settled in the land of Moab during the period of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Book of Ruth — This article is about the ancient Hebrew religious text. For the 20th century English language novel, see The Book of Ruth (novel) The Book of Ruth ( he. מגילת רות; Sephardic, Israeli Hebrew: [məgi lat rut] ; Ashkenazi Hebrew: [mə gɪləs rus] ;… …   Wikipedia

  • Ruth 1 — 1 Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. 2 And the name of the man was Elimelech …   The King James version of the Bible

  • Naomi —    The lovable; my delight, the wife of Elimelech, and mother of Mahlon and Chilion, and mother in law of Ruth (1:2, 20, 21; 2:1). Elimelech and his wife left the district of Bethlehem Judah, and found a new home in the uplands of Moab. In course …   Easton's Bible Dictionary

  • NAOMI — (Heb. נָעֳמִי; probably from nuʿmay (Ugaritic, nʿmy), pleasantness ), the wife of elimelech the Ephrathite from Beth Lehem in Judah who, because of famine, immigrated to Moab with his wife and his sons mahlon and chilion (Ruth 1:1–2). Her husband …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • biblical literature — Introduction       four bodies of written works: the Old Testament writings according to the Hebrew canon; intertestamental works, including the Old Testament Apocrypha; the New Testament writings; and the New Testament Apocrypha.       The Old… …   Universalium

  • RUTH, BOOK OF — (Heb. מְגִלַּת רוּת), one of the five scrolls incorporated in the Ketuvim (Hagiographa) section of the traditional Hebrew Bible. In the Septuagint, followed by Christian Bibles, Ruth is found immediately after Judges. Contents In the days of the… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Naomi (Bible) — Naomi entreating Ruth and Orpah to return to the land of Moab, by William Blake Naomi (נָעֳמִי Pleasant; agreeable; my sweet , Standard Hebrew Noʻomi, Tiberian Hebrew nåʿå̆mī) is Ruth s mother in law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth. Later, she… …   Wikipedia

  • ELIMELECH — (Heb. אֱלִימֶלֶךְ; God (or my God) is king ), the husband of naomi and father of mahlon and chilion , from Beth Lehem in Judah. Due to the famine in Israel during the   time of the Judges, Elimelech crossed over to Moab, where he and his two sons …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • ORPAH — (Heb. עָרְפָּה), Moabite woman. Elimelech and Naomi, driven by famine from Beth Lehem in Judah, settled in Moab. After Elimelech s death, their two sons, mahlon and chilion , married Orpah and ruth . After her two sons died, Naomi set out for… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

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