* Ruth and Naomi may have had a lesbian relationship. In Ruth 1:14"And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her" Ruth 1:14 KJV., the ancient Hebrew word dâbaq, translated as "clave." Dâbaq meant, ". . . cling or adhere; figuratively to catch by pursuit: - abide, fast, cleave (fast together), follow close (hard, after), be joined (together), keep (fast), overtake, pursue hard, stick, take."1
* In Ruth 1:14"And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her" Ruth 1:14 KJV., Orpah kisses her mother-in-law, and Ruth "claves unto her." Dâbaq, is used in in Gen. 2:24"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" Gen. 2:24 KJV. to describe a man having intercourse/loving/uniting with a woman and in Gen. 34:3"And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her. And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel" Gen. 34:2-3 KJV. to describe Shechem's soul uniting with Dinah after he has intercourse with her. Thus, it is possible that Ruth and Naomi had a homosexual relationship as well.
* In Ruth 1:14"And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her" Ruth 1:14 KJV., Ruth dâbaq (or "claves") in Naomi. Dâbaq meant, ". . . cling or adhere; figuratively to catch by pursuit: - abide, fast, cleave (fast together), follow close (hard, after), be joined (together), keep (fast), overtake, pursue hard, stick, take."1
* Dâbaq is translated as "clave" or "cleave" and is used many times in the Old Testment as a non-sexual verb: Deut. 10:20"Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name" Deut. 10:20 KJV., 11:22". . . to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him . . ." Deut. 11:22 KJV., 13:4"Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him" Deut. 13:4 KJV., 13:17"And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger . . ." Deut. 13:17 KJV., 28:21"The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee . . ." Deut. 28:21 KJV., 28:60"Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee" Deut. 28:60 KJV., 30:20"That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him . . ." Deut. 30:20 KJV.; Jos. 22:5". . . to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul" Jos. 22:5 KJV., 23:8"But cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day" Jos. 23:8 KJV.; 2 Sam. 20:2"So every man of Israel went up from after David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem" 2 Sam. 20:2 KJV., 23:10"He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword . . ." 2 Sam. 23:10 KJV.; 2 Kings 3:3"Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom" 2 Kings 3:3 KJV., 5:27"The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow" 2 Kings 5:27 KJV., 18:6"For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses" 2 Kings 18:6 KJV.; Job 19:20"My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth" Job 19:20 KJV., 29:10"The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth" Job 29:10 KJV., 31:7"If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands" Job 31:7 KJV., 38:38"When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?" Job 38:38 KJV.; Ps. 22:15"My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death" Ps. 22:15 KJV., 44:25"For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth" Ps. 44:25 KJV., 101:3"I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me" Ps. 101:3 KJV., 102.5"By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin" Ps. 102.5 KJV., 119:25"DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word" Ps. 119:25 KJV., 137:6"If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy" Ps. 137:6 KJV.; Jer. 13:11"For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD . . ." Jer. 13:11 KJV.; Lam. 4:4"The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them" Lam. 4:4 KJV., and Ezek. 3:26"And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb . . ." Ezek. 3:26 KJV..
* Dâbaq is often used in the Bible to refer to a tongue that is "stuck" or "cleaved" to the roof of someone's mouth, as in the expression "to hold your tongue," and it is also used as a command for Israelites to "cleave" with the Lord or "unite" with the Lord. Thus, it is nonsensical to relate Ruth 1:14"And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her" Ruth 1:14 KJV. with Gen. 2:24"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" Gen. 2:24 KJV. and Gen. 34:3"And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her. And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel" Gen. 34:2-3 KJV. based on a single word, and there is absolutely no proof that Ruth and Naomi were in a homosexual relationship.
* Ruth and Naomi had a strong relationship, but it was a mother-daughter relationship since Naomi lost her husband (Ruth 1:3"But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons" Ruth 1:3 ESV.), and later her two sons (Ruth 1:3-5"But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband" Ruth 1:3-5 ESV.), and Ruth lost her husband, which had been one of Naomi's sons (Ruth 1:3-5"But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband" Ruth 1:3-5 ESV.). Ruth was actually Naomi's daugher-in-law. The women were all unable to easily earn money, since women in biblical times were not skilled or educated and it was very difficult for them to find work. Thus, they formed a strong family relationship to support each other, and the Bible describes this relationship.
1"dâbaq." Strong, 1995/1996, Hebrew section p. 30, entry 1692 Return
1"dâbaq." Strong, 1995/1996, Hebrew section p. 30, entry 1692 Return
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