Orpah
A Moabite woman, wife of one of Naomi's sons and sister-in-law to Ruth. When Naomi decided to return to Judah and urged the two young widows to go back to their mothers' homes, all three wept; Orpah kissed her mother-in-law and turned back, while Ruth clung to her. Scripture passes no judgement on her — she did the sensible and expected thing — but the contrast is what makes Ruth's choice extraordinary.
What we know — and how we know it
Where in scripture
RuthThey took for themselves wives of the women of Moab. The name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other was Ruth. They lived there about ten years.
Ruth 1:4
They lifted up their voices, and wept again; then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth joined with her.
Ruth 1:14 — Kisses Naomi and turns back
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, a public-domain translation.
Family
In their own words — 1 recorded saying
“And they said to her, No, but we will go back with you to your people.” — Ruth 1:10
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).
Places in their life
Photo: Makeandtoss — CC0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
In art
