And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

And the women her neighbors gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

And the women her neighbours, congratulating with her and saying: There is a son born to Noemi: called his name Obed: he is the father of Isai, the father of David.

and the neighbouring women give to him a name, saying, 'There hath been a son born to Naomi,' and they call his name Obed; he is father of Jesse, father of David.

And the women who were her neighbours gave it a name, saying, Naomi has a child; and they gave him the name of Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

And the women of the near future were congratulating her and saying, "There was a son born to Naomi. They called his name Obed. Here is the father of Jesse, the father of David."

Obed - i. e. serving, with allusion to the service of love and duty which he would render to his grandmother Naomi.

The neighbors gave it a name - That is, they recommended a name suitable to the circumstances of the case; and the parents and grandmother adopted it.
They called his name Obed - עובד obed, serving, from עבד abad, he served. Why was this name given? Because he was to be the nourisher of her old age, Ruth 4:15. And so he must be by lying in her bosom, even if services in future life were wholly left out of the question. These neighbors of Naomi were skillful people. See on Ruth 4:16 (note). Other meanings, of which I am not ignorant, have been derived from these words; those who prefer them have my consent.
He is the father of Jesse, the father of David - And for the sake of this conclusion, to ascertain the line of David, and in the counsel of God to fix and ascertain the line of the Messiah was this instructive little book written.

And the women her neighbours gave it a name,.... Josephus says (q) Naomi gave it, by the advice of her neighbours; very probably on the eighth day when he was circumcised, and the neighbours were invited on that occasion, at which time it seems it was usual to give names to children, see Luke 1:59. The Romans gave names to females on the eighth day, to the males on the ninth; hence the goddess Nundina had her name (r); the Greeks generally on the tenth, sometimes on the seventh (s): it was commonly the province of the father to give the name, and sometimes his neighbours and nearest friends were called, and in their presence the name was given, and by any of them he should choose in his stead (t):
saying, there is a son born to Naomi; to her family, and even to herself, being born of her who had been wife to her eldest son; and this was to her as instead of him, and was as he to her; so Aben Ezra compares this with Exodus 2:10 and moreover, this child was born, as the neighbours presaged, for the great comfort and advantage of Naomi, to be her supporter and nourisher in her old age, Ruth 4:15.
and they called his name Obed; which signifies "serving", as Josephus (u) rightly observes, though he does not always give the true sense of Hebrew words: this name was given, not in remembrance of the service his mother was obliged to, before marriage with Boaz; but rather on the account of the service that he would be of to Naomi, as they hoped and believed; though the reason of it, as given by the Targum, is not to be overlooked, which interprets it,"who served the Lord of the world with a perfect heart;''and so they might have some respect to his being hereafter a servant of the Lord:
he is the father of Jesse, and the father of David: so Jesse is called the Bethlehemite, 1-Samuel 16:1, being of the city of Bethlehem, of which city Boaz was when his son Obed was born, who was the father of Jesse; of whom was David king of Israel, and from whom sprung the Messiah, for whose sake this book was written, that his genealogy might clearly appear; and of which use it is made by the Evangelists Matthew; and Luke.
(q) Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 9. sect. 4.) (r) Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 2. c. 25. (s) Harpocration & Suidas in voce Scholiast. in Aristoph. Aves, p. 565. & Euripid. & Aristot. in ib. (t) Vid. Sperling. de Baptism. Ethnic. c. 14. & 15. (u) Ibid.

SHE BEARS OBED. (Ruth 4:13-18)
Obed--means "servant."

And the neighbours said, "A son is born to Naomi," and gave him the name of Obed. This name was given to the boy (the context suggests this) evidently with reference to what he was to become to his grandmother. Obed, therefore, does not mean "servant of Jehovah" (Targum), but "the serving one," as one who lived entirely for his grandmother, and would take care of her, and rejoice her heat (O. v. Gerlach, after Josephus, Ant. v. 9, 4). The last words of Ruth 4:17, "he is the father of Jesse, the father of David," show the object which the author kept in view in writing down these events, or composing the book itself. This conjecture is raised into a certainty by the genealogy which follows, and with which the book closes.

A name - That is, they gave her advice about his name; for otherwise they had no power or right to do so. Obed - A servant, to thee, to nourish, and comfort, and assist thee; which duty childrren owe to their progenitors.