Bible Person

Chilion

Meaning: finished; complete; perfect · Male · 3 cross references

Chilion is the younger son of Elimelech and Naomi and the husband of Orpah. His early death in Moab contributes to the emptiness and vulnerability out of which the book of Ruth unfolds. First appears in Ruth 1:2.1

AI summary: Chilion matters because the cross references present his death, together with Mahlon's, as part of the double loss that leaves Naomi bereft and her daughters-in-law exposed. Though his life is brief, his absence helps create the crisis that the book later resolves through redemption and restored lineage. Taken together, the material presents Chilion as a deceased son whose loss helps set the stage for Ruth's redemptive story.1

Central Figure

Chilion

Meaning: finished; complete; perfect

The pining one, the younger son of Elimelech and Naomi, and husband of Orpah, Ruth’s sister (Ruth 1:2; 4:9).