Naomi

The name No•o•mi, Naomi, comes from the root N.A.M, which means pleasant. No•o•mi then, indicated contentment and happiness. It is very similar in its Hebrew spelling and identical in its meaning to the name Na•a•ma (Naamah).

But the biblical No•o•mi, who is aware of the meaning of her name, points out the conflict between her name and her life by requesting her name to be changed:

“And she said to them, ‘Call me not Naomi, call me Mara; for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me'”

Mara, which means ‘bitter’ as a personality trait, is the complete opposite of the meaning of No•o•mi.

But, as is always the case, human sight is short, and as the story of No•o•mi folds, her bitterness vanishes when she holds Ruth’s baby

“…Obed; he is the father of Jesse, the father of David”

Nothing is left in the story of No•o•mi for assumptions. The restoration of Naomi’s happiness is explicit, and it stresses the truthfulness of the foreshadowing principle that is evident in Hebrew names:

“And he shall be to you a restorer of your life, and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has born him”