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Ruth 4

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Boaz Negotiates at the City Gate 1–8

1
Now Boaz went up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down. ​
2
And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down. ​
3
And he said unto the near kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth the parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech’s:
4
and I thought to disclose it unto thee, saying, Buy it before them that sit here, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is none to redeem it besides thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it. ​
5
Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. ​
6
And the near kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: take thou my right of redemption on thee; for I cannot redeem it. ​
7
Now this wasthe customin former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging, to confirm all things: a man drew off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbor; and this was the manner of attestation in Israel. ​
8
So the near kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thyself. And he drew off his shoe.

Boaz the Kinsman-Redeemer 9–12

9
And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, of the hand of Naomi. ​
10
Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day. ​
11
And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. Jehovah make the woman that is come into thy house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Beth-lehem:
12
and let thy house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which Jehovah shall give thee of this young woman. ​

The Birth of Obed 13–17

13
So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife; and he went in unto her, and Jehovah gave her conception, and she bare a son. ​
14
And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be Jehovah, who hath not left thee this day without a near kinsman; and let his name be famous in Israel.
15
And he shall be unto thee a restorer of life, and a nourisher of thine old age, for thy daughter-in-law, who loveth thee, who is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him. ​
16
And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.
17
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. ​

The Lineage of David 18–22

18
Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez begat Hezron, ​
19
and Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab,
20
and Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon,
21
and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,
22
and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Ruth 4

Verse 1

the gate — The place where the elders sat: the widow of Deut 25:7 goes 'up to the gate unto the elders', and Boaz 'went up' there. The kinsman 'of whom Boaz spake' (Ruth 3:12) is called 'such a one' (peloni almoni), a pair of words that withholds a name and stands for an unnamed place in 1 Sam 21:2.

Verse 2

ten men of the elders — Boaz takes ten of the city's elders and seats them. Elders 'of his city' are those who hear a brother's refusal in Deut 25:8, and the scene rests on their witness: 'Ye are witnesses this day' (vv.9, 10), answered by 'We are witnesses' (v.11).

Verse 4

advertise thee — Literally 'uncover thine ear' (galah, to uncover; ozen, ear), an idiom for disclosing, as in 1 Sam 9:15, 'the LORD had told Samuel in his ear'. Boaz first offers the land, which Lev 25:25 lets a near kinsman redeem when a brother has sold it. 'I am after thee' puts Boaz second in line (Ruth 3:12).

Verse 5

to raise up the name of the dead — Boaz adds what the first offer left out. With the field comes Ruth, 'the wife of the dead', so that her son may carry Mahlon's name on his inheritance, as Deut 25:6 requires: the firstborn 'shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead'. The words return in v.10.

Verse 6

lest I mar mine own inheritance — 'Mar' is shachath, to ruin or destroy: a son born to Ruth would stand as Mahlon's heir, and the kinsman's own estate would be the loss. 'My right' is geullah, the right of redemption, as in Jer 32:7, 'the right of redemption is thine to buy it'. He passes it to Boaz.

Verse 7

plucked off his shoe — The sign that confirmed a redemption or exchange. Deut 25:9 has a different shoe: the widow looses it from a brother who refuses. Here the kinsman draws off his own (v.8). 'Testimony' (te'udah) is a rare word, found elsewhere only in Isa 8:16, 20, 'To the law and to the testimony'.

Verse 9

all that was Elimelech's — Boaz names the whole purchase before the elders 'and all the people': Elimelech's property, and what had been Chilion's and Mahlon's, bought 'of the hand of Naomi'. She is the seller named in v.3, who 'selleth a parcel of land' that had belonged to Elimelech.

Verse 10

the name of the dead be not cut off — Boaz says of Ruth, 'have I purchased', the verb (qanah) used for the field in vv.4, 5, 9. Its aim is that of Deut 25:6, that the dead man's name 'be not put out of Israel'. Mahlon's name is to remain 'from the gate of his place', the town gate where the elders sat.

Verse 12

like the house of Pharez — Pharez was born to Judah by Tamar, a childless widow of his sons (Gen 38), and his name arose from the 'breach' at his birth (Gen 38:29). Boaz descends from Pharez (vv.18–21), and Matthew names both Phares and Obed in the line of Christ (Matt 1:3, 5).

Verse 13

the LORD gave her conception — Herayon, conception, occurs only here, in Gen 3:16 and in Hos 9:11. The elders prayed for 'the seed which the LORD shall give' (v.12), and the same verb (nathan) stands here: 'the LORD gave her conception'. The son born is the one the women bless in vv.14–15.

Verse 15

better to thee than seven sons — Elkanah asks Hannah, 'am not I better to thee than ten sons?' (1 Sam 1:8). 'Restorer of thy life' is shuv with nephesh, as in Ps 23:3, 'He restoreth my soul'; 'nourisher' (kul) is Joseph's verb for providing for his father, 'there will I nourish thee' (Gen 45:11). Ruth's love for Naomi is told in 1:16–17.

Verse 17

Obed — The name means 'serving', from abad, to serve. The neighbours say, 'There is a son born to Naomi', recalling her words in 1:21, 'I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty'. The verse ends on Jesse and David; Matthew writes 'Booz begat Obed of Ruth' (Matt 1:5).

Verse 18

the generations of Pharez — Toledot, 'generations', the word that opens the sections of Genesis ('These are the generations of Noah', Gen 6:9); in Ruth it stands only here. The list names ten from Pharez to David (vv.18–22), and is repeated in 1 Chr 2:5, 9–15 and Matt 1:3–6.

Verse 22

Jesse begat David — The book ends on David, the tenth name from Pharez. Ruth the Moabitess is his great-grandmother (Obed, Jesse, David). Matthew carries the line on: 'Jesse begat David the king' (Matt 1:6), and 1 Chr 2:15 names David as Jesse's seventh son.