Ruth 4: Boaz redeems the land and marries Ruth, and Obed is born

In plain English: Now Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there. And look, the redeemer (this Bible: near kinsman) Boaz had spoken of came by. Boaz said, "Come over here, friend (literally: so-and-so), and sit down." He came over and sat down.

The Hebrew words: "Friend" is peloni almoni, which the dictionary gives as "such a one, i.e. a specified person" and "some one (i.e. so and so, without giving the name of the person or place)". The two words are together in only 3 verses: here, 1 Samuel 21:2 ("a certain place") and 2 Kings 6:8 ("such and such a place"). The text never gives this man's name.

Good to know: The town gate was where the elders sat to hear matters. The law in Deuteronomy 25:7 says a widow whose husband's brother refuses her "shall go up to the gate to the elders". "Near kinsman" here is go'el, the redeemer: see the note on 2:20.

In plain English: Boaz took ten men from the elders of the town and said, "Sit down here," and they sat down.

In plain English: He said to the redeemer, "Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling (or: has sold) the piece of land that belonged to our brother (that is, our relative) Elimelech.

The Hebrew word: "Is selling" is from makar, which the dictionary gives as "to sell". The Hebrew can be read "has sold" or "is selling". The text does not say how the land came to be sold, or when.

In plain English: I thought I should tell you (literally: I said I will uncover your ear) and say, 'Buy it in front of those sitting here and in front of the elders of my people.' If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you (the Hebrew has: he) will not redeem it, tell me, so that I may know. For there is no one but you to redeem it, and I come after you." He said, "I will redeem it."

In plain English: Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the field from Naomi (literally: from the hand of Naomi), you are also buying it from Ruth the Moabite woman (or: you are also buying Ruth the Moabite woman), the wife of the dead man, to raise up the dead man's name on his inheritance."

The Hebrew words: This verse can be read in more than one way. The Hebrew says "and from Ruth the Moabitess", as this Bible has it. The old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) has "thou must also buy her", that is, Ruth. And the second word for buying is written with the letters of "I buy" (or: "I have bought", qaniti). The word-by-word meanings in this collection give it as "you have acquired", close to this Bible's "you must buy".

What changes: Read the way this Bible has it, whoever buys the field from Naomi also buys it from Ruth, with the duty to raise up the dead man's name. Read the way the Greek has it, the buyer must also buy Ruth herself. Read as it is written, "I buy", Boaz speaks of himself as the buyer. In each reading, in verse 10 Boaz says he has bought Ruth "to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance".

Good to know: The law in Deuteronomy 25:5 and 25:6 says that when a man dies with no son, his brother is to marry the widow, and "the firstborn whom she bears shall succeed in the name of his brother who is dead, that his name not be blotted out of Israel". The law speaks of the dead man's brother. In Ruth the one who is to do it is the redeemer, a relative, and the text does not name the law.

In plain English: The redeemer said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, or I would ruin (this Bible: endanger) my own inheritance. You take my right to redeem it for yourself, because I cannot redeem it."

Good to know: The text does not say how redeeming would ruin the man's own inheritance. It gives only his words.

In plain English: Now this was the custom in Israel in earlier times for redeeming and for exchanging, to make any matter final (this Bible: to confirm all things): a man pulled off his sandal and gave it to the other man (this Bible: his neighbor). This was the way of making a matter binding (literally: the attestation) in Israel.

The Hebrew words: "Sandal" is na'al, which the dictionary gives as "properly, a sandal tongue; by extension a sandal or slipper (sometimes as a symbol of occupancy, a refusal to marry, or of something valueless)". "The way of formalizing" is te'udah, "attestation, i.e. a precept, usage". It is in only 3 verses: here and Isaiah 8:16 and 8:20.

Good to know: The narrator explains that this was the custom "in former time" in Israel. In the law of Deuteronomy 25:9 and 25:10, the widow pulls the sandal off the brother who will not marry her and spits in his face, and his name is to be called in Israel "The house of him who had his sandal removed". In Ruth a man takes off his own sandal and gives it to the other man, and the text does not speak of a widow or of spitting: it calls it the way to confirm a matter of redeeming or exchanging. The text does not link the two.

In plain English: So the redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself," and he pulled off his sandal.

Good to know: The Hebrew says only "he took off his sandal". The old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) adds "and gave it to him", as verse 7 describes.

In plain English: Boaz said to the elders and to all the people, "You are witnesses today that I have bought from Naomi (literally: from the hand of Naomi) all that belonged to Elimelech, and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon.

In plain English: I have also bought (this Bible: purchased) Ruth the Moabite woman, the wife of Mahlon, to be my wife, to raise up the dead man's name on his inheritance, so that the dead man's name will not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses today."

Good to know: "To raise up the name of the dead" is the same picture as in the law of Deuteronomy 25:7: "to raise up to his brother a name in Israel". Before the elders Boaz again calls her "Ruth the Moabitess" (see the note on 1:4).

In plain English: All the people at the gate, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. May Yahweh make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and like Leah, the two who built up the house of Israel. May you do worthily (or: grow strong, or: grow rich; this Bible: treat you worthily) in Ephrathah and be famous (literally: call a name) in Bethlehem.

The Hebrew words: "Treat you worthily" is word for word "make chayil", the word explained in the note on 2:1: it can mean "wealth", "valor" or "strength". The old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) has "wrought mightily in Ephratha". "Be famous" is word for word "call a name".

Good to know: Ephrathah is Bethlehem: "Ephrath (also called Bethlehem)" (Genesis 35:19), and Micah 5:2 says "Bethlehem Ephrathah". Rachel and Leah were the wives of Jacob, whose name became Israel (Genesis 32:28), and Genesis 29 and 30 tell of the sons born to them and to their servants.

In plain English: May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the children (literally: the seed; this Bible: offspring) that Yahweh will give you by this young woman."

Good to know: Perez was a son of Judah by Tamar, his daughter-in-law (Genesis 38:11, 38:29). The text there gives the reason for his name: "Why have you made a breach for yourself? Therefore his name was called Perez." Tamar's story in Genesis 38 also turns on a dead man's widow and the duty to "raise up offspring for your brother" (Genesis 38:8). The blessing in verses 11 and 12 is the people's own words.

In plain English: So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. He slept with her (literally: went in to her), and Yahweh let her conceive (literally: gave her conception), and she bore a son.

In plain English: The women said to Naomi, "Blessed be Yahweh, who has not left you today without a redeemer (this Bible: near kinsman). May his name be famous (literally: be called) in Israel.

The Hebrew words: "A near kinsman" is go'el, the redeemer (see the note on 2:20). "His name" can point back to the redeemer, or to Yahweh. The old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) has "even to make thy name famous in Israel", that is, Naomi's name.

What changes: Read with "his name" as the redeemer's, the women wish that the redeemer will be famous. Read as Yahweh's, they wish that Yahweh's name will be famous. Read the Greek way, it is Naomi's name. The text also does not say who the redeemer is here: the newborn son, of whom the women go on to speak in verse 15, or Boaz, who has bought the land (verse 9).

In plain English: He will bring back your life (this Bible: be a restorer of life; literally: one who brings back the soul) and take care of you (this Bible: sustain you) in your old age, because your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him."

The Hebrew words: "A restorer of life" is word for word "one who brings back the soul": from shuv, which the dictionary gives as "to turn back", and nephesh, which this Bible gives as "soul" or a longer form in 411 of the 683 verses that use it, and as "life" in 124. Shuv is the word for going back and returning that runs through chapter 1. It is in 13 verses of Ruth, among them 1:21, "Yahweh has brought me home again empty".

In plain English: Naomi took the child, held him close (literally: put him in her bosom), and became his nurse (or: the one who cared for him).

In plain English: The women, her neighbors, gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi." They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Good to know: Here the women of the town name the child. The text does not explain the name Obed, and the dictionary in this collection gives no meaning for it. This is the first verse in this Bible that names David.

In plain English: Now these are the generations (this Bible: the history of the generations) of Perez: Perez became the father of Hezron,

The Hebrew word: "Generations" is toledot, which the dictionary gives as "descent, i.e. family; (figuratively) history". It is the word that opens the family lines of Genesis, as in Genesis 2:4, "This is the history of the generations of the heavens and of the earth". This Bible says "generations" or a longer form in 37 of the 39 verses that use it.

Good to know: Verses 18 to 22 name ten men, from Perez to David. The same line is in 1 Chronicles 2:5 to 2:15. Matthew 1:3 to 1:6 gives it too, in the family line that Matthew opens with "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David" (Matthew 1:1). Matthew 1:5 names Ruth: "Boaz became the father of Obed by Ruth."

In plain English: Hezron became the father of Ram, and Ram became the father of Amminadab,

In plain English: Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon became the father of Salmon (the Hebrew here has: Salmah),

Good to know: The Hebrew spells the name Salmah here and Salmon in verse 21. 1 Chronicles 2:11 has Salma, and Matthew 1:4 and 1:5 have Salmon.

In plain English: Salmon became the father of Boaz, and Boaz became the father of Obed,

In plain English: Obed became the father of Jesse, and Jesse became the father of David.