Continuing a chronological Bible study:
(Ruth 4:1) Then Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by, to whom he said, "Ho, such a one! Turn aside, sit down here." And he turned aside and sat down.
At the end of the last chapter and post, Ruth had let Boaz know he was her next of kin, and by law, should marry her. Boaz, in turn, let Ruth know that although he was her kin, he knew she had one who was nearer in kin to her than he was. So Boaz went to the city gate and sat and waited until that kinsman he had spoken of came by. He did indeed come by, and Boaz said something to the effect of he was the one Boaz had been looking for, and he asked him to sit down. The man did as Boaz asked and sat down with him.
(2) And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, "Sit down here." And they sat down.
Boaz also called ten elders of the city to come and sit by him. His purpose was to call a court to determine whether or not Ruth's next of kin would assume his responsibility as laid out in Deuteronomy 25:7-9.
(3) And he said to the kinsman, "Naomi, who has come again out of the country of Moab, sells a parcel of land which was our brother Elimelech's, (4) And I thought to advise you, saying, 'Buy it before the inhabitants and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it, but if you will not redeem it, tell me that I may know, for there is no one to redeem it besides you, and I after you.'" And he said, "I will redeem it."
Boaz began by explaining to his kinsman that Naomi who had come back from Moab was now needing to sell a parcel of land that had belonged to their mutual kinsman, Elimelech. He had come to inform Elimelech's nearest kinsman that he might buy it and redeem it, preserving the inheritance in the family according to the law (Leviticus 25:25). Boaz asked his kinsman to tell him then and there if he would redeem the land, for if he didn't, then it was Boaz's responsibility to redeem it as he was the nearest of kin after the kinsman to whom he now spoke. The kinsman said he would indeed redeem it.
(5) Then said Boaz, "What day you buy the field of the hand of Naomi, you must buy also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance."
Boaz went on to explain that on the day the kinsman bought the field from Naomi, he was also buying it from Ruth, as her husband had been the rightful heir of Elimelech's land upon his passing. Now that her husband was also dead, it was the redeemer's duty to raise up the name of Ruth's husband and Naomi's son, Mahlon, perpetuating it according to the law (Deuteronomy 25:5).
(6) And the kinsman said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance; you redeem my right to yourself as I cannot redeem it."
At that, the kinsman said he would not be able to redeem the land, for he had his own inheritance to think of and pass on to the next generation. He was surely married and had children and thought that marrying Ruth and raising up children in her husband's name would greatly diminish his own inheritance for his children.
(7) Now this was the custom in former time concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things, a man plucked off his shoe and gave it to his neighbor, and this was a testimony in Israel.
The custom at that time concerning redemption and the exchanging of property, in order to confirm the transaction, a man was to take off his shoe and give it to the other party, in this case Boaz, to confirm that he had refused his right of redemption and allowed it to pass to Boaz. In Deuteronomy 25:8-9, we saw a stricter version of this custom that was the law, where the widow of the brother of the man who refused to uphold his responsibility in taking his brother's widow as his wife, she herself took off her brother-in-law's shoe and spit in his face because he refused to do his duty in perpetuating his brother's name. As this kinsman was not a brother to Mahlon, he was therefore not obliged to take Ruth as his wife, but it appears that it remained a custom in the transferring of property to remove the shoe and pass it to the other party to confirm the transaction in the presence of the elders in Israel.
(8) Therefore the kinsman said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself." So he drew off his shoe.
So the kinsman told Boaz to buy the land for himself, and he took off his shoe to confirm that he was relinquishing his right to the land and giving Boaz the right to redeem it.
(9) And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You 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 not be cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of this place, you are witnesses this day."
Boaz then said to the elders and thus in testimony to all the people of Israel that they were witnesses to the fact that he had bought all that had been Elimelech's, and all that would have been passed down to his sons, Chilion and Mahlon, from Elimelech's widow, Naomi. In addition, he was purchasing the right to make Ruth his wife and agreeing to raise up the names of Mahlon and his father Elimelech, so that their names would not be cut off and forgotten among their brethren. From their position at the gate of the city, the elders and the people present were witnesses to those facts that day.
(11) And all the people who were in the gate and the elders said, "We are witnesses. Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and like Leah, the two who built the house of Israel, and may you do worthily in Ephratah and be famous in Bethlehem, (12) And let your house be like the house of Pharez whom Tamar bore to Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give you of this young woman."
The elders and the people present at the gate of the city declared they were indeed witnesses. They blessed the union of Boaz and Ruth. The fact that they wished that Ruth who was coming into his house be like Rachel and Leah seems to indicate that Boaz had married before this time, and their wish was that both women would continue to build up the house of Israel as Rachel and Leah had done. They wished that Boaz might do well in Ephratah and Bethlehem, which were one and the same place, where Rachel had died and was buried, according to Genesis 35:19. The elders and the people also wished that Boaz's house might be like that of Pharez, the son of Judah, by Tamar who was actually Judah's daughter-in-law. When Tamar's husband Er died, the other sons of Judah and Judah himself refused to do their duty to Tamar to raise up an inheritance to her dead husband. However, she tricked Judah into impregnating her when he did not know it was his daughter-in-law. This event was detailed in Genesis 38. The people wished that Boaz's house might be like that of Pharez who was the result of the union between his mother and a redeemer, although an unwitting one. May he as Ruth's redeemer have descendants as numerous as Judah by Pharez. The fact that Ruth was a Moabitess, although often mentioned, seems to be of no concern, as Ruth had obviously become a proselyte or convert to the Jewish religion.
(13) So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife, and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.
Boaz took Ruth as his wife, and he performed his conjugal duty. As the ultimate proof that God blessed this union, it is said that He gave her conception, and she bore a son.
(14) And the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the Lord who has not left you this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. (15) And he shall be to you a restorer of 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 borne him."
The women of Bethlehem, neighbors of Naomi, told her that the Lord had not abandoned her and left her without descendants after all. Through her daughter-in-law Ruth, who so loved her, and was better to her than seven sons would have been, she had a grandson. They wished that his name be famous in Israel as he was to her a restorer of life and nourisher to her in her old age at a time when she had felt alone and abandoned.
(16) And Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom and became nurse to him.
Naomi took the baby and laid him in her bosom as a sign of her tender love and affection for him, and she became a nurse to him, aiding Ruth in her care of him.
(17) And the women her neighbors gave him 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 neighbor women suggested a name for the baby that was indeed adopted by Ruth and Boaz. They suggested the name of Obed which meant "serving," as they saw him serving, nourishing, and comforting Naomi in her old age as they had wished for her in verse 15. However, the name had greater significance than they knew as Obed's grandson, David, was God's beloved servant. Life was restored to Naomi's name as a son, actually a grandson, was born to her son's wife. Obed would go on to have a son Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David. In this would Obed's name become famous in Israelite history as the grandfather of David, as the women neighbors had wished (v. 14).
(18) Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,
The author of Ruth now inserted a descendant genealogy of Pharez, the son of Judah and Tamar, whose house the people of Israel wished for the descendants of Boaz and Ruth to mirror (v. 12). Pharez's son was 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,
Pharez's son Hezron had a son Ram who produced Amminadab, who produced Nahshon, and Nahshon produced Salmon, the father of Boaz. And of course, Boaz's son was Obed.
(22) And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.
Completing the genealogy from Judah (by his son Pharez) to David, Obed would go on to have a son Jesse, who was the father of David. How beautiful and fitting that Ruth the Moabitess should play a prominent role in the genealogy of David which would also extend to Jesus, the Son of David, the Lion of Judah. Of course, Ruth had converted to Judaism, so was not really a Moabite at the time she married Boaz. But this shows how the Gentile, someone not originally of the Jewish faith, was grafted into the line of Jesus, just as Jesus offered his salvation to the Gentiles and allowed them to be grafted into His living vine (Romans 11). As the author of Ruth linked her to her great-grandson David, we know her book was written after David's anointing which agrees with Jewish tradition that the prophet Samuel may have written it.
