World English Bible
- Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there. Behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by. Boaz said to him, “Come over here, friend, and sit down!” He came over, and sat down.
- Boaz took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here,” and they sat down.
- He said to the near kinsman, “Naomi, who has come back out of the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech’s.
- I thought I should tell you, saying, ‘Buy it before those who sit here, and before the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know. For there is no one to redeem it besides you; and I am after you.” He said, “I will redeem it.”
- Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must buy it also from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance.”
- The near kinsman said, “I can’t redeem it for myself, lest I endanger my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption for yourself; for I can’t redeem it.”
- Now this was the custom in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging, to confirm all things: a man took off his sandal, and gave it to his neighbor; and this was the way of formalizing transactions in Israel.
- So the near kinsman said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” then he took off his sandal.
- Boaz said to the elders and to all the people, “You are witnesses today, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi.
- Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, I have purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses today.”
- All the people who were in the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who has come into your house like Rachel and like Leah, which both built the house of Israel; and treat you worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Bethlehem.
- Let your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, of the offspring which the LORD will give you by this young woman.”
- So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and he went in to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she bore a son.
- The women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you today without a near kinsman. Let his name be famous in Israel.
- He shall be to you a restorer of life and sustain you in your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”
- Naomi took the child, laid him in her bosom, and became nurse to him.
- The women, her neighbors, gave him a name, saying, “A son is born to Naomi”. They named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
- Now this is the history of the generations of Perez: Perez became the father of Hezron,
- and Hezron became the father of Ram, and Ram became the father of Amminadab,
- and Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon became the father of Salmon,
- and Salmon became the father of Boaz, and Boaz became the father of Obed,
- and Obed became the father of Jesse, and Jesse became the father of David.
Date: 2025-09-19
Yesterday we left Ruth and Naomi waiting through the night (see 9-18-2025 notes) while Boaz promised to settle the matter “first thing in the morning.” Chapter 4 opens with that promise kept.
In the ancient towns of Israel the city gate was the courtroom, the council chamber, and the newspaper all in one. Archaeologists have uncovered stone benches at places like Tel Dan and Beersheba, showing where elders sat to judge and to witness contracts. Boaz takes his seat there, gathers ten elders, and invites the closer relative to sit (4:1-2). The stage is set for a legal drama carried out in broad daylight.
Cross-reference: Proverbs 31:23; Amos 5:15 – justice “at the gate.”
Boaz speaks of redeeming Naomi’s field. The Hebrew word is גֹּאֵל (goʾel) – “kinsman-redeemer,” a family member who buys back land or freedom that has been lost (Leviticus 25:25, 47-49). The verb carries overtones of rescue and restoration; Isaiah will later use it of the Lord Himself (Isaiah 54:5).
Western readers may trip over the switch from land to marriage. In Israelite law two strands are woven together:
Boaz links the two: field and widow come as one package. The nearer relative is willing until he learns marriage is required; then he withdraws, fearing he will “endanger” (literally, “corrupt”) his own inheritance.
The transfer is sealed by handing over a sandal (4:7-8). Removing the shoe says, “I give up my walk on this soil; you may tread here in my place.” Tablets from Nuzi (15th-century BC) record a similar act: a party places his foot on the land to claim it. Scripture, archaeology, and custom lock together.
Literary note: The Hebrew narrator builds gentle irony. The nearer kinsman’s name is never supplied—he is simply “So-and-so” (4:1). The man who refuses to preserve a name loses his own.
The elders answer with a threefold blessing:
Note the string of unexpected women: Tamar, Rahab (in earlier genealogy), Ruth. Matthew 1:1-6 will echo this list, pointing to another surprising woman—Mary—through whom the final Redeemer comes.
Song suggestion: “There Is a Redeemer” (Melody Green, 1982). The refrain “Thank You, O my Father, for giving us Your Son” mirrors the elders’ words, “May the LORD make the woman….”
Boaz “takes” (Hebrew לָקַח, laqach) Ruth; a verb of covenant receiving, not raw possession. God grants conception, and a son is born. The women of Bethlehem now speak to Naomi—whose lament once filled chapter 1. They name the child Obed (“servant”), saying, “He will renew your life and sustain your old age.” Naomi, once “empty,” now cradles fullness.
Themes we have traced the last three days come to harvest:
• Providence hidden in daily choices.
• The outsider welcomed inside.
• Loyal love (חֶסֶד, ḥesed) circling through Boaz, Ruth, the women, and
God Himself.
Spurgeon wrote, “When we cannot trace God’s hand we can trust His heart; in Ruth we both trace and trust.”
The book closes with a genealogy—ten names echoing the ten elders (structure!)—rising from Perez to David. The quiet romance of Boaz and Ruth becomes the royal line of Israel. Matthew will stretch the line one step further—to Jesus Christ, the final Goʾel.
Augustine saw here the mystery of Christ and His Church: “The Redeemer from Judah takes the foreign bride, gathers her into covenant, and from her brings the King who will shepherd the nations.”
• גֹּאֵל (goʾel) – noun of kinship, duty, mercy.
• חֶסֶד (ḥesed) – covenant kindness; used in 3:10 and lived out in
4:13-17.
• Literary artistry: The book opens with death of three men and closes
with birth of one; the arc moves from famine to harvest, bitter
emptiness to overflowing blessing—a chiastic reversal.
Further reading: Psalm 107 (redeemed out of trouble); 1 Peter 1:18-19 (redeemed with the precious blood of Christ).
Redeeming God,
You walk our streets and sit in our gates.
You see lands lost, hopes bruised, names in danger of fading away.
Thank You for sending the true Goʾel, Jesus, who took our debt, bore our
shame, and planted us in Your everlasting family.
Give us eyes to notice the Ruths and Naomis near us, hearts to extend
ḥesed, and courage to act before the watching world.
May our ordinary choices open extraordinary doors for Your
kingdom.
In the name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.