Rth 4:1 And Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by. And he said, Such a one! Turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside and sat down.
The gate - a roofed building, unenclosed by walls; a place of concourse, of business, and of justice in middle eastern. The gate or entrance to any city or town was the place where the court of justice was ordinarily kept. The open space before the city gate, was the forum of the city, the place where the public affairs of the city were discussed.
Ho, such a one! - This familiar mode of compellation is first used here. The original is shebah poh, peloni almoni! “Hark ye, Mr. Such-a-one of such a place! come and sit down here.” This is used when the person of the individual is known, and his name and residence unknown. The words are "peloni almoni", words used by the Hebrews of persons and places, whose names they either could not, or did not choose to mention, which two words are contracted into "palmoni" in Dan_8:13.
Rth 4:2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, Come sit down here. And they sat down.
Ten men – Exodus 18:25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. Probably the presence of, at least, ten elders was necessary to make a lawful public assembly, as among modern Jews ten (a minyon) are necessary to constitute a synagogue. In ordinary circumstances, two or three were sufficient to attest a bargain; but in cases of importance, such as matrimony, divorce, conveyancing of property, it was the Jewish practice to have ten.
Rth 4:3 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.
Sells a parcel of land - According to the law Leviticus 25:25-28 If your brother has become poor, and has sold his property, and if any of his relatives comes to redeem it, then he shall redeem that which his brother sold. And if the man has no redeemer, and he himself is able to redeem it, and he has enough for its redemption; then let him count the years of the sale of it, and restore the overplus to the man to whom he sold it, so that he may return to his possession. But if he is not able to restore to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that has bought it until the year of jubilee. And in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return to his possession. If any Israelite, through poverty, would sell his possession, the next of kin (the gā'al) had a right to redeem it by paying the value of the number of years remaining until the jubilee. This right Boaz advertises the gā'al of, so as to give him the option which the law secured to him of redeeming “our brother Elimelech’s” land, our kinsman’s, according to the common use of the term brother.
Rth 4:4 And I said I will tell it in your ear, saying, Buy it before those who live here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem, redeem it. But if you will not redeem, tell me so that I may know. For there is none to redeem besides you. And I am after you. And he said, I will redeem.
Rth 4:5 And Boaz said, In the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must buy also from the hand of Ruth of Moab, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.
thou wilt also acquire Ruth - there was a young widow upon whom the possession of the land would devolve at Naomi’s death, and who already had a right of partnership in it. It was, therefore, the duty of the gā'al to marry her and raise up seed to his brother, his kinsman. And he could not exercise his right of redeeming the land, unless he was willing at the same time to fulfill his obligations to the deceased by marrying the widow. This he was unwilling to do.
Rth 4:6 And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance. You redeem my right to yourself, for I cannot redeem.
lest I mar my own inheritance - he considered, that as he had a wife and children already and as he might have more by marrying Ruth, his family expenses would be increased, and his estate diminished; and what would remain must be divided among many, and this estate in particular go to Ruth's firstborn, whereby his own inheritance would be scattered and crumbled, and come to little or nothing; add to all which, he might suppose that her ancient mother Naomi would be upon his hands to maintain also:
lest I mar mine own inheritance - This consequence would follow, either, first, from his having a son by Ruth, who, though heir to the property, would not bear his name; his name would be extinguished in that of her former husband; or, secondly, from its having to be subdivided among his other children, which he had probably by a previous marriage. This right, therefore, was renounced and assigned in favor of Boaz, in the way of whose marriage with Ruth the only existing obstacle was now removed.
lest I mar mine own inheritance - The redemption would cost money, since the yearly produce of the field would have to be paid for up to the year of jubilee. Now, if he acquired the field by redemption as his own permanent property, he would have increased by so much his own possessions in land. But if he should marry Ruth, the field so redeemed would belong to the son whom he would beget through her, and he would therefore have parted with the money that he had paid for the redemption merely for the son of Ruth, so that he would have withdrawn a certain amount of capital from his own possession, and to that extent have detracted from its worth.
I mar mine own inheritance - The meaning of these words is doubtful. Some explain them by saying that the gā'al had a wife and children already, and would not introduce strife into his family. Others think that there was a risk (which he would not incur) of the go’el’s own name being blotted out from his inheritance Rth_4:10. Others take the word translated as “mar” in a sense of wasting or spending. If he had to find the purchase-money, and support Naomi and Ruth, his own fortune would be broken down, if, as is likely, he was a man of slender means. Boaz, being “a mighty man of wealth,” could afford this.
I cannot redeem it for myself - The Targum gives the proper sense of this passage: “And the kinsman said, On this ground I cannot redeem it, because I have a wife already; and I have no desire to take another, lest there should be contention in my house, and I should become a corrupter of my inheritance. Do thou redeem it, for thou hast no wife; for I cannot redeem it.” This needs no comment. But still the gloss of the Targum has no foundation in the law of Moses. See the law, Deu_25:5-9.
Rth 4:7 And this was the custom in former times in
In former time in
A man plucked off his shoe - The law of such a case is given at large in Deu_25:5-9. It was simply this: If a brother, who had married a wife, died without children, the eldest brother was to take the widow, and raise up a family to the brother deceased; and he had a right to redeem the inheritance, if it had been alienated. But if the person who had the right of redemption would not take the woman, she was to pull off his shoe and spit in his face, and he was ever after considered as a disgraced man. In the present case the shoe only is taken off, probably because the circumstances of the man were such as to render it improper for him to redeem the ground and take Ruth to his wife; and because of this reasonable excuse, the contemptuous part of the ceremony is omitted.
Now this was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming - It is a custom, and not a law, that seems here referred to, when an estate was bought and sold; not the law in Lev_25:25, though that respects the redemption of an estate by a near kinsman, yet no such manner was enjoined as here practised afterwards, made mention of; nor the law in Deu_25:5 which does not concern the redemption of estates, nor a kinsman's marrying the widow of a deceased kinsman, but a brother's marrying the widow of a deceased brother, and the rites and ceremonies there enjoined upon refusal are different from those here used.
a man plucked off his shoe and gave it to his neighbour - signifying thereby, that he yielded his right to him in the thing sold or bartered.
and this was a testimony in
a man plucked off his shoe and gave it to his neighbour – This custom may trace back to the custom of taking possession of property by walking the land which is being claimed according to one scholar. Deuteronomy 1:36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him I will give the land that he has trodden upon, and to his sons, because he has fully followed the LORD. Deuteronomy 11:24 Every place on which the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours, from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even to the furthest sea shall your border be. Joshua 1:3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, I have given that to you, as I said to Moses. Joshua 14: 9 And Moses swore on that day, saying, Surely the land on which your feet have trodden shall be your inheritance, and your sons' forever because you have fully followed the LORD my God.
Rth 4:8 Therefore the kinsman said to Boaz, Buy it for yourself. So he drew off his sandal
And therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz - Which is repeated to show he gave his full consent to it, that he should make the purchase of it if he pleased, and which he confirmed by drawing off his shoe.
Rth 4:9 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, from the hand of Naomi.
Chilion's and Mahlon's -Although the widow of Chilion was still living, no regard was paid to her in the disposal of her husband's property. From her remaining in
Rth 4:10 And also Ruth of Moab, the wife of Mahlon, I have purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, so 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 this day.
have I purchased to be my wife - Which was the condition on which the purchase of the land was, that whoever bought that should take her for his wife; nor did Boaz do evil in marrying her, though a Moabitess. Moab was not one of the nations with whom marriage was forbidden; and though it was a Heathenish and idolatrous nation, and so on that account it was not fit and proper to marry with such, yet Ruth was become a proselytess; nor was this contrary to the law in Deu_23:3, since, according to the sense the Jews give of it, it respects men, and not women, and such men who otherwise were capable of bearing offices in the congregation;"an Ammonite, and a Moabite (they say) are forbidden, and their prohibition is a perpetual one, but their women are free immediately:"
Rth 4:11 And all the people in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. May Jehovah make the woman who has come into your house like Rachel and like Leah, for these two built the house of
We are witnesses - and desired for Boaz the blessing of the Lord upon this marriage. For Boaz had acted as unselfishly as he had acted honourably in upholding a laudable family custom in
There is something of a poetical turn in this speech of the elders, and something prophetic in the blessing pronounced by them. It is unique and obscure. The Septuagint is verbose and difficult. Ruth 4:11 And all the people who were in the gate said, [We are] witnesses: and the elders said, The Lord make thy wife who goes into thy house, as Rachel and as Lia, who both [together] built the house of Israel, and wrought mightily in Ephratha, and there shall be a name [to thee] in Bethleem. (Septuagint) The meaning of “be famous” seems to be, Get thyself a name which shall be celebrated in Bethlehem, as the head of a powerful and illustrious house: literally it is, “proclaim a name,” cause others to proclaim thy name, as in Rth_4:14.
like Rachel and like Leah - May thy family be increased by her means, as the tribes were formed by means of Rachel and Leah, wives of the patriarch Jacob!
Which two did build the house of
worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in
Rachel and Leah - This was the usual bridal benediction. These two were of a foreign original, and yet ingrafted into God's people, as Ruth was; and because of that fertility which God vouchsafed unto them above their predecessors, Sarah and Rebecca. Rachel is placed before Leah, because she was his most lawful, and best beloved wife.
Rth 4:12 And let your house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, of the seed which Jehovah shall give you of this young woman.
Like the house of Pharez - As honorable and numerous as his family was; whom, though be also was born of a stranger, God so blessed, that his family was one of the five families to which all the tribe of Judah belonged, and the progenitor of the inhabitants of this city. This was very appropriate; for from Pharez, the son of
Included here in this book are 3 of the women in the genealogy of Jesus. Rahab, Tamar and Ruth.
Rth 4:13 And Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife. And when he went in to her, Jehovah made her conceive. And she bore a son.
So Boaz took Ruth - The law of Moses had prohibited the Moabites, even to the tenth generation, from entering into the congregation of the Lord; but this law, the Jews think, did not extend to women; and even if it had, Ruth’s might be considered an exempt case, as she had been already incorporated into the family by marriage; and left her own country, people, and gods, to become a proselyte to the true God in the land of Israel.
Rth 4:14 And the women said to Naomi, Blessed be Jehovah, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, so that his name may be famous in Israel.
And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life - Of the joys, pleasures, and comforts of it, which she had been deprived of through the death of her husband and her two sons, ever since which she had lived a sorrowful life; all the comfort she had was from her daughter-in-law, and now a grandchild being born to her of her would be a means of restoring comfort to her mourning sorrowful spirit, and give her pleasure in those years in which she did not expect any:
seven sons - Seven, as the number of the works of God, the number of completion, is used to denote a large number of sons of a mother whom God has richly blessed with children. A mother of so many sons was to be congratulated, inasmuch as she not only possessed in these sons a powerful support to her old age, but had the prospect of the permanent continuance of her family. Naomi, however, had a still more valuable treasure in her daughter-in-law, inasmuch as through her the loss of her own sons had been supplied in her old age, and the prospect was now presented to her of becoming in her childless old age the tribe-mother of a numerous and flourishing family.
Rth 4:16 And Naomi took the child and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse to it.
And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom - As a token of her most tender love and affection for it; this it is probable she did quickly after the birth of it:
Nurse – the term means guardian not wet nurse.
Rth 4:17 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.
gave him the name of Obed - Obed means the serving one, as one who lived entirely for his grandmother, and would take care of her, and rejoice her heart Serving, with allusion to the service of love and duty which he would render to his grandmother Naomi. The last words of Rth_4:17, “he is the father of Jesse, the father of David,” show the object which the author kept in view in writing down these events, or composing the book itself. This conjecture is raised into a certainty by the genealogy which follows, and with which the book closes.
David did not forget his Moabite roots and takes refuge among
The story of Ruth also shows how gentiles could be grafted into
Pharez begat Hezron - who was one of those that went down with Jacob into
these are the generations of Pharez--that is, his descendants. There was an interval of three hundred eighty years between Salmon and David. It is evident that whole generations are omitted; the leading personages only are named, and grandfathers are said, in Scripture language, to beget their grandchildren, without specifying the intermediate links. The genealogy only goes back as far as Perez, because he was the founder of the family of
The genealogy closes with David, an evident proof that the book was intended to give a family picture from the life of the pious ancestors of this great and godly king of
Rth 4:19 and Hezron fathered Ram, and Ram fathered Amminadab,
Rth 4:20 and Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon,
Rth 4:21 and Salmon fathered Boaz, and Boaz fathered Obed,
And Salmon begat Boaz - The Targum goes on, “And Salmon begat Absan the judge; he is Boaz the Just, on account of whose righteousness the people of the house of Israel were redeemed from the hands of their enemies; and at whose supplication the famine departed from the land of Israel.”
And Salmon begat Boaz - Of Rahab the harlot, whom he married, Mat_1:5 the very same person that makes a principal part of this book, and whom the Targum here takes to be the judge Ibzan; see Gill on Rth_1:1.
Rth 4:22 and Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.
