Chapter Four

1–12. The solemn assumption by Boaz of obligations concerning the inheritance of Naomi and Ruth and marriage with the latter. 13–17a. The marriage of Boaz and Ruth and the birth of their son Obed. 17b-22. The genealogy of David.

Ruth 4:1. And Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the kinsman-redeemer of whom Boaz had spoken came by. And Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend, and sit down here.” So he turned aside and sat down. Ruth 4:2. And Boaz took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” And they sat down. Desiring to settle Ruth’s matter soon (see Ruth 3:18), Boaz comes early in the morning to the square by the city gate—the customary place in Eastern cities for all public assemblies (Gen 19:1, Ps 68:13), commercial transactions (Gen 23:10-13) and purchases (2 Kgs 7:1), judicial proceedings (Deut 16:18), in particular, concerning levirate marriage—in case of the brother-in-law’s refusal of this marriage (Deut 25:7). Hither Boaz invited both the kinsman-redeemer (goel) of Naomi and Ruth, whom Boaz mentions in his conversation with the latter (Ruth 3:12); Boaz’s address to this kinsman is expressed in an indefinite form Hebrew pelom almoni (according to the Midrash, p. 53—ignorant of the law, not knowing that the prohibition Deut 23:3 applies only to male Moabites, not to women), corresponding to the Greek δεῖνα, Slavonic “such-a-one” (Matt 26:18)—“so-and-so.” It is possible that this man, necessary for settling the matter, was deliberately invited by Boaz (as Josephus transmits it, “Jewish Antiquities”, V, 9, 4), as were deliberately invited by him also the witnesses among the elders (of the elders in Bethlehem mention is made further in the history of Samuel (1 Sam 16:4))—in the number of ten, which number in the Jewish tradition was considered the minimum for a religious assembly (see Targum to Exod 12:4), as well as for any public matter (1 Sam 25:5). Josephus (cited work) says that Boaz also called Ruth to the gate, but this is not confirmed by the biblical text and may even contradict it (Ruth 3:18) (cf. our note to this passage).

Ruth 4:3. And he said to the kinsman-redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the country of Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech; Ruth 4:4. so I thought I would inform you of it and say: Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of 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 besides you to redeem it, and I am after you.” Then he said, “I will redeem it. Ruth 4:5. Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead man, in order to restore the name of the dead to his inheritance. Ruth 4:6. Then the kinsman-redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I damage my own inheritance; you take my right of redemption, for I cannot redeem it. “It is worthy of admiration, the conversation with the nearest kinsman. Not directly did he conduct his speech about marriage, but he spoke about purchasing fields. Then, when the other received this proposal with pleasure, Boaz added also a word about marriage, saying: justice requires that one taking possession of the fields after the deceased take his wife and through childbearing preserve the memory of the deceased; but the other for the sake of marriage refused even the offered fields” (blessed Theodoret, p. 317). Boaz also speaks wisely and tactfully, beginning his speech about the inheritance of the deceased Elimelech and his sons (v. 3), mentioning only Naomi, not yet mentioning Ruth: “Naomi is selling,” from Hebrew: “she has sold” (makerah, LXX: δέδοται Νωεμειν, Slavonic: “given to Naomi”, Vulgate vendet Noemi), i.e., on her return from Moab, or it was done by Elimelech upon his departure there (Ruth 1:1-2); in any case, by the law of kinship-redemption—concerning the inalienability of inheritances from one tribe to another (Num 27:1-11)—the plot sold by Naomi must have been redeemed by someone from her close relatives according to Lev 25:15, of which in this case there were only two: one not named and Boaz. The first, having expressed agreement to redeem Naomi’s inheritance (v. 4), at once refused, as soon as he heard of the obligation of marriage with Ruth (v. 5): perhaps he was deterred by superstitious fear of the widow of Mahlon (a similar fear was expressed, according to Gen 38:11, by Judah concerning Tamar after the death of her two husbands—sons of Judah, cf. Tob 3:7-8), though he himself points to another reason for his refusal—fear of disrupting his own inheritance (v. 6); the Midrash (p. 53–54), as already stated, sees here the consequence of his ignorance of the law and fear of violating it by marrying a Moabitess (cf. Deut 23:3).

Ruth 4:7. Now this was the custom in Israel before the Law: at the redemption and sale, to confirm the matter, one would remove his sandal and give it to the other, and this was a testimony in Israel. Ruth 4:8. So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” And he removed his sandal [and gave it to him]. The custom mentioned here—of one’s removing his sandal and handing it to another—Josephus (“Jewish Antiquities”, V, 9, 4) wrongly identifies with the law and rite of the so-called chalitza (from the Hebrew verb chalaz—“to remove shoes”) or the release of the brother-in-law from the obligation of levirate marriage with his sister-in-law (Deut 25:9-10). The meaning, purpose, and circumstances of the rite in the two cases are different: in the first case (as here, Ruth 4:8) the one having property rights himself renounced them and symbolically expressed this by handing over the sandal (a symbol of possession, Ps 59:10), whereas chalitza was performed by the sister-in-law herself, who had received a refusal from her brother-in-law in marriage: she removed his shoes and spat in his face (Deut 25:9-10; Josephus “Jewish Antiquities”, IV, 8, 23), which was a disgrace for the “barefoot” (chaluz) for life.

Ruth 4:9. And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have bought from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon; Ruth 4:10. and also Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, I have taken to be my wife, to restore the name of the dead to his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his relatives and from the gate of his place; you are witnesses this day. Now Boaz freely and with full decisiveness assumes the obligation of both redeeming the inheritance and of marriage with Ruth. “The piety and precision evident in what is said are worthy of admiration. I am not violating,” he says, “the law in taking a Moabitess as wife; on the contrary, I am fulfilling the divine law in order that the memory of the deceased be preserved unextinguished” (blessed Theodoret, p. 318). However, in subsequent genealogies (Ruth 4:21; 1 Chr 2:12; Matt 1:5; Luke 3:32) Obed, born of the marriage of Boaz and Ruth, is called the son of Boaz, not Mahlon: the piety of Boaz made him worthy to take the place in David’s genealogy before Mahlon.

Ruth 4:11. And all the people who were at the gate, along with the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and like Leah, who together built up the house of Israel; may you prosper in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem; Ruth 4:12. and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the Lord will give you by this young woman. The elders and people not only witness and confirm the legality of Boaz’s declared marriage, but also bless the forthcoming marriage with a mention of the dear names of all Hebrews, their great-grandmothers Rachel and Leah (the first is named as Judah’s beloved wife, cf. Gen 29:31 and others). It is doubtful the assumption of blessed Theodoret (ibid.) that these words of blessing suggest that Boaz had another wife. The mention of Perez (cf. Gen 38:29) is all the more apt because the genealogy (v. 18) begins with him.

Ruth 4:13. So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she gave birth to a son. God’s blessing upon the marriage of Boaz and Ruth was manifested in her pregnancy and the birth of a son, who was called Obed by the women of Bethlehem, undoubtedly not without the parents’ participation, Hebrew obed—servant, i.e., to God and man.

Ruth 4:14. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer! May his name be renowned in Israel! Ruth 4:15. He shall be to you a restorer of your life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him. Ruth 4:16. Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. The meaning of the name is explained in these concluding verses, devoted almost exclusively to Naomi, who once, by the will of God’s providence, experienced affliction (Ruth 1:13), and now by the decrees of the same providence has received great comfort—a close kinsman-redeemer (goel), comfort and sustenance in Obed. “This in its literal sense means the consolation of Naomi, but in its true sense—the redemption of the world. For from hence flowed the salvation of all creation” (blessed Theodoret, p. 319).

Ruth 4:18. Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron; Ruth 4:19. Hezron fathered Ram; and Ram fathered Amminadab; Ruth 4:20. Amminadab fathered Nahshon; and Nahshon fathered Salmon; Ruth 4:21. Salmon fathered Boaz; and Boaz fathered Obed; Ruth 4:22. Obed fathered Jesse; and Jesse fathered David. In this genealogy, one may suppose the omission of certain names and generations: it is difficult to admit that in the course of nearly a thousand years from Perez to David only 9–10 generations elapsed (cf. 1 Chr 2:9-15). But the messianic idea, expressed both in this genealogy (cf. Matt 1:3; Luke 3:31-33) and in the portrayal in Ruth of the admission of a gentile woman into the Old Testament church, imparts to the entire book of Ruth great importance. Professor of the Kiev Theological Academy, Master of Divinity, Priest A. A. Glagolev. * * * The right of Naomi or properly Ruth to sell the portion of the deceased husband is confirmed by the Talmud, saying: “one awaiting a brother-in-law received property: the schools of Shammai and Hillel agree that she may sell and give away, and the transaction is valid.” Mishna. Yevamot IV, 8 (Russian trans. N. Pereferkovitch. SPB. 1900, p. 38). The act of chalitza and its order are placed in the appendix to the Russian translation of tractate Yevamot (SPB. 1900), p. 103–109. Not without significance is the circumstance that the book of Ruth has from ancient times been read by Jews at the festival of Pentecost—a festival not only of harvest (which is spoken of in the book) but also of the giving of the law on Sinai, which, according to the Midrash, was proclaimed to all nations, but was not accepted by them. The New Testament Pentecost, which succeeded the Old Testament one, is the festival of the outpouring of the Spirit of God upon all flesh (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17). The region of Maachah lay to the north of the Transjordanian country at the foot of Hermon (Deut 3:14; Josh 13:13).