Ruth 4:1—22 (NASB95) 1 Now Boaz Went up to the Gate and Sat Down

Home , Nahshon, Obed (biblical figure), Ruth 4

Ruth 4:1—22 (NASB95)

1 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz spoke was passing by, so he said, “Turn aside, friend, sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down.

2 He took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down.

3 Then he said to the closest relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the land of Moab, has to sell the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4“ So I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if not, tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am after you.’ ” And he said, “I will redeem it.”

5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” 6 The closest relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, because I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, for I cannot redeem it.” 7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange of land to confirm any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the manner of attestation in Israel. 8 So the closest relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” And he removed his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. 10“ Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased will not be cut off from his brothers or from the court of his birth place; you are witnesses today.”

11 All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. 12“ Moreover, 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.”

13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may

his name become famous in Israel. 15“ May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. 17 The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 18 Now these are the generations of Perez: to Perez was born Hezron, 19 and to Hezron was born Ram, and to Ram, Amminadab, 20 and to Amminadab was born Nahshon, and to Nahshon, Salmon, 21 and to Salmon was born Boaz, and to Boaz, Obed, 22 and to Obed was born Jesse, and to Jesse, David.

STUDY GUIDE RUTH 4:1—22

A. What would give you the idea that this encounter with the “close relative” was a divinely appointed encounter rather than a “routine” encounter (v.1)?

Commentator’s Note: The Hebrew word (hinnēh) is translated to behold, lo, see, is an interjection demanding attention, such as “look!” or “see”!

2He took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 3Then he said to the closest relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the land of Moab, has to sell the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4“So I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if not, tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am after you.’” And he said, “I will redeem it.”

B. Why does Boaz say “our brother”? Take a look at Leviticus 25:25–30 and Deuteronomy 25:5–10. What would be the legal ‘levirate’ obligation be for the immediate closer relative of the “brother”? (Take the time read Genesis 38:1-30 as it will help you understand what is happening in Ruth 4.)

Commentator’s Note: The words translated “buy / purchase” (Hebrew “khana”) means to buy, to re-purchase. This is the very word used to describe God Himself "buying back" His people in the Old Testament.

C. What would you say is primarily the goal for “redeeming” Ruth? (v. 5 & 10, and compare with Deuteronomy 25:7)

Commentator’s Note: In the act of “redeeming widows” there were two kinds of abuses in ancient times. First, the person might try to take the property without actually marrying the widow. The second was that the brother having now taken over both the property he will prevent her from becoming pregnant so that he might keep the property for himself (or his children). The latter seem to be the motivation here for the “unknown” relative in Ruth. It is possible that in Luke 18:2—5 / Luke 20:47, Jesus refers to these types of abuses of widows.

D. Do you think this “unknown relative” was of the same character as Boaz? Was he a righteous person?

Commentator’s Note: We might learn something about “closer relatives” moral character and integrity simply by his absence thus far. Why has he not come forward these past few months? It seems like he is caught up in his own world doesn’t it? Learning from the fact that he at first says in (v. 4) “I will redeem it” but then changes his mind saying (v.6) “I cannot redeem it for myself . . . I would jeopardize my own inheritance” shows something about his materialistic mindset. Take time to read the story of Tamar and Onan in Genesis 38:8—10. Israel had a long history of exploiting widows (including aliens and orphans) see Ezekiel 22:7, 25; Zechariah 7:10; Malachi 3:5.

E. How does God view such careless exploits of widows Deuteronomy 27:19?

7Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange of land to confirm any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the manner of attestation in Israel. 8So the closest relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” And he removed his sandal. 9Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. 10“Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased will not be cut off from his brothers or from the court of his birth place; you are witnesses today.”

F. Why does the author add these words— “this was the custom in former times in Israel” by “removing his sandal” (Deuteronomy 25:9-10)?

G. Do you think by the time the author wrote to the people of Israel this custom might have fallen out of practice? What do you think it says of the “spiritual” state of the nation of Israel at that point?

H. What does Deuteronomy 25:7—9 (v. 9) say should happen to the closest relative for refusing to marry the widow?

I. Do you think Boaz understood that redeeming Ruth would be costly (v.10)?

11All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth [power, wealth, nobility] in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. 12“Moreover, 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.”

J. Who are Perez and Tamar? Are they related to Judah? How do they fit into the genealogy of Christ? Read Genesis 38:27-30 as well as Ruth 4:18-22 and Matthew 1:3-16.

Commentator’s Notes: “[I]n light of texts like Gen 49:8–10, which gives ancestral legitimacy to Judah’s right to hold the scepter in Israel, it is remarkable that the author began with Perez rather than Judah, whom he knows to be the father of Perez (v. 12). . . Even more telling, if this had been the narrator’s intention, his aims would have been better served by beginning with Judah, the father of Perez, to whom, under the inspiration of God, Jacob actually assigned the right to the throne in Israel (Gen 49:8–10).Block, NAC, Ruth).

13So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.

K. What words in Ruth 4:13 tell you what the “providential will of God” is? (Verify your answer with Psalm 127:3)

14Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the LORD who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. 15“May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

Commentator’s Note: The word “redeem” comes from the word Hebrew words “gōʾēl” meaning to repurchase. For example a field which was sold in time of need (Lev 25:25 ff.) would be redeemed or “purchased back.” Another example is in the freeing of an Israelite slave who sold himself in time of poverty (Lev 25:48ff.). In the famous verse Job 19:25 the word gōʾēl is translated “redeemer” and some have taken it to refer to the coming of Christ in his work of atonement purchasing people for himself (1 Corinthians 6:20).

L. Reading though the Book of Ruth how many times did you read this phrase: “Blessed of the Lord” or “blessed is the Lord”?

Commentator’s Notes: That in the course of the narrative all participants receive their own blessing corresponds to the intention of the narrator. Each blessing contributes to the narrative as a whole. When interpreters pay no attention to the blessings, seeing them as mere formulae, they miss an essential aspect of the meaning that the narrator has built into the story (Claus Westerman, Word & WorldVolume XIX, Number 3 Summer 1999).

M. Why is the Lord “praise-worthy" and “blessed”?

Take some time to trace the word “redeemer” through passages like Exodus 6:6, Job 19:25, Psalm 103:1-5, 74:2.

N. Is there any correlation here with Micah 5:2?

O. Look at Proverbs 18:22 and read what it says about a godly/ virtuous / noble wife. What does Boaz calls Ruth in Ruth 3:10? What does Proverbs 12:4, 31:10 say about the “excellent /virtuous wife”?

16Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. 17The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

P. Why is the author laying emphases on the genealogy in v. 16? What does Luke 3:23 & 33 say about these individuals?

18Now these are the generations of Perez: to Perez was born Hezron, 19and to Hezron was born Ram, and to Ram, Amminadab, 20and to Amminadab was born Nahshon, and to Nahshon, Salmon, 21and to Salmon was born Boaz, and to Boaz, Obed, 22and to Obed was born Jesse, and to Jesse, David.

Q. What have you learned about God’s Providence, Adversity, and Human Choices / Actions?

Commentator’s Note: Throughout the book the narrator has deliberately cast the characters as stellar models of ḥesed, of deep and sincere devotion to God and to one another, expressed in self-sacrificial acts of kindness toward one another. Into the plot he has also carefully woven markings of the providential hand of God, rewarding who rewards authentic piety with his fullness and care. The birth of Obed symbolizes the convergence of these two themes: piety and providence (Block, NAC Ruth).

R. What have you learned about God’s Revealed Will and God’s Sovereign Will in the Book of Ruth?

S. Jesse was a pious man who had eight sons —most significantly David. His name features in many prophetical passages like Isaiah 11:1, 10 and Jeremiah 23:5 also look at Romans 15:12.

Commentator’s Note: At the outset of the Book of Ruth is the lament of suffering —“The hand of the Lord has turned against me” (1:13), then again at the arrival in Bethlehem, “Call me no longer Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me” (1:20). God’s judgment while only implied in the introductory report, awakens the sense of pain and suffering. At the end of the whole narrative praise begins to awaken in the mouths of the witnesses: “Blessed be the Lord” (2:20) culminating with the praise for the LORD who has not left Naomi without next-of-kin / kinsman- redeemer Hebrew “gōʾēl” for Ruth 4:14.

J.I. Packer once said:

It is sometimes hard to believe that costly obedience, putting us at a disadvantage in the world (as loyal obedience to God often does), is part of a predestined plan for furthering both God’s glory and our own good (Rom. 8:28). But we are to glorify God by believing that it is so, and that one day we shall see it to be so; for his wisdom is supreme and never fails. Making known his will of precept, and governing the responses of human free agency to it, is one means whereby God accomplishes his will of events, even when the response is one of unbelief and disobedience. Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1993), 49.