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 Yahweh 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.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Or, of the city where he remained.
Or, of the city where he remained.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv9–11 Rth 4:9 And Boaz said unto the elders, and…
Rth 4:9 And Boaz said unto the elders, and [unto] all the people, Ye [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.
Ver. 9. Ye are witnesses this day.] Fit witnesses ye are, because eyewitnesses: and faithful I hope ye will be, if I need your testimony. Boaz’s care was to make all sure in his new purchase: so it was Abraham’s. {Gen 23:13-18 Jer 32:10-11; Jer 32:25}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv10–11 From the gate of his place, i.e. from among…
From the gate of his place, i.e. from among the inhabitants dwelling within the gate of this city, which was Bethlehem-judah.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v9 Boaz now sees his way clear, and therefore delays…
Boaz now sees his way clear, and therefore delays not to perform his promise made to Ruth that he would do the kinsman's part, but in the gate of the city, before the elders and all the people, publishes a marriage-contract between himself and Ruth the Moabitess, and therewith the purchase of all the estate that belonged to the family of Elimelech. If he had not been (Rut 2:1) a mighty man of wealth, he could not have compassed this redemption, nor done this service to his kinsman's family. What is a great estate good for, but that it enables a man to do so much the more good in his generation, and especially to those of his own household, if he have but a heart to use it so! Now concerning this marriage it appears,
I. That it was solemnized, or at least published, before many witnesses, Rut 4:9, Rut 4:10. "You are witnesses," 1. "That I have bought the estate. Whoever has it, or any part of it, mortgaged to him, let him come to me and he shall have his money, according to the value of the land," which was computed by the number of years to the year of jubilee (Lev 25:15), when it would have returned of course to Elimelech's family. The more public the sales of estates are the better they are guarded against frauds. 2. "That I have purchased the widow to be my wife." He had no portion with her; what jointure she had was encumbered, and he could not have it without giving as much for it as it was worth, and therefore he might well say he purchased her; and yet, being a virtuous woman, he reckoned he had a good bargain. House and riches are the inheritance of fathers, but a prudent wife is more valuable, is from the Lord as a special gift. He designed, in marrying her, to preserve the memory of the dead, that the name of Mahlon, though he left no son to bear it up, might not be cut off from the gate of his place, but by this means might be preserved, that it should be inserted in the public register that Boaz married Ruth the widow of Mahlon, the son of Elimelech, which posterity, whenever they had occasion to consult the register, would take particular notice of. And this history, being preserved for the sake of that marriage and the issue of it, proved an effectual means to perpetuate the name of Mahlon, even beyond the thought or intention of Boaz, to the world's end. And observe that because Boaz did this honour to the dead, as well as this kindness to the living, God did him the honour to bring him into the genealogy of the Messiah, by which his family was dignified above all the families of Israel; while the other kinsman, that was so much afraid of diminishing himself, and marring his inheritance, by marrying the widow, has his name, family, and inheritance, buried in oblivion and disgrace. A tender and generous concern for the honour of the dead and the comfort of poor widows and strangers, neither of which can return the kindness (Luk 14:14), is sure what God will be well pleased with and will surely recompense. Our Lord Jesus is our Goel, our Redeemer, our everlasting Redeemer. He looked, like Boaz, with compassion on the deplorable state of fallen mankind. At a vast expense he redeemed the heavenly inheritance for us, which by sin was mortgaged, and forfeited into the hands of divine justice, and which we should never have been able to redeem. He likewise purchased a peculiar people, whom he would espouse to himself, though strangers and foreigners, like Ruth, poor and despised, that the name of that dead and buried race might not be cut off for ever. He ventured the marring of his own inheritance, to do this, for, though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor; but he was abundantly recompensed for it by his Father, who, because he thus humbled himself, hath highly exalted him, and given him a name above every name. Let us own our obligations to him, make sure our contract with him, and study all our days how to do him honour. Boaz, by making a public declaration of this marriage and purchase, not only secured his title against all pretenders, as it were by a fine with proclamations, but put honour upon Ruth, showed that he was not ashamed of her, and her parentage and poverty, and left a testimony against clandestine marriages. It is only that which is evil that hates the light and comes not to it. Boaz called witnesses to what he did, for it was what he could justify, and would never disown; and such regard was then had, even to the contemned crowd, that not only the elders, but all the people that were in the gate, passing and re-passing, were appealed to (Rut 4:9), and hearkened to (Rut 4:11) when they said, We are witnesses.
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II. That it was attended with many prayers. The elders and all the people, when they witnessed to it, wished well to it, and blessed it, Rut 4:11, Rut 4:12. Ruth, it should seem, was now sent for; for they speak of her (Rut 4:12) as present: This young woman; and, he having taken her to wife, they look upon her as already come into his house. And very heartily they pray for the new-married couple.
1. The senior elder, it is likely, made this prayer, and the rest of the elders, with the people, joined in it, and therefore it is spoken of as made by them all; for in public prayers, though but one speaks, we must all pray. Observe, (1.) Marriages ought to be blessed, and accompanied with prayer, because every creature and every condition are that to us, and no more, that God makes them to be. It is civil and friendly to wish all happiness to those who enter into that condition; and what good we desire we should pray for from the fountain of all good. The minister who gives himself to the word and prayer, as he is the fittest person to exhort, so he is the fittest to bless and pray for those that enter into this relation. (2.) We ought to desire and pray for the welfare and prosperity one of another, so far from envying or grieving at it.
2. Now here, (1.) They prayed for Ruth: The Lord make the woman that has come into thy house like Rachel and Leah, that is, "God make her a good wife and a fruitful mother." Ruth was a virtuous woman, and yet needed the prayers of her friends, that by the grace of God she might be made a blessing to the family she had come into. They prayed that she might be like Rachel and Leah, rather than like Sarah and Rebekah, for Sarah had but one son, and Rebekah but one that was in covenant, the other was Esau, who was rejected; but Rachel and Leah did build up the house of Israel: all their children were in the church, and their offspring was numerous. "May she be a flourishing, fruitful, faithful vine by thy house side." (2.) They prayed for Boaz, that he might continue to do worthily in the city to which he was an ornament, and might there be more and more famous. They desired that the wife might be a blessing in the private affairs of the house, and the husband a blessing in the public business of the town, that she in her place, and he in his, might be wise, virtuous, and successful. Observe, The way to be famous is to do worthily. Great reputation must be obtained by great merits. It is not enough not to do unworthily, to be harmless and inoffensive, but we must do worthily, be useful and serviceable to our generation. Those that would be truly illustrious must in their places shine as lights. (3.) They prayed for the family: "Let thy house be like the house of Pharez," that is, "let it be very numerous, let it greatly increase and multiply, as the house of Pharez did." The Bethlehemites were of the house of Pharez, and knew very well how numerous it was; in the distribution of the tribes, that grandson of Jacob had the honour which none of the rest had but Manasseh and Ephraim, that his posterity was subdivided into two distinct families, Hezron and Hamul, Num 26:21. Now they prayed that the family of Boaz, which was one branch of that stock, might in process of time become as numerous and great as the whole stock now was.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv9–11 And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all…
And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people,.... Who were present at the gate of the city, or in court:
ye are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's; all the land which belonged to him, who was the husband of Naomi, and the father of Ruth's husband, whose estate Boaz now bought, paying the value for it to Naomi:
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and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's; the two sons of Elimelech, who, had they been living, would have enjoyed their father's estate; but they being dead, it devolved on the mother, and after her on the widows, who must therefore agree to the sale of the estate, as Ruth did, see Rut 4:5. Of Orpah no notice is taken, because she returned to her own land; and besides Mahlon, the husband of Ruth, was the elder brother, and therefore had the first right to the inheritance; but as it was in the hands of Naomi now, the purchase was made of her principally, and therefore Boaz is said to purchase it
of the hand of Naomi; to whom the money was paid, and who delivered the estate to him.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv10–11 From the gate - That is, from among the…
From the gate - That is, from among the inhabitants dwelling within the gate of this city, which was Bethlehem-judah.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v11 Verse 11. We are witnesses.] It is not very…
Verse 11. We are witnesses.] It is not very likely that any writing was drawn up. There was an appeal made to the people then present, whether they had seen and understood the transaction; who answered, We have witnessed it. If any minutes of court were kept, then the transaction was entered probably in some such words as these: "On --- day of ---, Boaz bought the land of Elimelech from Naomi his widow, and took Ruth, her daughter-in-law, to wife; ---, who had the nearest right, refusing to buy the land on the conditions then proposed."
The Lord make this woman - 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!
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Which two did build the house of Israel] We have already seen that בן ben, a son, comes from the root בנה banah, he built; and hence אבן eben, a stone, because as a house is built of stones, so is a family of children. There is a similar figure in PLAUTUS, Mostell. Act i., sec. 2, ver. 37.
___________________Nunc etiam volo
Dicere, ut homines aedium esse similes arbitremini.
Primum dum parentes fabri liberum sunt,
Et fundamentum liberorum substruunt.
"I would also observe, that ye men are similar to houses; ye parents are the fabricators of the children, and they are the foundation of the building."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Rth 4:10. Ruth the Moabitess have I purchased to…
Rth 4:10. Ruth the Moabitess have I purchased to be my wife — He had her by the right of the same purchase, and did not succeed into the right of a brother, as mentioned Deuteronomy 25.; for he was not a brother to Elimelech, but only a remote kinsman of the same family, who could not enjoy the land while she lived, unless he would take her with it; to whom it belonged while she lived, and was to go to her issue when she died. From the gate of his place — That is, from among the inhabitants dwelling within the gate of his city, which was Beth-lehem-judah.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v11 See the margin. There is something of a poetical…
See the margin. 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 Greek Version (lxx) is unintelligible. Jerome seems to have had a slightly different reading, since he applies both clauses to Ruth. “May she be a pattern of virtue in Ephratah, and have a name famous in Bethlehem.” 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,” i. e. cause others to proclaim thy name, as in Rth 4:14.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv9–11 Chelion. As Orpha, his widow, took no care to…
Chelion. As Orpha, his widow, took no care to comply with the law, all his possessions devolved on his brother’s posterity. (Menochius) --- It was presumed that she would marry some Moabite. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv9–11 HE MARRIES RUTH. (Rut 4:9-12)
HE MARRIES RUTH. (Rut 4:9-12)
Boaz said unto the elders, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was . . . Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi--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 Moab, she was considered to have either been married again, or to have renounced all right to an inheritance with the family of Elimelech.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv10–11 10. That the name of the dead be not…
10. That the name of the dead be not cut off — The name of the child borne unto Boaz by Ruth was not called Mahlon, the name of the deceased husband, but Obed. Rth_4:17. To the question why this was so, Patrick answers that what Boaz did was in obedience to the law in Deu_25:6, for he was not the brother of Mahlon, but only a remote kinsman, and therefore not bound by the strict letter of the law in giving a name to the child. But the passage in Deu_25:6, need not be pressed to mean that, even if the redeemer be a brother, the child born of the levirate marriage must literally bear the name of the deceased brother; but rather, that all the facts of the case should be made known and preserved, as has been done in this history before us. Thus the name and memory of the dead Elimelech and of Mahlon were not cut off from among their brethren, nor from the gate of their native city, although the child of Ruth was not called after either of them.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–11 9. Ye are witnesses] Cf. Rth_4:11. With this appeal…
9. Ye are witnesses] Cf. Rth_4:11. With this appeal for confirmation cf. Jos_24:22, 1Sa_12:5.
I have bought … of the hand of Naomi] More idiomatically the Hebr. perf. should be rendered in English I buy, i.e. I stipulate to buy; cf. the perf. in Rth_4:3 selleth. The purchase-money was to go to Naomi; she had inherited all the family property; even Mahlon’s and Chilion’s land had passed to their mother, not to their widows, probably because the latter were foreigners. The right of a widow to any share in her husband’s estate is not recognized in the Pentateuch2[6]; but later practice allowed provision to be made (Jdt_8:7), and permitted the husband to insert a clause in the marriage settlement giving his widow the right to dwell in his house after him, and to be nourished from his wealth all the days of her widowhood; Talm. Kethuboth iv. 8.
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[6] Contrast the provision of the ancient Babylonian Code: the widow is entitled to her marriage-portion and the settlement which her husband had secured to her in writing, and is allowed to live in his dwelling place, §§ 171 and 150. In this, as in other respects, the Code of H̬ammurabi represents a more developed civilization than the Pentateuchal law.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v11 (11) The Lord . . .—In this way is…
(11) The Lord . . .—In this way is the nuptial blessing invoked.
Is come.—Rather, is coming.
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Rachel—though the younger sister and the junior wife—is put first, probably from her death and burial having associated her with Bethlehem (see Gen_35:16; Gen_35:19). In this way, too, we should explain the prophecy of Jeremiah as applied by St. Matthew (Jer_31:15; Mat_2:18).
Build.—From the Hebrew word to build are derived the words for son and daughter, thus a twofold aspect in the word sometimes appears as here. (See also Gen_16:2; Gen_30:3).
Do thou worthily.—The Hebrew phrase (asah khayil) thus rendered, involves the notion of doing a thing with vigour and might. The khayil of a soldier is his valour—of a land, its material resources, and (Pro_31:10) the “virtuous woman” of the English Version is literally, woman of khayil. The good wish for Boaz here is that by his energy he may command continual prosperity.
Be famous.—Literally, proclaim a name.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv9–11 And Boaz said to the eiders and all the…
And Boaz said to the eiders and all the people, Ye are witnesses this day that I have acquired the whole estate of Elimelech, and the whole estate of Chillon and Machlon, from the hand of Naomi. It is absolutely necessary that, at this part of the narrative, as well as in several other portions, we read "between the verses." Naomi, either personally or by representative, must have appeared on the scene, to surrender her territorial rights and receive the value of the estate that had belonged to her husband. But the writer merges in his account these coincidences, and hastens on to the consummation of his story. In the twofold expression, "the whole estate of Elimelech, and the whole estate of Chillon and Machlon," there is a kind of legal particularity. There was of course but one estate, but there was a succession in the proprietorship.
HOMILIES BY J.R. THOMSON Vers. 9-11. Honorable conduct honorably witnessed.
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By the "shoe" in the context is meant, no doubt, the sandal, which in the East was, and is, the ordinary covering of the foot, fastened by means of a thong of leather. Although in a house, or in a temple, the sandal was dispensed with, it was always used in walking and upon a journey. It was taken off at meals, in every sacred place, and in the presence of every sacred person, and on occasion of mourning. The context brings before us a symbolical use of the sandal. In early times for even when this book was written the custom was obsolete it was the usage of the men of Israel, in taking possession of any landed property, to pluck off the shoe. This was the survival of a still older custom the planting the foot upon the newly-acquired soil, outwardly and visibly to express the taking possession of it, and asserting a right to it as one"s own. Having, by the permission and at the suggestion of the unnamed kinsman, performed this simple symbolical act, Boaz proceeded to address the assembled elders of the city, calling them to witness two facts; his purchase of the field of Elimelech, and his resolve to take Ruth, the widow of Elimelech"s son, as his own wife. The eiders, in presence of one another, formally and solemnly declared, We are witnesses.
I A RELIGIOUS MAN SHOULD RE SCRUPULOUSLY HONOURABLE IN THE TRANSACTIONS OF LIFE.
II IN NOTHING IS THIS RULE MORE IMPORTANT THAN IN QUESTIONS AFFECTING PROPERTY AND IN MARRIAGE.
III PUBLICITY, THE PRESENCE OF COMPETENT AND VERACIOUS, HONORABLE WITNESSES, MAY BE REGARDED AS OF THE HIGHEST IMPORTANCE. Secret marriages and underhand proceedings with regard to property are to be avoided.
IV A PUBLIC PROFESSION OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE PRESENCE OF WITNESSES IS WISE, RIGHT, AND EXPEDIENT. T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv9–10 I have bought all that was Elimelechs.
Rth_4:9
I have bought all that was Elimelechs.
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Redemption accomplished
This passage brings to our view the great subject of the gospel revelation--redemption accomplished in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ in human flesh for guilty man. Boaz took his kinsmans shoes as a simple but solemn token of the agreement which he had now assumed. He called all the inhabitants and elders of his city to witness that he acknowledged all this responsibility, and was pledged to accomplish the redemption which was thus described and undertaken. The actual accomplishment of the work now depended upon the ability and the faithfulness of Boaz. Everything now rested upon his power and his truth. Was it not just so with the hope of man from the day of his fail to the day of the Saviours manifestation and victory? He had undertaken to be mans Redeemer. Could He, and would He fulfil the wonderful promises which He had given, and upon which He had caused His people to place their trust? The history of the New Testament answers this all-important question. These sacred Scriptures reveal the facts of redemption accomplished; the work undertaken completely finished; the fidelity of the Kinsman Redeemer gloriously established; and His almighty power triumphantly made known. This is now the great message of the gospel to guilty man. It proclaims this accomplished work, and it begs man to accept and enjoy the blessings which are offered in it freely and without price. Like Boaz, Jesus bought back the whole inheritance for man. All that was lost in the first Adam is restored by the second. The Redeemer Himself now owns the inheritance which He has purchased. That which was Elimelechs is now the property of Boaz. That which was mans, and to be in the reward of mans obedience, is now Christs, and only to be had in the freeness and fulness of His gift. It is His own inheritance, and He bestows it upon His people according to His will; according to the measure of the gift of Christ. We have everything in Him. Without Him we have nothing. He has bought back man also for Himself. His chosen flock are His purchased possession, and are to be to the praise of His glory for ever. But the people of Bethlehem were not merely the witnesses of this covenant of Boaz; they were partakers of his joy. They united in their supplications for abundant blessings upon the noble and exalted plan which Boaz had proclaimed. So angels, the witnesses of the covenant of our Redeemer, were more than silent witnesses also. When the foundation of this wonderful work was laid in the Divine covenant these morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. When the Saviour appeared as babe in Bethlehem they filled the heavens with their songs of praise and prayer: Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, goodwill to men. When He was travelling in the greatness of His strength, beneath His load of sorrow on the earth, they ministered unto Him and strengthened Him for His work. (S. H. Tyng, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v11 Rth_4:11. We are witnesses. The business settled without lawyers…
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES.—
Rth_4:11. We are witnesses. The business settled without lawyers or legal casuistry (A. Clarke). The Lord make. The birth of children looked upon as a direct interference of Providence—a contribution to the fulfilment of the great promise whereon their hearts were set (E. Price). Like Rachel and like Leah. The two ancestresses of all true Israelites. Like Ruth they had left home for their husbands. The younger probably mentioned first not only as the favourite wife, but as connected with Bethlehem (Gen_35:19; Jer_31:15). Do thou worthily [manfully]. Lit. make thou strength or power. In Ephratah. Some distinguished Ephratah as the country, Bethlehem as the town (Bernard, Price). And be famous in Bethlehem. Lit. call a name. Get a name (Lange). Meant “act the noble part” (Morison). The real force of the whole phrase is “Be thou influential in the growth of thy wealth, and be well spoken of as far as thy influence may be made to extend” (E. Price). These words are prophetic, for thence came the birth of Him who has made Bethlehem famous in all the world (Theodoret).
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Rth_4:12. Like the house of Pharez [Gen_38:29; 1Ch_2:4; Mat_1:3.] The second son of Judah (Num_26:20) and one of the ancestors of Boaz. His family was more illustrious and numerous than that of his brother Zarah. Perez also was a son of Tamar, who, although a very different character than Ruth, resembled her in history in that she suffered injustice in having the rights of marriage withheld from her [see Lange in loco.]
Rth_4:13. The Lord gave her. By a special blessing Boaz advanced in years (Wordsworth). A son. The kinsman’s superstitious fears [see on Rth_4:6] now shown to be groundless.
Rth_4:14. Blessed be the Lord. Another rythmical sentence [cf. Rth_1:16, p. 66; also cp. Luk_1:46-55; Luk_1:68-79, etc.] Not left thee this day without a kinsman [redeemer.] Thy grandson (Wordsworth). So Lange and Morison. Not so, Boaz (Speaker’s Com.). Obed would inherit the estate of Elimelech, and so he is the real goel of Naomi. The grammatical construction also points to Obed, “the restorer, nourisher, &c.,” as well as the phrase “this day.” That his name may be. And may his name be (Lange).
Rth_4:15. And he shall be [may he be] a restorer … nourisher. Trueliterally in her case, true spiritually to all the world by Him who was born at Bethlehem of this seed according to the flesh (Theodoret). Better to thee than seven sons. Cf. 1Sa_1:8; 1Sa_2:5, for similar expressions. The women acknowledge now how far short the legal friendship of Israel towards Naomi has fallen in comparison with the self-sacrifice of the daughter of Moab (Lange). The prospect now presented of her becoming the tribe mother of a numerous and flourishing family (Keit).
Rth_4:17. Her neighbours gave it a name. Besides this he doubtless received a name from his parents (Lange). This of the women continued and inserted in the family genealogy, because seen to be appropriate (ibid). Obed, servant—i.e., of the Lord (Wordsworth, Gesen. Targ.) Because he served to gladden Naomi’s old age (Steele and Terry). Serving or worshipping (Eiliot). Must be understood in the sense of serving as a son [see Lange in loco] Obed in the sense of “one that serves,” harmonises well with the words in Rth_4:15 (Bertheau.)
Rth_4:18. Now these are the generations. The table presents ten names. A round number, suggesting, it may be, that unimportant ones have been omitted. The scribes were accustomed to do this both to ease their own labour of transcription, and to give additional emphasis to the names appearing in the received list (E. Price) [see Introduction, p. 4,
5.]. BOAZ. Not Mahlon, as might have been expected from the Levirate law. David. Why end with this name if the book were written, as Bertheau, Davidson, and others seem to think, long after the time of Solomon? Points possibly to a reason, if he were reigning as king.
Rth_4:11-13
Theme.—PRAYERS FOR POSTERITY AND PROSPERITY
Patience and abnegation of self, and devotion to others,
This was the lesson a life of trial and sorrow had taught her.
So was her love diffused, but, like to some odorous spices,
Suffered no waste nor loss, though filling the air with aroma.—Longfellow.
The Lord make the woman, etc. And let thy home, etc. So Boaz took Ruth, etc.
Good wishes are to be regarded as prayers before God, but those of a people (“all the people”) as the effectual fervent prayer which availeth much (E. Price). Good to keep the heart in readiness, so as to resolve our common emotions of sympathy into benedictions as here. How long did this blessing rest over the house of Boaz?—until Christ came? The best seal to a compact like this found in prayers like these which stretch out towards generations yet unborn.
I. We have the general truth taught here. That the love of posterity may be used of God and sanctified. How the Hebrew idea of “children, a blessing from the Lord” expresses itself in these devout prayers. Note. All natural emotions and tendencies may be worked by the Divine wisdom into the great scheme of Providence and grace (E. Price). The Incarnation, the direct issue and product of preceding conditions. God glorifying what is good in the race, the noble spirit of Boaz, the virtue of Ruth, the prayers of these devout Israelites, all leading upwards, onwards, toward the Christ that is to be.
(1) How wonderful!
(2) How suggestive! Who knows what His purposes may be through our children, if we are faithfully consecrating them to Him? Men make much of a pious ancestry. What if we look in the other direction, and have faith, and use the privilege of prayer aright?
II. The particular truth is taught here: That a Moabitess is thus introduced among the progenitors of our Lord Himself. Cf. Mat_1:5. Boaz begat Obed of Ruth. A memorable fact. A Gentile woman thus rendered a constituent portion of the Redeemer’s genealogy (E. Price). Why?
(1) To indicate the heathen were not quite forgotten under the old dispensation severe and exclusive as it was (Ibid).
(2) To emphasise the fact that God has always appeared to work by what at some times might be regarded as contraries.
(3) To remove the suspicion from the sceptic that the Advent depended upon the mere natural course of events (Ibid).
(4) To keep the devout student lovingly and reverently dependent upon the unerring though mysterious will of the Most High (Ibid).
Theme—CHILDREN THE GIFT OF HEAVEN
E. Price on The seed which the Lord shall give thee.
The Jewish idea may be modified by us, that the number of children measures a man’s felicity. Yet the truth, underlying it, continues with us: viz., that pious descendants are always the greatest blessings which the great Father can bestow upon us.
Do they not bind us to heaven by sanctified affections?
Do they not sweeten home sympathies?
Do they not exemplify the advantages of that saintly education, they are supposed to be susceptible of?
Do they not become the best support of the declining years of a happy parent?
Do they not assure prosperity to a spiritual church? And do they not thus hand down the tradition of the faith unimpaired?
In this sense, then, “blessed is the man who has his quiver full of them.”
“The man has acted both unselfishly and honourably in upholding the family custom of Israel. The public therefore, praise him and wish him good. Such applause is both desirable and profitable. The actions of a good man are fit subjects for praise. It stimulates us to higher deeds when we recognise nobleness in others. It encourages them in acts of generosity and honour. If any around us do wise, thoughtful, open-hearted, unselfish deeds, let us not fear to praise them.”—Braden.
“What fame would be acquired in Israel by the kindness of Boaz to Ruth and Naomi? Was it to be hoped that his goodness and bounties to them would be known and praised among all the tribes? It is natural for men to think that the actions which they admire, should be known and admired by all. The hopes of these good women were, perhaps, more sanguine than the case could justify; and yet they were more than realised. The name of Boaz became famous through all Israel, and will continue famous among the Gentiles also, while the world lasts, because it is mentioned with honour in the Book of God. Both bad and good actions are often published to a greater extent, and continue longer to be known, than the doers or any of their friends expected.”—Lawson.
“The godly are members one of another, therefore must needs have a fellow-feeling … but let this be with them in lawful things, for charity rejoiceth not in iniquity. What joy can it be to a godly man to see his friend rich and in glory by usury, bribery, oppression, deceit and fraud?”—Bernard.
“It is one of the grand aims of divine revelation to produce this state of mind [the habitual recognition of God]; and in the case of this people it evidently had produced it. Religion was an all-pervading life.… It penetrated everywhere, like the sunlight. God was beheld as the Cause of causes; His Hand was visible in every occurrence; He was a felt Presence.”—Dr. A. Thompson.
Rth_4:11
Theme—MANLINESS, ITS FIT AND PROPER SPHERE
“The world waits
For help. Beloved, let us love so well,
Our work shall still be better for our love,
And still our love be sweeter for our work.”—Mrs. Browning.
Do thou worthily [manfully] in Ephratah and be famous [get a name] in Bethlehem.
The world wants men, always has done so; did so even thus early in its history—men who play the worthy, manful part. Such will always
(1) be well spoken of,
(2) desired and longed for,
(3) in the highest sense “make the best of both worlds.” Note.
(1) Honour, the respect and esteem of others, not to be despised as cynics would teach, rather to be sought for in legitimate ways as in the sight of God. [cf. Psalms 1, 112, Job 29, Pro_4:8-9, etc.]
(2) To be truly a man and play the manly part includes all virtues, or should do so. (a) So on the gentler side. To be human is to be humane, and should be thus understood always. Note. Impossible to be noble in character without tenderness, gentleness, compassionateness, etc. (b) So on the sterner side. The root idea of the word virtue is strength. The strong man, self-contained, self-balanced, having the mastery over his passion, is the virtuous man. This seemingly the idea of the text, “Act the part of a true man, a strong man.” A right worthy exhortation for such an occasion.
I. The sphere of this manly part. At home—in Ephratah, Bethlehem. Do good among thy own people [Eze_18:18], be public-spirited, though to private disadvantage (Trapp). So in Christ’s charge to His disciples, these home claims and duties are not forgotten. “Beginning at Jerusalem,” He said. Note. Easy to ignore this aspect of duty—like Jonah, to flee to Tarshish from the Nineveh God has pointed out, but this is the Divine idea, “Begin at home.” “Shine there,” consecrate that. “Return to thine own house and shew how great things God hath done unto thee” (Luk_8:39). Note. A difficult duty this always, as with Eli, Noah, Lot, Judah [cf. Genesis 38; Son_1:6].
II. The results of this manly part. Be famous, etc. The two things linked together, the doing worthily and the fame that follows it. Note. All other ways of making a reputation valueless. Great reputations are to be obtained by great merits, by saying well and doing well, by wise speech and wise actions, by being useful and serviceable in our own day and generation. Note (a) A great name often not so much to be coveted, “but a good name is better than precious ointment” (Lawson). (b) The common and vulgar ideas of fame, glory, martial renown, etc., not encouraged here. It is fame won at home of which the text speaks.
“Home is the most appropriate sphere for Christian usefulness. It is the place where true piety is ever tested, and false piety soonest put to the blush. It has the first claims upon the man of God, whatever his public position may be. And yet how often is this forgotten or ignored. Eli, priest of the Living God, can enter into the Holiest place and stand before the Shekinah glory in the manifested presence of Deity itself, and yet he cannot order his household aright, or protect the sanctuary of the Most High from the pollution of his children. But it is not so with the truly devout and consecrated spirit. As master, or as servant, in the workshop and in the counting house, it is there his Christ-like character shines to best advantage; it is there, by the quiet influence which belongs to every life, the noblest testimony is borne for God. The household is hallowed, the home life consecrated, the private walks sanctified, the neighbourhood blessed by the sweet and gentle aroma of a holy and heavenly life.”—B.
“A name truly good is the aroma from a virtuous character. It is a spontaneous emanation from genuine excellence. It is a reputation for whatsoever things are honest and lovely, and of good report. It is such a name as is not only remembered on earth but written in heaven. Just as a box of spikenard is not only valuable to its possessor, but pre-eminently precious in its diffusion; so, when a name is really good, it is of unspeakable service to all who are capable of feeling its aspiration.”—Hamilton.
“But there are deeds which should not pass away,
And names that must not wither, though the earth
Forgets her empire with a just decay.
The enslavers and the enslaved, their death and birth.
The high, the mountain majesty of worth
Should be, and shall, survivors of its woe,
And from its immortality look forth
In the sun’s face, like yonder Alpine snow,
Imperishably pure beyond all things below.”
—Byron.
Rth_4:14-15
Theme.—CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD WISHES
The soul of music slumbers in the shell,
Till waked and kindled by the master’s spell;
And feeling hearts, touch them but rightly, pour
A thousand melodies unheard before.—Rogers.
Blessed be the Lord which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman.
The birth of a son and heir an important event always; more especially in an eastern household, and with one of the age and position of Boaz. A memorable day this, too, in the history of Israel. Another link added in the chain Christ-ward. The joy here an earnest of the joy hereafter, the barriers of national pride broken down in part; prophetic of that glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, goodwill towards men (Luk_2:14). Note. First prayer here (Rth_4:11) now praise. Blessed, etc.
In these congratulations there is
I. A glance at the new circumstances surrounding Naomi. As much our duty to rejoice with those who rejoice as to weep with those who weep. (a) We should enter into their plans (b), sympathise in their successes (c), rejoice especially at their unexpected prosperity, as here. Note
(1) We cannot help doing this if we encourage that which is good in ourselves. God made men to sympathise with each other, only that sin has made them selfish and envious.
(2) Man’s duty is to respond to these Divinely implanted instincts. Our good wishes are not worth much unless they find utterance or expression in some way. Here the joy not only felt but avowed. “The women are, as is usual in such times, full of expressive sympathy. That is quite a touch of nature.”—Braden.)
There is
II. A glance heavenward. The Lord, etc. The joy of the godly has this holy and religious expression naturally and always. Especially should we look upward in these moments of family rejoicing. Note. Whatever joy men may give us, praise is due to God, who thus makes them the instruments of his benefits.
Right again that this devout feeling should find expression. Is it that our homes are to be made glad with his gifts, and our hearts with the sunshine of his presence, and no sign be seen of the gladness which is there? A holy and profitable way of gossiping this; God praised and called upon (Trapp). Note. The blessings of the Old Testament generally of a material character (Kitto). Yet they are not the less often the source of spiritual joy (cf. Isaiah 23).
III. A glance toward the future. He shall be unto thee, etc. (Rth_4:15). Why to Naomi especially? Are we not to see in this her reward for all the past? Note. (a) Those are to be comforted most by us who have been most humbled. They need it most, and we should be ready to speak the word of consolation. A poor Christian who has no word of congratulation for a time like this! (b) A joyous prospect may open suddenly even for the sorrowing and the aged. Call me not Naomi, she had said (Rth_1:20). But God can send light at eventide. [See next outline].
E. Price on this:
Theme—A GOOD CHILD
Women do not always babble vain things. How quick are they to apprehend the modifications of our domestic life.
Study, then, the portrait of a good son, which they offer here.
God must have given him.
God adapts him to special needs.
God makes him felt as a comforter (Heb., a Redeemer).
God in him restores exhausted life.
God secures the true honour of the family.
And God thus “nourishes” old age, till it be resolved into heaven. Yes! God is in all!
Let parents pray, labour, and educate for this high end.
Let children see to it that their welcomed presence around the hearth may secure it.
And let “our gossips” even change their idle talk into kind congratulations and earnest prayers.
“It would seem as if there was already a kind of joyous foretaste of the birth and infancy which, in after times, was to be for ever associated with the name of Bethlehem. It was the first appearance on the scene of what may by anticipation be called, even then, the Holy Family, for that child was Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David. Nor is it a mere genealogical connexion between the two generations. The very licence and independence of the age may be said to have been the means of introducing into the ancestry of David and of the Messiah an element which else would have been, humanly speaking, impossible. ‘An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the congregation’ (Deu_23:3; Ezr_9:1; Neh_13:1). This was the letter of the law, and, in the greater strietness that prevailed after the return from the captivity, it was rigidly enforced. But in the isolation of Judah from the rest of Israel, in the doing of every man what was right in his own eyes, the more comprehensive spirit of the whole religion overstepped the letter of a particular enactment.”—Stanley.
Rth_4:15-16
Theme—YOUTH AND AGE
“O thou bright thing fresh from the hand of God.
Nearer I seem to God when looking on thee;
’Tis ages since He made His youngest star;
His hand was on thee as ’twere yesterday.”—Alexander Smith.
He shall be to thee a restorer of thy life, etc. And Naomi took the child, etc.
How often the children are messengers of God, bringing new life into the household as here. There is a fountain of love enclosed in the heart of the aged, and it only needs the tiny infant fingers of some dear one’s child to unloose it. Note. The birth of a new spirit may come in the home with the new life. New consecration to God, new sympathy with all around. “Children are a heritage from the Lord.” (a) What sacredness should surround them, (b) what prayers ascend for them, (c) what blessedness be found in them! Note. If a man do not find his joy in the home, he will find his burden there.
Dwell on,
I. What the children expect from us. (a) Care, (b) attention, (c) protection, (d) love, (e) nurture and training. In the text Naomi seen as responding to these demands. Her name still descriptive of her character [cf. on Rth_1:2, p. 14]. Must be doing something. Felt that she had a duty which was no burden but a pleasure. “Took the child,” etc. Note. (a) Whoever was once capable of true love preserves its power for ever after (Lange). And life all the way through finds a sphere for it. Even in old age, when the maternal instinct may have been thought to have almost died out, Naomi becomes a foster-mother. So generally. Grandchildren not loved less, but sometimes more than the children themselves. Note. (b) Love may grow more intense, even as the shadows of death begin to fall around. What a tribute to and foreshadowing of its immortality.
II. What we expect of the children.
(1) They are to be the restorers of life and joy. “He shall be,” etc. Life intended to have this twofold, and reciprocal action and aspect. We do not give more than we get, if the true conception of God’s word and of our nature be carried out. Love brings its own reward.
(2) They are to be the supports of old age. “And a nourisher,” etc. The conditions will be reversed by-and-bye. Weakness coming on with us as strength grows with them. Then this new law is to come into operation. They are to succour and cherish in return for the past, as the trembling infirmities of second childhood claim us as their own. Beautiful, divine idea, which sin and selfishness may mar, but cannot altogether destroy! The old and the feeble never forgotten, but reaping then what they have sowed in the tears and joys, the sorrows and cares, and fond affections lavished upon childhood and infancy.
IMPROVEMENT.—So the Church is to foster young converts. In return they will become sooner or later her strength and support. Note. Spiritual children bring a greater blessing to her than “seven sons” according to the flesh (Lange).
Children should nourish their old parents and supply their wants, ἀντι πελαργων. Storks and mice feed their dams when old; boughs incline and bend down towards the root; and in summer, receiving from the root leaves, flowers, and fruit, they let them fall again in winter to the fattening and nourishing of the root. Unkind and unnatural children are like kites, which, when grown strong expel their dams, and with their bills and wings beat them out of the nest.”—Trapp.
“A certain Duke of Ormond who lost a virtuous son, the Lord Ossory, said that he would rather be the father of the dead Ossory, than of any living nobleman in England.”—Lawson.
“It is one of the many fine points of the story, that its concluding sentences are almost wholly devoted, not to the young and happy wife and mother, but to Naomi, who had suffered so many calamities, and who, by the piety and resignation with which she bore them, had drawn Ruth from the frivolities of Moab. It is Naomi not Ruth, whom, “the women, her neighbours,” congratulate on the birth of Ruth’s son. In him they see Naomi’s goel Ruth already had hers in Boaz; and they pray that, as he grows up, he may restore her to her former happiness, and be the stay and gladness of her old age. But though they speak to Naomi, and pray for her, they do not utterly forget the singular virtue of Ruth. In the words, “Thy daughter-in-law, who loveth thee, who is better to thee than seven sons,” they pronounce on her an eulogy such as few “strange” women could have heard from Hebrew lips. It is because the boy is Ruth’s son, that he is Naomi’s goel; for how can he fail to love and cherish the woman whom his mother has loved with a love even passing the love of women.”—Cox.
“Naomi is everywhere an image of the Church of Christ, which wins, confesses, and fosters through love. Men whose natural hearts are hostile to her, become her obedient children. When there is apostacy and misery in the Church it is for priests and preachers to repent, as Naomi did, and not to excuse themselves.… And how greatly she sins, when she does not rightly foster, those who do come; exhibiting neither love nor wisdom, nor faith in her treatment of them—that too will one day be made manifest. Impatience is not in love; and a little money does not make amends for the coldness of consummate self-righteousness.”—Lange.
“Of Boaz himself no warrior deeds are known, and yet the greatest of Israel’s heroes, the conqueror of Goliath [There is a tradition that Goliath descended from Orpah, as David from Ruth] sprang from him. He conquered himself, and on that account became the ancestor of Him who triumphed over sin and death. Similarly, Ruth had nothing but a heart full of love, and yet to her, once a daughter of Moab, there was given what neither Deborah nor Jael obtained, to become the Mother of Him by whom all the nations are redeemed.”—Ibid.
Rth_4:19-22
Theme—LINKS IN THE CHAIN CHRISTWARD
“How vain are all hereditary honours,
Those poor possessions from another’s deeds,
Unless our own just virtues form our title,
And give a sanction to our fond assumption.”—Shirley.
And they called his name Obed, etc. Now these are the generations, etc.
Not a dry list of names merely useless and cumbersome as the stones of the desert. These men lived, thought, played their part in life as we do now. Think of it. Then again the names themselves, not given haphazard, but from reasons, and with a motive. Obed, for instance, means a servant, and doubtless he was called so because of the part he was to play towards Naomi and towards God.
Suggests
I. The interest men take generally in genealogy.
(1) Natural. Few men insensible or careless with regard to their ancestry, especially if it has been one which has played a noble and dignified part.
(2) Allowed and encouraged by Scripture. The lineage of Israel for many reasons of especial and world-wide importance.
(3) May be useful as a stimulus and inspiration.
II. The interest men take in this particular record.
(1) Because of the men themselves. They were men of fame. Nahshon a prince in Israel; David the king, etc.
(2) Because they are links in the genealogy of Christ. It is interesting to notice the variety of rank and condition in the ancestry of the Saviour. Rahab the harlot. Ruth the gleaner. Boaz, possibly the judge. David the king. “He who was bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh,” touches our race at every point, and claims kindred with it all. (A.Thomson). Note. How this illustrates the spiritual relationship to which Christ invites us.
(3) Because they are helps in the study, and attestation of prophecy and of character. How much history is condensed in such a list! Expand it, and what lessons are to be enforced! Here, for instance, Obed is called the son of Boaz after all, and not the son of Mahlon as might have been expected. Note. Laws and customs are often borne down by the force of circumstances and of public opinion. Is not this the reward of Boaz—the reward of faith [cf. on Rth_4:6]. His name stands here contrary to the usual custom, stands as it ought to do among the ancestors of Christ himself. [See also Introduction pp. 4, 5; and on Rth_1:2, pp. 14, 15.]
E. Price on this:
Theme—HERALDRY
What a vanity these genealogies really are, although called a science, forsooth! “The pride of life” is never more exemplified than when a bad man is seen poring over the long catalogue of, it may be, worthless predecessors. A relief, then, to study one, drawn out by God Himself, and suggesting the fondest hopes of men!
From Pharez to David—what does the genealogical “tree” really suggest to us?
Why!
1. Our descent is only valuable as it stands related to God’s purpose in Christ Jesus. What would be the real worth of David’s name, if taken away from that of his great successor?
2. That Providence marvellously works up our little lives into the grand whole of His “Counsel.” Some of these names may in themselves be worthless, yet can they not break away from God’s overruling purpose!
And
3. Regarding the descent of David and of Christ the Lord as historical facts, the scheme of the Jewish “Herald” continually reminds us of our relation to, and gratitude for, the great and glorious Redeemer of men—Himself the son of Adam!
Names go for something, when multiplied into that of Him, who is the Alpha and the Omega of all human events!
“Obed a servant. It may be a remembrancer of duty. Just as the motto of the Prince of Wales is ‘Ich Dien,’ I serve. Any way it is beautiful never to despise service. ‘A Christian is to be meet for the Master’s use.’ How many there are who are of no use in the world! Some dislike all service, and prefer the dainty hand that is never soiled, and the life that is never separated from selfishness.”—Statham.
“Orpah, the child of sense, dismayed by the difficulties presented goes back again; Ruth, the child of the Spirit, ‘persuaded’ of better things, presses through all obstacles onward to join the Israel of God, and to find rest at last where rest at first had seemed impossible. So the ‘anonymous kinsman,’ fearing lest his name should be blotted out from Israel, his inheritance marred, his children called after another, misses the one opportunity of life and goes down to a nameless oblivion. Boaz, the man of nobler spirit, and larger faith, and keener insight is deterred by no fear, held back by no difficulty; and, contrary to custom, we find his name here as the father of Obed, in the genealogy of David and of Christ. Is it hard to read the moral of such a story? the moral which works itself out everywhere in the pages of Inspiration, and repeats itself today in the history of a thousand lives; that sense deceives and sight fails, and cunning defeats itself; that the law is fallible and the letter kills, while faith endures and love conquers: and that only in obeying those instincts which are of God, and which spring up in hearts open to His influence, is the safety and solution of human life. This is the victory of faith, which overcomes the world and finds its name written at last in the Lamb’s Book of Life for evermore.”—B.
“O, Moab! out of thee shall come forth the unspotted Lamb which bears the sins of the world, and rules over the whole earth! From the rock of the wilderness, i.e., from Ruth, widowed by the death of her husband, Boaz derived Obed … and from David came Christ.”—Jerome.
“Much of Scripture, and still more of that which is written about Scripture, is but like the valley of dry bones to eyes of sense and sin. But if the Spirit, without whom there is no true understanding breathe upon it, whatever men say, it may live again, and that to the praise and glory of God.”—B.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v9 The Happy Marriage of Boaz and Ruth
The Happy Marriage of Boaz and Ruth
v. 9. And Boaz said unto the elders and unto all the people, those present at the transaction. Ye 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. He made a formal declaration that he would fulfill the condition, that he acquired the property in question, that he was willing to marry the Moabitess.
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v. 10. Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, acquired by taking over the obligation connected with the land, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not out off from among his brethren and from the gate of his place, like a withered branch which is cut off a tree; ye are witnesses this day.
v. 11. And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, responding to this frank appeal and declaration, said, We are witnesses, their testimony giving legal standing to the transaction. The Lord make the woman that is come into thine house, literally, that is about to come, like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel, as the mothers of the twelve tribes; and do thou worthily in Ephratah, in raising up sons who would be heroes of strength, and be famous in Bethlehem, through the honor brought upon him by the same excellent sons;
v. 12. and let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar, the special ancestress of their own tribe, bare unto Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman. It speaks well of the love and respect in which Ruth was held that the people were so unanimous in bestowing this blessing, with its prayer for such great and wonderful earthly advantages.
v. 13. So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife, the marriage took place without delay; and when he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception, for children are Jehovah’s gift, Psa 127:3, and she bare a son.
v. 14. And the women said unto Naomi, for she no longer was lonely and wanting in women interested in her as at first, when she returned from the land of Moab, poor and bereaved. Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, to redeem her from the disgrace of childlessness, of having her family cut off in Israel, that his name may be famous in Israel, being on the lips of many people with words of praise.
v. 15. And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, to refresh and cheer up her soul, and a nourisher of thine old age, by taking care of her in her declining years; for thy daughter-in-law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him, surely a very high praise for Ruth, showing the regard in which she was held by all the women of the city and neighborhood.
v. 16. And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, like an actual grandmother, and became nurse unto it, a foster-mother instructing the boy in Israelitish life and customs, an instructress in the Law of God.
v. 17. And the women, her neighbors, gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed (servant), with reference to the fact that the boy would take care of her, as they had pictured it in their effusive congratulations; he is the father of Jesse, the father of David, and thus one of the ancestors of Christ, Mat 1:5-6.
v. 18. Now, these are the generations of Pharez, the list being appended to the book for quick reference; Pharez begat Hezron, 1Ch 2:4,
v. 19. and Hezron begat Barn, and Barn begat Amminadab,
v. 20. and Amminadab begat Nahshon, Num 1:7, and Nahshon begat Salmon (or, Salmah),
v. 21. and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,
v. 22. and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David. Note: To this day the Lord measures out joy as well as sorrow to His children. He may send affliction and tribulation for many years, but He will often grant a peaceful old age. Our trust in Him must never waver, for His compassion fails not, and His merciful promises will not fall to the ground.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 11 to the elders and to all the people
to the elders and to all the people
This refers to all the people who were present at the meeting place, not to everyone in the town.
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all that was Elimelek's and all that was Kilion's and Mahlon's
This refers to all the land and possessions of Naomi's dead husband and sons.
from the hand of Naomi
The hand of Naomi represents Naomi. She was responsible for the money exchange. AT: "from Naomi" (See: Synecdoche)
in order that I might raise up the name of the dead man on his inheritance
The first son that Ruth bore would be legally considered Mahlon's son and would inherit the land that Boaz bought from Naomi. AT: "so that I might give her a son who will inherit the dead man's property"
so that his name will not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his place
Being forgotten is spoken of as if one's name were being cut off from a list of people who had lived earlier. AT: "so that he will not be forgotten by his brothers' descendants and the people of this town" (See: Metaphor)
the gate of his place
The gate of the town is where important legal decisions were made, such as decisions about who owns a piece of land.
translationWords
Boaz
elder
testimony
Ruth
Moab
name
inherit
brother
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv10–11 4:10 And with the land (literally And besides): Boaz…
4:10 And with the land (literally And besides): Boaz intended to raise an heir for Mahlon, the first son, who would carry on the family name of her dead husband and inherit his land.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.