Ruth 4
TSK
Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.
And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.
And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's:
And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it.
Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.

What day. Or rather, according to the emendations proposed Houbigant and Dr. Kennicott, and which have been confirmed by a great many MSS. since collated, and agreeably to the ancient versions, `In the day thou purchasest the land from the hand of Naomi, thou wilt also acquire Ruth, the Moabitess, the wife of the dead.' etc. This is Boaz's statement of the case to his kinsman, before the people and elders.

to raise up

Ruth 3:12,13 And now it is true that I am your near kinsman: however, there is …

Genesis 38:8 And Judah said to Onan, Go in to your brother's wife, and marry her, …

Deuteronomy 25:5,6 If brothers dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, …

Matthew 22:24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his …

Luke 20:28 Saying, Master, Moses wrote to us, If any man's brother die, having …

And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it.

I cannot The Targum seems to give the proper sense of this passage: `I cannot redeem it, because I have a wife already; and it is not fit for me to bring another into my house, lest brawling and contention arise in it; and lest I hurt my own inheritance. Do thou redeem it, for thou has no wife; which hinders me from redeeming it.'

Now this was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour: and this was a testimony in Israel.

a man plucked off. This custom does not refer to the law about refusing to marry a brother's widow, but was usual in the transfer of inheritances: for this relative was not a brother, but simply a kinsman; and the shoe was not pulled off by Ruth, but by the kinsman himself. The Targumist, instead of {his shoe}, renders `his right hand glove,' it probably being the custom, in his time, to give that instead of a shoe. Jarchi says, `When we purchase any thing new, it is customary to give, instead of a shoe, a handkerchief or veil.'

Deuteronomy 25:7-10 And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then let his …

Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe.
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.
Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.
And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:
And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman.
So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son.
And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel.
And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him.
And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.
And the women her neighbours 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.
Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,
And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab,
And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon,
And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,
And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

Jesse

1 Samuel 16:1 And the LORD said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing …

Isaiah 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a …

David

1 Chronicles 2:15 Ozem the sixth, David the seventh:

Matthew 1:6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon …

Luke 3:31 Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was …

CONCLUDING REMARKS ON THE BOOK OF RUTH

This book is evidently a supplement to the book of Judges, and an introduction to that of Samuel, between which it is placed with great propriety. In the ancient Jewish canon, it formed a part of the book of Judges; but the modern Jews make it one of the five Megiloth, which they place towards the end of the Old Testament. This book has been attributed to various authors; but the best founded and generally received opinion, and in which the Jews coincide, is that which ascribes it to the prophet Samuel; before whose time it could not have been written, as is evident from the genealogy recorded in ch.

Ruth 4:17-22 And the women her neighbors gave it a name, saying, There is a son …

Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge by R. A. Torrey [ca. 1880]
Expanded version courtesy INT Bible ©2013, Used by permission

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