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Ruth 4

KJV · Chapter 4/4

1Then 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.

2And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.

3And 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:

4And 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.

5Then 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.

6And 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.

7Now 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.

8Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe.

9And 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.

10Moreover 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.

11And 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 Beth–lehem:

12And 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.

13So 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.

14And 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.

15And 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.

16And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.

17And 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.

18Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,

19And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab,

20And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon,

21And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,

22And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Boaz formally settles the matter of redemption before the elders at the city gate, marrying Ruth after the closer relative declines the right. Ruth and Boaz have a son, Obed, grandfather of David.

Explanation

The scene at the city gate, where legal business and disputes were settled publicly before witnesses, shows Israel's communal legal system functioning with transparency — ten elders formally witness the transaction. The custom of removing a sandal to seal an agreement (v.7-8) was a symbolic gesture of transferring rights, whose exact origin even the Israelites of the time the book was written already regarded as an ancient custom. The end of the book reveals Ruth's genealogy as great-grandmother of King David, transforming this personal story of loyalty and providence into an essential part of Israel's royal line — and, according to the New Testament, also the line of Jesus Christ.

Fun facts

  • The book's closing genealogy (Perez-Salmon-Boaz-Obed-Jesse-David) is repeated almost identically in Matthew 1:3-6, confirming Ruth, the Moabite, as one of the four women explicitly mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus.
  • The elders' blessing comparing Ruth to Rachel and Leah, 'which two did build the house of Israel' (v.11), is remarkable because it publicly recognizes a foreign woman as worthy of comparison with the nation's founding matriarchs.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Ruth 4:1Boaz sits down at the city gate, the place where legal business and judgments took place in public, and gathers ten elders as formal witnesses before dealing with the right of redemption in front of the closer relative.
  2. Ruth 4:2Boaz gathers ten elders of the city to serve as official witnesses to the negotiation about to take place.
  3. Ruth 4:3Boaz explains to the closer relative that Naomi is selling a piece of land that belonged to Elimelech.
  4. Ruth 4:4Boaz offers him the first option to redeem that land, since he is the closer relative; only if he refuses would Boaz take on that role. The relative agrees at first.
  5. Ruth 4:5Boaz clarifies an important condition: along with the land, whoever redeems it must also marry Ruth, to keep her dead husband’s line alive.
  6. Ruth 4:6The closer relative gives up his right to redeem the land when he learns that the deal also includes marrying Ruth and raising up an heir in the name of her dead husband, something that would divide his own inheritance among more children, and so he backs out.
  7. Ruth 4:7Taking off one’s sandal and handing it to the other party was the custom used in Israel to publicly seal a transfer of the right of redemption. It worked as a visible signature before witnesses, at a time when few formal documents existed.
  8. Ruth 4:8Learning of this condition, the relative withdraws and formalizes his withdrawal by taking off his own sandal, according to the custom.
  9. Ruth 4:9Boaz declares publicly, before the elders and the people, that he is taking on everything that belonged to Elimelech and his sons.
  10. Ruth 4:10In marrying Ruth, Boaz explains that the goal is to keep the dead man’s name alive over his inheritance. The heir who is born will be legally counted as a continuation of the line of Mahlon, Ruth’s dead husband, not as Boaz’s son for purposes of inheritance.
  11. Ruth 4:11The people and the elders confirm their role as witnesses and wish blessings on Ruth, comparing her to the matriarchs Rachel and Leah, founders of the people of Israel.
  12. Ruth 4:12They also wish that Boaz’s offspring would be as numerous as that of Pharez, son of Judah and Tamar — another story of family continuity through unusual circumstances.
  13. Ruth 4:13Boaz marries Ruth, and the Lord enables her to conceive and give birth to a son.
  14. Ruth 4:14The women of the town celebrate with Naomi, thanking God for not leaving her without a redeemer, and wish fame for this newborn child.
  15. Ruth 4:15They point out that this grandson will renew Naomi’s life and care for her in old age, praising Ruth as a daughter-in-law more valuable than seven sons — an enormous compliment by the standards of the time.
  16. Ruth 4:16Naomi takes the child into her lap and begins caring for him as if she were his own nurse.
  17. Ruth 4:17The son of Ruth and Boaz is named Obed and becomes the grandfather of David. The book’s closing genealogy deliberately links a Moabite great-grandmother to the line of Israel’s greatest king, a detail the Gospels repeat centuries later in the genealogy of Jesus.
  18. Ruth 4:18A genealogy begins here linking Ruth’s story to the royal line, starting from Pharez, son of Judah.
  19. Ruth 4:19This is the line connecting Judah to David: Hezron and Ram are just two links along the way, in a list of ten generations that ends with King David himself.
  20. Ruth 4:20Nahshon, in this same line, is the very man who led the tribe of Judah in the wilderness, in the time of Moses — a direct ancestor of David, five generations before him.
  21. Ruth 4:21Salmon fathers Boaz, and Boaz fathers Obed — closing the circle of the very story told in the book.
  22. Ruth 4:22The line ends with Obed fathering Jesse, and Jesse fathering David — revealing that Ruth, the Moabite foreigner, is the great-grandmother of Israel’s greatest king.

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