1.
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.
the kinsman. Hebrew. Goel = the next of kin, who has the right of redemption. See notes on Exodus 6:6 , and Exodus 13:13 .
2.
And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.
3.
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:
country = fields.
a parcel of land = the parcel of the field.
4.
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.
before the inhabitants = in the presence of such as are seated here.
redeem. Hebrew. ga'al, to redeem by purchase. See Exodus 6:6 , and Compare Rth 13:13 .
thou. Hebrew text has "he". But a special various reading called Sevir ( App-34 ), and some codices, with Aramaean, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "thou", which the Authorized Version seems to have followed.
5.
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.
6.
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.
7.
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. Hebrew. 'ish . App-14 . A custom that grew up outside the Law.
8.
Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe.
drew = plucked.
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.
10.
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.
from the gate = from the people of his city, "gate" being put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Part) for the people wont to assemble there. App-6 .
11.
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:
be famous = proclaim a name.
12.
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.
Pharez. Compare Genesis 38:29 . Genesis 38:1 Cbron. Ruth 2:4 .Matthew 1:3 .
13.
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.
bare a son. In the second jubilee year (1325-1324).
14.
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.
15.
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.
16.
And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.
17.
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.
18.
Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,
these are the generations. The thirteenth occurrence, out of fourteen given in the Bible. The last in O.T. See note on p. 1.
Pharez . The son of Judah. See App-29 . Gen 38:39 . 1 Chronicles 2:4 .Matthew 1:3 .Luke 3:33 . See the diagram for Ruth 4:21 .
19.
And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab,
Hezron. Compare Genesis 46:12 ,
Ram. Compare 1 Chronicles 2:9 .
20.
And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon,
Nahshon. Prince of Israel in the wilderness (1 Chronicles 2:10 ). Compare Numbers 1:7 ; Numbers 7:12 ; Numbers 10:14 .
Salmon. Married Rahab (Matthew 1:5 ). Nephew of Aaron.
21.
And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,
Boaz. Married Ruth. Compare Ruth 4:13 .
THE GENERATIONS OF PHAREZ.
Judah = Thamar
|
Pharez
|
Hezron
|
Aram
|
Amminadab
|
|------------------|
Elisheba Nahshons
|
Salmon
(nephew of Aaron, m. Rahab)
|
Boaz
(married Ruth)
|
Obed
|
Jesse
|
David
NOTE ON "THE GENERATIONS OF PHAREZ". If Salmon married Rahab in the year of the entry into the land (1451 B.C.); and the birth of David was in 990 B.C.; then, according to the above Table of Generations, the period of 461 years is covered by only four lives; namely Salmon, Boaz, Obed, and Jesse.
The inference therefore seems clear that, as in a Royal line it is not necessary to include every link (as it is in the case of an ordinary man), certain names are omitted in this pedigree, in order that "the generations of Pharez "may be reckoned as ten generations, to accord with the principle which we observe from Adam to Zedekiah (namely, Adam to Noah, ten; Shem to Abraham, ten; Solomon to Zedekiah twice ten). So here Pharez to David is given in ten generations. We see the same principle at work in other Tables of our LORD'S ancestry, names are omitted in order to make uniform reckonings.
For example, in Matthew 1:1-17 we have three counts of "fourteen generations"; see notes there. In Matthew 1:1 , we have the whole given in two links (David and Abraham). Ruth herself is omitted in Ruth 4:17 , above.
22.
And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.