References (24)
Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, an honorable (dignified, strong, courageous, influential) man of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz.
[Boaz’s name means something like ”with him there is strength”. He is included in Jesus’ genealogy, see ; . One of the pillars in Solomon’s temple was named Boaz by the smith Chiram, see , . The word honorable (Hebr. chayil) is used for military strength, courage, skill, wealth, triumph and power, see ; ; ; ; ; . The use of the word for Boaz, who is a picture of the Messiah, shows how Jesus is a mighty warrior who fights for his people. The word is also used of Ruth () and how her future generations will be ”mighty” ().]
Then Ruth went away and came to a field and picked the ears of the harvesters there. It so happened that the field belonged to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. [From Ruth’s limited perspective, she chose a random field, but the reader can sense God’s guidance here.]
[Now follows three conversations that Boaz has. It is framed by his conversation with his laborers, see verses 4-7 and 15–16. Central is the conversation with Ruth.]
5Just then [as if by chance, another providence of God] Boaz came there from Bethlehem. [The same day that Ruth had been there since early morning, see .] He greeted the reapers: ”The Lord (Yahweh) be with you!”
They replied, ”The Lord (Yahweh) bless you!” [The warm exchange of words shows how Boaz is a godly man and has good relations with his workers.]
Boaz asked the servant (young man) in charge of the harvesters, ”To whom does that young woman belong?” [What family does she belong to?]
Then Boaz said to Ruth, ”My dear daughter! [A warm and welcoming phrase to the stranger Ruth.] Don’t go off to glean in some other field, stay in this field and stay here with the women workers.
Boaz answered her: ”They have told me about everything you have done for your mother-in-law [Naomi] since your husband [Machlon, see ] died – how you have left your parents and your homeland and gone to a people you did not know before.
Later, when it was time to eat lunch, Boaz said to Ruth, ”Come near us, eat here with us! Take off the bread and dip the pieces in the vinegar.”
Then she sat down and ate with his harvest people; he handed her roasted grain (ax). She ate her fill and also had the surplus.
[The fact that Boaz ate with his workers, like Jesus with his disciples, again shows good relations. Ruth kept her distance, but was invited into the meal community. In the Middle East, the meal is not only about filling the stomach, but also about hospitality and relationships, see . The lunch consisted of three courses, bread, vinegar and roasted axes.
The word for ”he reached” is a special Hebrew word, tsavat, which is only used here in the entire Bible. The word consists of three letters: Tsade, Bet and Tet. In this context, the Hebrew pictographs reinforce the word ”stretch out” which takes on a deeper meaning in the perspective of Boaz’s role as Ruth’s redeemer. The sign for Tsade depicts a fish hook and means to catch, strong desire but also righteousness. Bet depicts a house and home. The last letter Tet depicts a coiled snake and can be used in both a negative and positive sense of being surrounded by someone/something, which can be a threat or protection. Here Boaz extends his own hand with a strong desire to bring Ruth to her home under his protection. There is also a nice image here in the connection between the letter Tsade and righteousness. Boaz is a picture of Jesus our redeemer who redeems from sin, see , ; . Even the ”bread” offered has a symbolic meaning. Jesus is called the ”bread of life” that is broken and offered, see ; . The fact that the word tsavat occurs only once means that something unique is happening here. Jesus, who wants to be our redeemer, extends his hand and offers protection, care and salvation. There is no other way to God, see .]
[After the lunch:] When Ruth got up and went back to work, Boaz gave orders to his workers: ”Let her pick axes between the sheaves. Do not shame (mock and humiliate) her. [They were not to speak disparagingly and insult her.]
Her mother-in-law [Naomi] asked her: ”Where [in the world] did you pick [all this] today? Where have you been working? May whoever saw you be blessed!” [The verbs in Naomi’s question are a bit oddly placed. The reason is probably to create a pun. The initial interrogative adverb ”was” is the Hebrew epho which is similar to the measure ”ephah” in . The phrase expresses Naomi’s surprise at Ruth’s productivity, and even before Ruth has time to answer, Naomi asks for God’s blessing on that man!] So Ruth told her mother-in-law where she worked and said: ”The name of the man I worked for is Boaz.”
So Ruth continued to work near Boaz’s female workers. She picked ears until the barley harvest [March/April] and the wheat harvest [April/May] were over. Throughout this period she stayed with her mother-in-law [Naomi].
Boaz is our relative, you have been with his female workers. Tonight he will be threshing grain at the threshing floor.
When Boaz had eaten and was full and satisfied, he lay down to sleep at the far end of the grain pile [on the other side from Ruth’s perspective]. [His workers also slept there at the threshing floor.] Then she sneaked up and uncovered his feet and lay down there.
[Chapter 4 begins with an unusual Hebrew word order, where the subject comes first. This signals a new scene in the drama. Beginning with Boaz’s name reinforces the focus on him and how he is the one who takes the initiative to redeem Naomi and Ruth.]
Boaz went up to the city gate [the city’s center of business, social interaction, and justice] and sat down there.
[Topographically, Bethlehem is on a hill, and Boaz goes up there; compare with Ruth going ”down” to the threshing floor, see Ruth 3:3, 6. The expression ”up to the gate” is also an idiomatic expression equivalent to ”taking up a case in a court of law”. Normally, someone who has been out in the field would enter the gate and go to his home in the city. Boaz does not, he is determined to take up Naomi and Ruth’s case first thing in the morning and stays at the gate. In ancient Israel, court decisions were made in the city gate early in the morning, see ; ; ; .]
Just then [as if by chance, another providence of God, the same words as in Ruth 2:4] the redeemer of whom Boaz had spoken [mentioned to Ruth] came by. Boaz said to him: ”You there (my anonymous master without a name), come, sit down here!”
[The phrase ”you there”, the Hebrew peloni almoni, is difficult to translate. A similar expression is NN, from the Latin nomen nescio which means ”I do not know the name”. 1 Sam. 21:2 and 2 Kings 6:8 translate the expression ”in such and such” place to name places without revealing exact positions. Why does the author, who is otherwise careful with names in the story, choose to use this expression? It is probably an effective way of showing how he, who did not want to pass on Elimelech’s name, is not named in the story. Just as Orpah serves as a contrast to Ruth, this unnamed man is a contrast to Boaz.]
So he sat down.
Then Boaz explained [that the situation is complex and there are more commitments]: ”The day you acquire the field from Naomi, you must also acquire [marry] Ruth the Moabite, the wife of our dead relative. [It is then your responsibility to ensure that she has children.] This is so that her deceased husband’s name (honor, memory) will be preserved in the inheritance.”
[The last expression is a quote from Deut. 25:7 which speaks precisely of levirate marriage. Technically, however, there is nothing in this statute that forced either Boaz or the nearest unnamed redeemer to marry Ruth. However, the situation revealed the redeemer’s motives and heart. Again, grace (Heb. chesed) is described. Boaz was prepared to take a step in love, further than the regulations required. The question is whether the nearest redeemer was willing to do so.]
So the redeemer said to Boaz, ”Acquire it you.” And he took off his sandal.
Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people [who were there in the square]: ”You are my witnesses (hebr. edim) today. I have acquired (bought) from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and that belonged to Chilion and Machlon.
Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. He went in to her, and the Lord (Yahweh) allowed her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son.
Salmon [became the ancestor] of Boaz [who married Ruth, about 1120 BC],
Boaz [became the father] of Oved [born about 1120 BC],
And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple, and he set up the right pillar and gave it the name Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and gave it the name Boaz.
Nahshon became the father of Salma, and Salma became the father of Boaz.
Boaz was the father of Obed, and Obed was the father of Jesse.
He set the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right and one on the left. He named the one on the right Jachin and the one on the left Boaz. []
Salmon begot
Boaz, whose mother was Rahab
(Gk. Rachav) [a pagan who welcomed the Israeli spies in Jericho, see ],
Boaz begot Obed, whose mother was Ruth
[a Moabite who accompanied her mother-in-law Naomi back to Judah, see Ruth 1-4],
Obed begot Jesse
(Isaiah),
son to Jesse (Jishai),
son of Obed (Oved),
son of Boaz,
son of Salma,
son of Nahshon (Nachshon),
