Ruth Chapter 4

At a Glance

  • The final chapter of Ruth seals the Booker-ever-after arc that began with Ruth’s devotion and Naomi’s lament, delivering a vivid drama of redemption, rightful lineage, and communal testimony.
  • With the obstacle removed, the deal is finalized.
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • Ruth 4 is the final portion of the short ruth saga embedded in a post-judges, early monarchy setting.
  • As a concluding chapter, Ruth 4 serves as the hinge that connects Ruth’s personal piety and Boaz’s virtue to the national future embodied in David’s lineage.

Ruth 4

Chapter Overview

The final chapter of Ruth seals the Booker-ever-after arc that began with Ruth’s devotion and Naomi’s lament, delivering a vivid drama of redemption, rightful lineage, and communal testimony. Boaz fulfills his promise to redeem Elimelech’s family land, but the purchase is carefully bound to a larger obligation: the redemption must also include Ruth, the Moabitess, marrying her to raise up offspring for the deceased’s name. The scene moves to the gate of Bethlehem, where Boaz gathers ten elders as witnesses and publicly announces the arrangement. A rival kinsman initially agrees to redeem the land, but the moment he is reminded that this would also entail marrying Ruth, he recedes, exposing the deeper inheritance at stake: the life and lineage of those who trust God in obedience and vulnerability.

With the obstacle removed, the deal is finalized. The elders witness Boaz’s purchase of Naomi’s “parcel,” a phrase that signals more than property—it signals protection, belonging, and continuity for the dead, and ultimately for Ruth and her child. Boaz publicly declares Ruth as his wife, thereby securing her place in the family and ensuring the name of the deceased would not be cut off. The legal ritual at the gate—the exchange of a sandal—serves as a visible, binding testimony to the community that a legitimate transaction has occurred, binding both Ruth and Naomi to Boaz’s lineage.

The chapter closes with blessings from the witnesses and a note of gratitude to the Lord, who has not merely provided personal happiness for Ruth and Boaz but ensured the continuity of Israel’s ancestral line. The narrative arcs from loss and abandonment to adoption and restoration, culminating in the birth of Obed, the grandfather of David. Ruth 4 thereby fulfills the book’s promise: God’s hidden providence partners with human faithfulness to bring about a future that blesses the world. The chapter emphasizes that the God who works quietly in the margins cares for the marginalized and folds them into the big story of redemptive history.

Historical & Literary Context

Ruth 4 is the final portion of the short ruth saga embedded in a post-judges, early monarchy setting. The book’s composition is generally dated to the Persian period (roughly 6th–4th centuries BCE), though it presents a presumably earlier setting in Ruth’s story. The genre blends biblical narrative with genealogical material and editorial commentary designed to highlight divine providence and fidelity within ordinary, everyday acts. The public gate scene is a classic Israelite legal and social ritual, reinforcing communal legitimacy through witnesses and formal transfer of rights.

As a concluding chapter, Ruth 4 serves as the hinge that connects Ruth’s personal piety and Boaz’s virtue to the national future embodied in David’s lineage. It situates Ruth and Boaz within the broader theological motif of “the redeemer” (goel) who acts for the vulnerable. The text also reconfigures foreignness (Ruth the Moabite) as integral to Israel’s future, illustrating the inclusivity of God’s plan. The genealogical appendix—linking Obed to Jesse and David—frames Ruth’s story within the messianic expectation that God’s promise to Abraham will be realized through a faithful, humanly imperfect community.

Key Themes

- Redeeming love and faithful obligation: Boaz’s ready commitment to redeem the dead’s name for Ruth and Naomi mirrors God’s gracious redemptive acts toward humanity.

- Divine providence through human action: The narrative highlights ordinary decisions—trust, negotiation, and lawful procedure—as the means by which God preserves and expands the families through which the Promised Line will emerge.

- Inclusion and covenant community: Ruth, a foreigner, becomes part of Israel’s lineage; the story reframes “kinsman-redeemer” as a picture of inclusive blessing within the covenant community.

- Honor, legitimacy, and public witness: The gate ceremony, witnesses, and the shoe exchange create an irrefutable public record that validates the marriage and inheritance, underscoring communal accountability and faithfulness.

- Continuity of blessing: The genealogy at the end points to Obed, then Jesse, and eventually David, tying Ruth’s commitment to the wider arc of Israel’s history and the messianic hope.

Modern Application

Ruth 4 invites readers to consider how God works through ordinary fidelity to produce extraordinary results. Practical takeaways include:

- Leverage influence to bless others: Boaz uses his social position to secure justice and protection for Ruth and Naomi, modeling leadership that elevates the vulnerable.

- Redemptive faithfulness can bridge boundaries: Ruth’s loyalty and Boaz’s kindness demonstrate how divine grace crosses cultural and personal borders to enrich a community.

- Public integrity matters: The gate testimony shows that righteous actions require transparency and communal accountability; our commitments should be open to communal scrutiny and blessing.

- Family and legacy as spiritual vocation: The naming of descendants reminds believers that God’s purposes often unfold through the next generation; investing in durable, life-giving relationships matters for God’s kingdom.

- God’s timing and providence: Ruth 4 reinforces that God’s promises mature through patient faithfulness, not dramatic, isolated acts alone. Trusting God, even when outcomes aren’t immediate, remains a theological stance.

- Ruth 1–3 (earlier chapters showing Ruth’s loyalty, Boaz’s generosity, and the groundwork for redemption)

- Leviticus 25 (redeeming kin, the goel, and the social law framework)

- Deuteronomy 25:5-10 (the shoe as a public sign of transfer)

- Matthew 1 (Jesus’ genealogy as a fulfillment of Ruth’s inclusion in Israel’s lineage)

- 2 Samuel 7 (David’s ancestry and the continued promise of blessing for the house of Israel)

Recommended Personas (Which Biblical personas provide insight)

- Boaz (steadfast, compassionate redeemer)

- Ruth (loyal, faithful outsider who realigns her life with Israel’s God)

- Naomi (wisdom through suffering and faith in God’s in-breaking redemption)

- Moses or David (for leadership, lineage, and covenant faithfulness themes)

- Jesus (as the ultimate redeemer and the one who expands God’s family to include Gentiles)

Chapter Text

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.

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:

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.

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.

8

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

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.

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:

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.

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.

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,

19

And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab,

20

And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon,

21

And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,

22

And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

Discuss This Chapter with Biblical Personas

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