Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ruth 2:20
And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, Blessed [be] he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man [is] near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.
20. one of our near kinsmen ] See marg. and note on Rth 3:9. Here the word go’el occurs for the first time in the story.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Blessed be he of the Lord … – We may gather from Naomis allusion to the dead that both her husband and son had been faithful servants of Jehovah, the God of Israel. His kindness to the dead consisted in raising up (as Naomi hoped) an heir to perpetuate the name; and, in general, in His care for their widows.
One of our next kinsmen – The word here is ga’al, the redeemer, who had the right:
(1) of redeeming the inheritance of the person;
(2) of marrying the widow;
(3) of avenging the death. (See Lev 25:25-31, Lev 25:47-55; Deu 25:5-10; Deu 19:1-13.)
Since these rights belonged to the next of kin, ga’al came to mean the nearest kinsman.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rth 2:20
Blessed be he of the Lord, who hath not left off His kindness.
Gods blessing
1. In its nature it is kindness–the very soul of tenderness to the God-fearing among men.
2. In its continuance. He cannot leave off making His children happy.
3. In its application to both worlds–to the living, as the song of a Ruth may testify; to the dead, as the hope of a Naomi must imply. Both are in the covenant of the God of Israel.
4. In its expression. He knows how to prepare some lip to give it adequate expression before the world. The old shall ever confirm the faith of the young. (E. Price.)
Kindness to the dead
The natural human protectors are gone, but the Almighty Father has taken their place. It is what Elimelech and Mahlon would have desired, and it is kindness to them. Can we not imagine that those who have passed from earth, leaving poor, disconsolate ones behind to struggle with lifes difficulties often find, in their glorified condition, ever fresh and continuous reasons for rejoicing, because they see how the ever-watchful love of God is constantly shown towards beloved ones whose comfort was their desire and endeavour? Mothers and fathers have died wondering what their childrens future would be in this rude, rough world, and with their wonder fear has mingled. Yet now from heavens clear heights they behold Gods tender care surrounding them by day and night, saving them from danger, raising up noble-souled friends to help them, doing more on their behalf than their imagination or faith conceived possible; and as they see all this, their souls are moved with a passion of rapturous gratitude, and heaven rings melodious with their new song of praise. Yes, the dead are wiser than we think, and probably see more than we suppose of the lives from which they are parted only by a thin, and perhaps from their side transparent, veil. This, at least, is certain, that when God inspires the benevolent to shield the orphan and help the widow, He shows that He has not left off His kindness to the living and the dead. (Wm. Braden.)
The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.
Christ typified by the goel under the law
You can hardly need to be told how a connection, the very closest, may be traced between the Jewish and the Christian dispensations. The redeemer under the law is most accurately a type of the Redeemer under the gospel. Now, suppose we take in succession three cases in which the goel or redeemer was bidden to interfere–forfeiture of inheritance, loss of liberty, and shedding of blood; and examining each transaction under its legal description, let us strive to show you the fidelity with which it images the redemption wrought out for us by Christ.
I. We begin with the forfeiture of inheritance. In Lev 25:1-55 directions are given for the interference of the goel, or redeemer. We fasten, first of all, on the fact that none but a kinsman could fill the office of goel or redeemer. Who does not see, that in laying down and adhering to such a principle as this, the law taught mankind impressively the lesson that He who should arise the Redeemer of the lost world must be bone of their bone and flesh of their flesh? Forasmuch, says the apostle, as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same. And shall we ever hesitate to declare that the comforting thing to the followers of Christ is that the Goel, the Redeemer, is in the strictest sense their kinsman? Christ was like myself in all points, my sinfulness only excepted. Who is the Israelite that has grown poor, and alienated from him the possession of his father, if it be not man, originally the chosen of God, rich in a birthright which gave him a glorious world for his dwelling-place, yes, and immortality for his lifetime, but who afterwards, by yielding to temptation, stripped himself of all his wealth, and made himself the heir to nothing but corruption? And when we have pointed out to you the impoverished Jew, spoiled of the possession of his fathers, unable of himself to do anything towards regaining the inheritance, and then have turned your attention on the kinsman redeemer paying down the ransom, bringing back the land into the family, keeping it in his own hands until the jubilee trumpet sounded, and then restoring it to the original owner–we think we have furnished you with so vivid a sketch of paradise lost through human apostasy and regained by the purchase of the Mediator, and given back on the day that the archangel shall lift his trumpet, and shall blow a blast at which the sheeted dead shall start, that it must on all hands be confessed that the goel of the law was pre-eminently a type of the Redeemer of the gospel.
II. A brief notice will suffice for the second–where there has been loss of liberty. You will find, by referring to Lev 25:1-55, from which we have already quoted, that for the discharge of debt, or the procuring of subsistence, an Israelite might sell himself either to an Israelite or to a stranger. If he became the servant of an Israelite, there appears to have been no right of redemption–he must remain in his power till the year of jubilee. But if he became the servant of a stranger, then there was a case for the interposition of the goel in the law; for even after that he is sold he may be redeemed again–one of his brethren may redeem him. If the master were an Israelite, the servant was in no sense alienated from Gods people, and the exigence was not such as to warrant the goels interference; but if the master were a stranger, then the servitude became typical of mans bondage to Satan. It might have been said, in a degree, to have withdrawn the servant from the congregation of Israel; and thus a case made out for the kinsman redeemer. The goel might come forward, and the servant might be freed. You will perceive at once that, in its typical character, this transaction is identical with that already reviewed. Is it not the Scriptural representation of man by nature that he is the servant of sin, led captive by Satan at his will? The Israelite could have sold himself to a stranger; and not one farthing could he advance towards bringing back his freedom. Must he languish, then, for ever in bondage? Must he groan for ever beneath the load of oppression? There advances a Mighty One, who proclaims Himself his Kinsman, a Goel made of a woman, made under the law, and bearing the likeness of sinful flesh; and He pays down in sufferings the price of redemption. He strikes the chain with His Cross, and it is broken into shivers; lie bids the prisoner come forth, and he walks in the glorious liberty of the children of God.
III. We proceed to the third case of the goels interference, a case which differs considerably from those already examined. It was the office of the kinsman, the goel, to interfere, not only when there had been forfeiture of inheritance, or loss of liberty, but also when there had been shedding of blood. If murder had been perpetrated, the prosecution and the execution of the murderer devolved on the nearest of kin to the murdered party. He must pursue the murderer; and if he overtook him before he reached the city of refuge he might take summary vengeance for the death of his relative. But if the goel were not at hand at the time when the crime was committed, it would seem that no stranger had right to arrest or follow the criminal. He betook himself unmolested to the nearest city of refuge, and remained there in safety until the cause was tried before the judges of the land. So that in this case, as well as in the others, the interference depended on the kinsmanship; nothing else could warrant a man in undertaking the office of the goel. And thus that distinguishing feature of a goel, which made him throughout the type of Christ–the feature of kinsmanship to the party requiring interference–stands out as prominently when blood was to be avenged as when land was to be redeemed or liberty regained. But wherein, you will say, in this instance, lies the typical resemblance between the offices of the goel and the offices of Christ? Created deathless and imperishable, was not the human race slain by Satan when he wrought up our first parents to an act prohibited by the words, In the day that thou cutest thereof thou shalt surely die? We suppose it to have been with reference to this slaughter of mankind that Christ said of the devil, He was a murderer from the beginning. It was clearly through the instrumentality of Satan that death, whether of body or of soul, gained footing in this creation; but if done through his instrumentality it may justly be ascribed to his authorship; and we account it most correct, therefore, to describe Satan as the great man-slayer. He it is that hath shed human blood; and all that vast mowing down of successive generations, which keeps the sepulchres replenished with fresh harvests of death, must be referred to that awful being who was a murderer from the beginning. And if we can thus find the man-slayer in Satan, cannot we find the avenger of blood in Christ? Who pursued the murderer? Who, century after century, unwearied and undiverted, opposed Himself in every quarter, by every weapon, to the shedder of blood, till at last, meeting him front to front, in one dread struggle, He took on him a vengeance that drew the wonder of the intelligent universe, and through death destroyed him that had the power of death? Who was it that, sorrowing over the wretchedness of a stricken race, put on righteousness as a breastplate, and clothed Himself with zeal as with a cloak, and then, equipped for the conflict, sprang forth to grapple with the assassin? Who but the Goel? who but the Kinsman Redeemer? (H. Melvill, B. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 20. To the living and to the dead.] Naomi and Ruth were the living; and they were also the representatives of Elimelech and Mahlon, who were dead. Naomi was of the family; and Ruth, though not of the family, was a representative of one of its deceased branches, being the widow of Mahlon.
One of our next kinsmen.] miggoaleynu, of our redeemers, one who has the right to redeem the forfeited inheritance of the family. The word goel signifies a near kinsman – one who by the Mosaic law had a right to redeem an inheritance, and also was permitted to vindicate or revenge the death of his relation by killing the slayer, if he found him out of the cities of refuge.
In order to prevent families from running to decay, if a brother died childless, the next unmarried brother took his widow; and the children from that marriage were reputed the children of the deceased brother. The office of the next akin was threefold:
1. It belonged to him to buy back the forfeited inheritance, or the liberty of him who had been obliged to sell himself for a servant.
2. It was his right to avenge the blood of any of the family who had been killed, by killing the murderer.
3. It belonged to him to take the widow of a deceased brother or relative, if he died childless.
If the nearest akin in any case refused, he was treated with indignity, lost his right to the inheritance, and the next akin to him might come forward and take the widow, &c., as in the case of Boaz. See Ru 4:4-10.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And to the dead, i.e. which he formerly showed to those who are now dead, to wit, my husband and his sons whilst they were living, and now continues to us, their wives, who are now alive.
One of our next kinsmen; Heb. one of our redeemers, or avengers, to whom it belongs to avenge our persons, and to redeem our lands, and to marry thee, the widow and relict of his next kinsman, as is expressed, Rth 3:9. She saith one of them, not that there were many who were immediately such, but that he was a very near kinsman, and one to whom that office belonged, in case of the refusal of one person, of whom she rightly conjectured that he would refuse, as he did.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
20. the man is . . . one of our nextkinsmenHebrew, “one of our redeemers,” onwhom it devolves to protect us, to purchase our lands, and marry you,the widow of his next kinsman. She said, “one of them,” notthat there were many in the same close relationship, but that he wasa very near kinsman, one other individual only having the precedence.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, blessed be he of the Lord,…. Or the Lord bless him with all kind of blessings, temporal and spiritual; and as he has blessed him already, may he be blessed more and more:
who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead; he had been kind to Elimelech and to his sons, who were now dead, and he continued his kindness to the reliefs of them, Naomi and Ruth, who were living, and was kind to them for the sake of the dead; and showing kindness to them expressed his respect to the memory of the dead:
and Naomi said unto her; continued her speech to her, and added to what she had said:
the man is near of kin to us; a near relation of ours, meaning by her husband’s side: yea,
one of our next kinsmen; the nearest we have, there was but one nearer than he: the word for kinsman here is “Goel”, a redeemer; for to such who were in the degree of kindred as Boaz was, and he that was nearer still than he to them, belonged the right of redemption, and therefore were called by the name of “Goel”, a redeemer, as Ben Melech observes; they had a right to avenge the blood of the slain, to redeem their houses and possessions, if sold or mortgaged, and their persons by marrying them, and raising up seed to a deceased brother, or kinsman.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(20) Who hath not . . .It is not clear whether the grammatical antecedent is God or Boaz. Either way a good sense is obtained. As our lost dear ones had kindness shown them of old, so we too now. If Boaz is the antecedent, it may seem curious that Naomi (knowing that she was dwelling near to a kinsman of her husbands, and, further, one who had shown kindness before they departed to Moab) should not have made herself known to him. It is, at any rate, a proof of the independence of her character. However, the name once named evidently suggests the train of thought which at length leads Naomi to appeal to him for a kinsmans special aid, the aid of the Goel or redeemer.
One of our next kinsmen.One of those who must redeem.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
20. Blessed be the Lord That was a joyful evening both to Naomi and Ruth, and the Israelitish mother’s heart was filled with thanksgiving towards Jehovah.
Kindness to the living and to the dead By the living she means herself and Ruth; by the dead her deceased husband and sons. He who provides for the widow and the fatherless does at the same time a kindness to those dead ones who can provide for them no more. In these words we may also recognise the true Israelites’ consciousness of immortality. To Naomi the beloved dead are not annihilated, and Jehovah’s kindness towards them has not ceased with their departure from gifts world. Jehovah is still the God of Elimelech and his departed sons, just as He declared himself to be “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Exo 3:6. He lovingly preserves them in conscious existence and blessedness though they die. From this lofty point of view Jesus urged his mighty argument against the Sadducees, “God is not the God of the dead, (the annihilated,) but of the living.” Mat 22:32.
One of our next kinsmen One whose right and duty it is to redeem the name and inheritance of a deceased blood relative. Naomi had doubtless before this instructed her Moabitish daughter in law on the nature and requirements of the levirate among the Israelites. See note at the beginning of chap. 3.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he of YHWH, who has not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead.” And Naomi said to her, “The man is near of kin to us, one of our near kinsmen.”
At this Naomi’s heart rejoiced, for she saw in it the hand of YHWH, recognising by it that He had overlooked neither her and Ruth, nor her dead husband and sons. It appeared to her that YHWH had taken note of their plight and had the intention after all of producing sons to carry on the family name. She called on YHWH to bless Boaz, and explained to a puzzled Ruth that Boaz was in fact of near kin to them and was thus, legally speaking, ‘a near kinsman’. For the responsibilities of a ‘near kinsman’ acting as a gol, or redeemer, see Lev 25:25; Lev 25:47-49. .
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rth 2:20. Naomi saidThe man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen In the Hebrew, one of our redeemers; concerning whom, see Lev 25:25. Deu 25:5 together with what follows in the 4th chapter of this book. Naomi does not say that Boaz was the goel, or redeemer; but one of the redeemers of her family; the reason is, that the right was not immediately in him, but only in default of some other refusing to fulfil it. See chap. Rth 3:12.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.
How very sweet and interesting is this even as an history, considered in’ the way of God’s providence. There was but one man in Israel by right of inheritance, as the Goel-kinsman of the decayed house of Elimelech, that could repair their broken circumstances, and redeem their mortgaged land. And the Lord in his providence sends Ruth, wino was altogether unconscious of all this, into the very path by which this blessing might be accomplished. But how infinitely more precious And interesting is the subject, when viewed spiritually, and in a way of grace. There is but one man under heaven which can repair our desolate ruined state of nature, by redemption of our long-forfeited inheritance, and he is indeed our next kinsman, for Ire hath married our nature for this very purpose. Precious Jesus! am I indeed conic, unconscious as I was at the time of my ruined state by nature, out of the country of Moab, a poor awakened Gentile, to glean in thy fields? Hast thou eyed me and took pity on me in my lost estate, for thy mercy endureth forever? Hast thou commanded thy servants, the ministers of thy gospel, to suffer me to glean in thy fields of truth and to rebuke me not; and even to let fail handfuls of the bread of life on purpose for me? Have I indeed wrought under thy eye, and in thy favour, and found an ephah? Is this the man, even the Lord of the country, the God-man Christ Jesus; unto whose cornfields I am come? O blessed be Jesus JEHOVAH! who hath not left off his kindness to dead sinners, whom he hath quickened, nor to the living, whom when quickening he hath called!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Rth 2:20 And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed [be] he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man [is] near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.
Ver. 20. Blessed be he of the Lord. ] As health is the poor man’s patrimony, so prayers are the poor man’s requital.
To the living, and to the dead.
The man is near of kin unto us.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
kindness = lovingkindness.
one of = he [is].
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Chapter 14
One Who Has Right To Redeem
And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.
Rth 2:20
The words, one of our next kinsmen might be better translated, one who has right to redeem. Boaz was the one who had the right to redeem Ruth; and Christ is the One who has the right to redeem his people.
It is impossible to understand what is written in Ruth chapters 3 and 4 unless we understand what is written in the law of God concerning redemption and the kinsman-redeemer. It will be profitable, therefore, to carefully consider the scriptures which deal with this subject.
Lev 25:25-28 gives us Gods law regarding the redemption of property which had been sold. “If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it; Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession. But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubilee: and in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.”
Lev 25:47-48 records the law of God relating to the redemption of people who had sold themselves into bondage. “And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger’s family: After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him.”
While we have no such specific laws in our modern culture, we do have similar ones with which we are familiar. An item that has been pawned, usually because of poverty, may be redeemed at the lawfully prescribed value by either the original owner or his lawful representative.
The word mortgage is derived from two words meaning death and pledge. A mortgage is a death pledge. That which is mortgaged becomes dead, or entirely lost by the original owners failure to pay.
As Jeremiah bought his cousins field to set forth the certainty of Gods promised deliverance (Jer 32:6-12), so the Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed his elect. By the price of his infinitely meritorious blood, he has obtained eternal redemption for all his people (Heb 9:12). His obtaining redemption for his people is the pledge of their certain deliverance from all sin and all its consequences by the grace of God.
Remember, the right of redemption was always dependent upon three things: (1) Kinship, (2) ability, and (3) willingness to redeem. The Son of God became our kinsman by his incarnation. He is able to redeem, because he is himself both God and man. And he is a willing Redeemer (Heb 12:1-2).
The word redeem means to buy again, or buy back, and to take possession of. The one who redeems evicts and dispossesses all those who have held his purchased property during the time of its bondage. He takes personal possession of that which has been bought back.
Redemption presupposes a dreadful calamity. It presupposes the sin and fall of all the human race in our father, Adam (Rom 5:12). Redemption by a near kinsman also presupposes personal inability. The Israelite who was incapable of redeeming himself, who had to be redeemed by another, portrayed the fact no sinner can redeem himself from the hands of divine justice (Psa 49:6-9). Only the Son of God in human flesh could ransom us from the curse of the law. None but Christ could give infinitely meritorious satisfaction to the justice of God by the sacrifice of himself (Rom 3:24-26).
That is what the Holy Spirit tells us Christ has done for every saved sinner. Christ hath redeemed us (Gal 3:13). He bought us with his blood. Then, at the appointed time of love, he binds the strong man, casts him out of his redeemed house (the ransomed soul), and takes possession of the house himself. Soon, those possessed by his grace, to whom he has given the earnest of the Spirit, shall be personally possessed by the Son of God (Eph 1:7; Eph 1:14; Rom 3:24-25; Rom 8:23).
The Lord Jesus has redeemed all Gods elect from the penalty of sin by his sin-atoning blood shed at Calvary (1Pe 1:18-20). He redeems each one from the reigning power and dominion of sin by his Spirits irresistible grace in regeneration (Rom 6:17-18). And he shall redeem them from the very being and all the evil consequences of sin in resurrection glory (Eph 5:25-27).
In the Book of Ruth, Boaz, her kinsman-redeemer, typifies and beautifully portrays the Lord Jesus Christ, our Kinsman-Redeemer. Here are seven characteristics of our Kinsman-Redeemer, seven characteristics of the One who has right to redeem.
Redemption by a kinsman is a matter of divine appointment. The kinsman-redeemer must be a divinely appointed redeemer. Only one who is appointed by God has the right to redeem. (Joh 10:16-18; Heb 10:5-14).
The one that has right to redeem must be a near kinsman (Heb 2:10-13).
The kinsman-redeemer must be himself entirely free of the debt (Heb 7:26).
The one who has right to redeem must be able to redeem. He must be able to fully satisfy all the demands of Gods law and justice for the kinfolk he represents.
The one who has right to redeem must be willing to redeem. No one could be forced to redeem. The Lord Jesus Christ was Jehovahs willing bond slave, because of his love for us (Exo 21:5; Isa 50:5-7).
The redemption made was always a particular and effectual redemption. There was nothing general, or universal about it. The redemption was made for specific people, and obtained a specific inheritance. The kinsman redeemer restored that which he took not away (Psa 69:4). Our Lord Jesus Christ, by his glorious work of redemption, secured for a vast, innumerable multitude of sinners all the riches of eternal, heavenly glory (Rev 7:9).
The one who has the right to redeem must raise up a seed. Even so, the Son of God, our kinsman Redeemer will raise up a seed. There are some people in this world, being chosen of God in eternal election and redeemed by special redemption, who must and shall be saved by Gods omnipotent grace (Isa 53:10-12; Psa 22:30-31; Rth 4:5-6).
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
kinsmen
Heb. “goel,” Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield “Isa 59:20”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Blessed: Rth 3:10, 2Sa 2:5, Job 29:12, Job 29:13, 2Ti 1:16-18
hath not: 2Sa 9:1, Pro 17:17, Phi 4:10
one of our: or, one that hath right to redeem, Rth 3:9, Rth 4:6, Lev 25:25, Deu 25:5-7, Job 19:25
Reciprocal: Rth 1:8 – the dead Rth 3:2 – is not Boaz Rth 3:13 – if he will Eph 4:32 – kind
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rth 2:20. His kindness to the living and to the dead That is, the kindness which he formerly showed to my husband and his sons while they were living, he now continues to us their relicts.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2:20 And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed [be] he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the {h} dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man [is] near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.
(h) To my husband and children, when they were alive, and now to us.