Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ruth 4:4
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].
4. disclose it ] See marg.; lit. the phrase means to draw aside the long hair covering the ear in order to whisper something; cf. 1Sa 9:15; 1Sa 20:2 and elsewhere in Samuel.
them that sit here ] appear to be all the people of Rth 4:9 ; Rth 4:11, as distinct from the elders.
If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it ] It was for the Go’el to decide whether he would buy the land or allow it to pass out of the family; Lev 25:25. A parallel case occurs in Jer 32:7-9: Jeremiah’s cousin, wishing to sell some family property, offers it first to the prophet as next of kin; the prophet exercises his right and buys in the estate.
but if thou wilt not redeem it ] See marg.; a slight correction required by the context.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
See the margin; a phrase explained by the act of removing the end of the turban, or the hair, in order to whisper in the ear (see 1Sa 9:15 : 2Sa 7:27).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 4. I thought to advertise thee] Both Dr. Kennicott and Father Houbigant have noticed several corruptions in the pronouns of this and the following verses; and their criticisms have been confirmed by a great number of MSS. since collated. The text corrected reads thus: “And I said I will reveal this to thy ear, 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, tell me, that I may know; for there is none to redeem it but thou, and I who am next to thee. And he said, I will redeem it. And Boaz said, In the day that thou redeemest the land from the hand of Naomi, thou wilt also acquire Ruth, the wife of the dead, that thou mayest raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance;” Ru 4:4-5. – See Kennicott’s Dissertations, vol. i., p. 449; Houbigant in loco; and the Variae Lectiones of Kennicott and De Rossi. This is Boaz’s statement of the case before the kinsman, and before the people and the elders.
I will redeem it.] I will pay down the money which it is worth. He knew not of the following condition.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Before the elders of my people; before this assembly, that it may be legally and firmly made over to thee.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. there is none to redeem it besidethee; and I am after thee(See on De25:5). The redemption of the land of course involved a marriagewith Ruth, the widow of the former owner.
Ru4:6-8. HE REFUSESTHE REDEMPTION.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And I thought to advertise thee,…. To give him notice of it; or “I said” g; he said in his heart and mind, purposing to do it; or he said it to Ruth, promising her that he would do it:
saying, buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people; or before those that sat there, even the elders, as witnesses of the purchase:
if thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: for it was redeemable by a near kinsman according to the law, even when said to another, in Le 25:25,
but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; what to do in this affair, whether to redeem it or not:
for there is none to redeem it besides thee, and I am after thee; he was the first, and Boaz was the next near kinsman, to whom the right of redemption belonged:
and he said, I will redeem it: he chose to make the purchase, he liked the land, which he probably full well knew, and it might lie near his own, and make a good addition to it; and as the widow was determined, and under a necessity to sell, he might expect to have it at a cheap rate; all which might induce him at once to agree to be the purchaser.
g “et ego dixi”, Pagninus, Montanus, &c.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(4) And I thought . . .literally, and I said I will uncover thy ear.
The inhabitants.This should perhaps rather be, those who are sitting here [the Hebrew word yashabh has the two meanings of dwelling and sitting, see e.g., Gen. 23:10, where the latter meaning should certainly be taken]. So the LXX., Peshito and Vulg.
If thou wilt not.The current Hebrew text has here, if he will not, which is clearly an error for the second person, which is read by a large number of Hebrew MSS., and by all the ancient versions.
I will redeem it.He is willing enough to redeem the land as a good investment, forgetting, until reminded, the necessary previous condition. It involves marrying Ruth, and this he declines to do.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. I thought to advertise thee Literally, as margin, I said, I will reveal in thine ear. That is, I will make known the matter to thee.
Before the inhabitants Those of the inhabitants of the city who are sitting here to witness the judgment of this case. The gate of the city was usually thronged by a concourse of people, who would naturally resort thither to while away their leisure hours, and hear all passing news.
If thou wilt not redeem The Hebrew has the third person, , if he will not redeem. This reading may be defended on the supposition that Boaz at this point of his discourse turned to the elders and spoke of his kinsman in the third person. But the English version is more natural, and is supported by the Septuagint and several Hebrew MSS.
I will redeem it It would add so much to his own estate to procure also the property of the deceased Elimelech. Not knowing the condition which Boaz makes known in the next verse, he supposed that he would only have to pay Naomi a certain annual allowance till her death, and then the inheritance would pass to him as the lawful heir.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“ And I thought to disclose it to you, saying, “Buy it before those who sit here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not redeem it, then tell me, so that I may know, for there is none to redeem it besides you, and I am after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.”
Boaz then called on the near kinsman, in front of ‘those who sit here, even before the elders of my people’, acting as witnesses, to buy the land if he wished to do so, so that it could remain in the family (that is why he was said to ‘redeem it’). If he was not willing to do so then the right passed on to the next nearest kinsman, which in this case was Boaz.
As we have seen the purpose of redemption was so that the land might remain in the family and not go to outsiders, but even more specifically it was in order for it finally to be restored to the near family of its original owners. This would require the maintaining of the name in Israel of the original owner (Rth 4:10), and that would be the duty of the purchase. So what was being bought in this case was the right of use of the land until it could revert back to its original owners, that is, to a son of the dead man as begotten through the goel (the kinsman redeemer). Thus the redeemer, being a near kinsman, had the responsibility to ensure that the family and name of the original owners survived, and he did it by himself begetting sons through any womenfolk who were left of the original family. The purpose of this was in order to ensure that the name of the original owners survived in Israel, along with their ownership of their land as originally allotted to them by YHWH.
On hearing that the land was available the near kinsman immediately said that he would ‘redeem’ it. The rights to land were very valuable, especially land which probably bordered on his own as a near kinsman, and the possibility of obtaining it did not come up very often because of the rigid customs that prevailed. It seemed too good an opportunity to miss. But he had not thought out the consequences, possibly because he was not familiar with the Law, or possibly because he had not connected Ruth with the situation (not how Boaz had spoken of Naomi as the ‘seller’). That would not indicate that the law did not exist, only that people are often very vague as to what exactly the law requires. It will be noted that once it was drawn to his attention (and no doubt confirmed by the listening elders) he yielded to Boaz’s arguments.
“I thought to disclose it to you.” Literally, ‘I have said (to myself) I will lay bare (disclose) in your ear’, a good example of translator’s licence which is common in translating Old Testament Hebrew.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rth 4:4 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].
Ver. 4. And I thought to advertise thee. ] Heb., I said I will reveal in thine ear: so the Latins say, Aurem tibi vellam. Honesty promoteth to plain dealing.
And before the elders of my people.
And he said, I will redeem it.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
before the inhabitants = in the presence of such as are seated here.
redeem. Hebrew. ga’al, to redeem by purchase. See Exo 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.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Chapter 18
To Raise Up The Name Of The Dead
“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. 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. 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. 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. Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe.”
Rth 4:4-8
In the fourth chapter of Ruth, we are told how Boaz cleared away all obstacles to his redemption of and union with Ruth. Remember, the purpose of his heart was settled. He had made up his mind to redeem Ruth and to marry her. But he was an honorable man. He would not redeem her, he would not marry her, he would not have her unless he could do so in a way that would completely honor God and his holy law. So the nearer kinsman had to be dealt with before Boaz could take Ruth for himself. Therefore, he came to the gate of the city, called together the elders of the city, and spoke publicly to Ruths nearer kinsman, the man who was her nearer kinsman by virtue of her marriage to Mahlon. The conversation is recorded for us in verses four through eight.
Clearly, the prominent subject of this passage is redemption. The word redeem is used nine times in these five verses. The purpose, or object of redemption is plainly stated in verse five. It is to raise up the name of the dead. The object of redemption, both typical and real, is to raise up the seed of a man who has died for the honor of that man.
According to the law of God, (the law of God which was given to portray and point us to the Lord Jesus Christ),the kinsmans part, the duty of the kinsman redeemer involved three things. The kinsman redeemer was obligated by the law of God to do three things. If he failed to do these three things he must bear public reproach for his failure (Deu 25:5-10; Lev 25:25-26). The kinsman redeemer must
Restore the inheritance of his impoverished relative.
Procure the liberty of his brother who through poverty had been brought into slavery.
Marry his dead relatives wife and raise up the name of the dead.
As Boaz did these things for Ruth, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has done all this for Gods elect. He has redeemed the inheritance we lost in Adam. He restored that which he took not away. He procured our liberty. By his blood he freed us from the curse of the law. And by the power of his grace he has broken the iron fetters that held us in slavery to Satan and to sin. By the power of his grace, by his omnipotent Spirit, our Kinsman Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, is raising up the name of the dead in this world.
A MATTER OF PUBLIC RECORD
Redemption was always a matter of indisputable, public record. God arranged his law in such a way that throughout the history of Israel in the Old Testament, every transaction involving redemption was done in public, attested to by numerous witnesses, and recorded as a matter of public record, so that the transaction could never be nullified or disputed. As we read this fourth chapter of Ruth, several things stand out as matters of obvious significance.
First, the matter dealt with here is a matter of great importance. Boaz came to the gate of the city, called the elders together, and a large crowd immediately assembled. They knew that something of great importance was about to take place. Something more was involved in this business than Ruth and Mahlon, Naomi and her daughter-in-law. That which was about to take place, that which was being discussed had something to do with the glory of God, the purpose of God, and the people of God. Redemption is a subject of immense importance. This is more than a doctrinal statement. It is the revelation of Gods glory (Rom 3:24-26), the declaration of his purpose (Rom 8:28), and the hope of his people (2Co 5:21).
Second, this business was transacted in a conspicuous, public place. Then went Boaz up to the gate and sat down there. Not only is the work of Christ in redemption a matter of vital importance, it has been accomplished in a public manner (Act 22:26-27; Act 22:22-23). The law and the prophets all pointed to this as the climatic event for which God created all things. The apostles all speak of Christs work of redemption as the crucial issue of the gospel. As we saw in the previous study, the darkened sun, the earthquake, the opened graves, and the rent veil all attested to the fact that the man who died at Calvary was, as the centurion said, the Son of God.
Third, redemption was a legal matter. It was a legal transaction. It was done according to the law; and it honored the law. There is an impressive scene before us (Rth 4:2). Boaz took ten men of the city, ten elders in Israel, to be witnesses to this thing. I cannot help thinking that these ten men are suggestive of Gods holy law, summarized in the ten commandments. Our Lord Jesus fulfilled both the law and the prophets when he died as our Substitute and redeemed us. He fulfilled the righteousness required by the laws commandments in his life (Jer 23:6). He fulfilled the penalty required by the laws justice (Gal 3:13). He fulfilled the prophets, suffering to the last detail all that was written of him (Act 13:29; Joh 19:28; Luk 24:44-46). Thus, it is written, Christ is the end of the law to every one that believeth (Rom 10:4).
THE IMPOTENCE OF THE LAW
The failure of the nearer kinsman to redeem Ruth demonstrates the inability of the law to save man. We are not told what his motives were. Whatever they may have been, the nearer kinsman preferred to suffer public shame and disgrace rather than redeem Ruth and thus mar his own inheritance. As we have seen, this nearer kinsman, more than anything else, stands out in the Book of Ruth as a picture of Gods holy law.
The law of God is holy, just, and good; but it cannot forgive sin or extend mercy without marring its justice. The law always identifies and exposes sin. It condemns the sinner, without regard to or giving any consideration to age, environment, education, gender, parentage, or extenuating circumstances. – The soul that sinneth, it shall die! The law takes only one thing into consideration – justice, strict, absolute, unbending justice. It identifies sin, exposes sin, and condemns sin. It has no other purpose and no other ability (Rom 3:19-20; Rom 7:9; Rom 8:3).
All who attempt salvation by the law, all who attempt to get to God on their own merits, shall, like this nearer kinsman, bear the reproach publicly forever. What the nearer kinsman could not and would not do for Ruth, Boaz gladly did. And what the law could not and would not do for us, the Lord Jesus Christ gladly did. As Boaz was delighted to redeem Ruth, Christ was delighted to redeem his people, because of his great love for us (Rom 8:1-4).
The nearer kinsman pulled off his shoe – a sign of disgrace, slavery, and disavowed ownership; and Boaz stepped into his shoes. Moses (the law) put off his shoes as a servant before Gods manifest presence. Believers, as the sons of God, have had the shoes of liberty and sonship put on our feet in the Fathers house (Luk 15:22). The legalist (that person who attempts to gain Gods favor by his own works) is a slave, cursed by the very thing that makes him so proud (Gal 3:10). We are the sons of God, accepted in the Beloved (Eph 1:6; 1Jn 3:1).
TO RAISE UP THE NAME OF THE DEAD
As Boaz assumed and discharged every duty of a kinsman for Ruth, so the Lord Jesus Christ assumed and fully discharged the whole work of redemption for us. Not only did Boaz buy the inheritance that Mahlon had lost, he bought it for Ruth particularly. He bought the field and bought Ruth for this purpose – to raise up the name of the dead. Soon Obed was born to Ruth and Boaz.
Even so, our Lord Jesus Christ redeemed us to raise up the name of the dead, to raise up a seed from among the fallen sons and daughters of Adam to serve him; and it shall be done! A seed shall serve him. He shall not fail!
As Judah assumed all responsibility for Benjamin as his voluntary surety, the Lord Jesus Christ assumed all responsibility for Gods elect in the covenant of grace before the world began (Gen 43:9; Heb 7:22). The Son of God came into this world, lived, died, and rose again to save his people from their sins (Mat 1:21). God the Father has given his Son, our Savior, the power to give eternal life to all his chosen seed (Joh 17:2). Therefore, we are assured that all who were given to Christ in the covenant of grace before the world began, all who were redeemed by his blood, all for whom he came into this world, he will present faultless before the presence of the divine glory at last (Joh 6:37-40; Joh 10:16; 1Co 15:28; Heb 2:13). The immutability of Gods love demands it (Mal 3:6). The steadfastness of Gods purpose demands it (Tit 1:2). The justice of Gods character demands it. Augustus Toplady said it well
Payment God cannot twice demand,
First at my bleeding Suretys hand,
And then again at mine!
The intercession of Christ demands the salvation of those for whom he lived, died, and rose again (Joh 17:24). Indeed, the honor of Boaz, the honor of Christ, demands it. If he should fail to save those whom he came to save, if he should fail to fully, effectually, and everlastingly redeem even one whom he came to redeem, he must bear the shame forever; and that cannot be. Our Kinsman Redeemer shall, at last, see of the travail of his soul with complete satisfaction.
Blessed be the Lord which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel!
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
redeem
Heb. “goel,” Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield “Isa 59:20”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
I thought: Heb. I said I will reveal in thine ear
Buy it: Jer 32:7-9, Jer 32:25, Rom 12:17, 2Co 8:21, Phi 4:8
before the inhabitants: Gen 23:18, Jer 32:10-12
for there is none: Lev 25:25-29
Reciprocal: Gen 23:11 – in the 2Sa 7:27 – revealed
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rth 4:4-5. I thought to advertise thee I have had it in my mind to speak to thee about it. There is none to redeem it besides thee That is, thou hast the first right to do so; for it is plain Boaz had a right, but it was in the second place: and if he had refused, the next kinsman would have had the right, and so on. Thou must buy it also of Ruth According to the law, Deu 25:5. To raise up seed To revive his name, which was buried with his body, by raising up a seed to him to be called by his name.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
4:4 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] {c} beside thee; and I [am] after thee. And he said, I will redeem [it].
(c) For you are the next of kin.