Context at a Glance
Author:Traditional Attribution
Topic:ruth Chapter 4 Study
This chapter provides a foundational look at the theological themes of ruth, analyzed across multiple historic translations for maximum scholarly depth.
Ruth 4
New Revised Standard Version
1No sooner had Boaz gone up to the gate and sat down there than the next-of-kin, of whom Boaz had spoken, came passing by. So Boaz said, "Come over, friend; sit down here." And he went over and sat down.
2Then Boaz took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, "Sit down here"; so they sat down.
3He then said to the next-of-kin, "Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our kinsman Elimelech.
4So I thought I would tell you of it, and say: Buy it in the presence of those sitting here, and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not, tell me, so that I may know; for there is no one prior to you to redeem it, and I come after you." So he said, "I will redeem it."
5Then Boaz said, "The day you acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, you are also acquiring Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead man, to maintain the dead man's name on his inheritance."
6At this, the next-of-kin said, "I cannot redeem it for myself without damaging my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it."
7Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one took off a sandal and gave it to the other; this was the manner of attesting in Israel.
8So when the next-of-kin said to Boaz, "Acquire it for yourself," he took off his sandal.
9Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "Today you are witnesses that I have acquired from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon.
10I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, to be my wife, to maintain the dead man's name on his inheritance, in order that the name of the dead may not be cut off from his kindred and from the gate of his native place; today you are witnesses."
11Then all the people who were at the gate, along with the elders, said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you produce children in Ephrathah and bestow a name in Bethlehem;
12and, through the children that the LORD will give you by this young woman, may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah." Naomi embraces Ruth's newborn son
13So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the LORD made her conceive, and she bore a son.
14Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel!
15He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him."
16Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse.
17The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi." They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David. The ancestors of King David
18Now these are the descendants of Perez: Perez became the father of Hezron,
19Hezron of Ram, Ram of Amminadab,
20Amminadab of Nahshon, Nahshon of Salmon,
21Salmon of Boaz, Boaz of Obed,
22Obed of Jesse, and Jesse of David.
1SAMUEL
5441 SAMUEL Introduction First and Second Samuel were originally a single work recounting the beginning of the monarchy and the reigns of its first two kings, Saul and David. They were divided into two books in the Greek translation (the Septuagint) of the Hebrew Bible and were named after Samuel, who plays a prominent role in its beginning section, which was even attributed to his authorship. The name is not entirely appropriate, however, since Samuel dies before
1Samuel ends (25.1). First Samuel has three sections built around its principal characters, Samuel (chs 1-7), Saul (chs 8-15), and David (chs 16-31). Samuel is a transitional figure — the last of the judges and the prophet who anoints Saul and then announces his rejection by the Lord and anoints David in his place. Saul is a tragic figure — plucked from obscurity and thrust into a position of power for which he ultimately proves unfit. David is the focal figure of
1Samuel, for whom both Samuel and Saul pave the way. Like Saul, he is presented as humble and without personal ambition for kingship. But although Saul was initially the divinely designated ruler, in the end he fell out of divine favor and "the Lord was with David" — a major theme of the book. Most scholars view 1-2 Samuel as part of a larger original composition called the Deuteronomistic History, which encompasses the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel, and 1-2 Kings and relates Israel's history from the conquest under Joshua to the end of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The Deuteronomistic History is a theological history; it evaluates Israel's past according to the principles of the book of Deuteronomy, with which it begins. It stresses such matters as obedience to the law and God's choice of Jerusalem as the central place of worship for Israel and of David as its king.
1SAMUEL
545The Deuteronomistic History was composed by one or more nameless "Deuteronomists," probably in the exile (586 BCE), though some scholars date its initial edition to the reign of Josiah. Deuteronomist(s), edited various traditions into a single, running historical account. They occasionally inserted speeches or commentary in their own distinctive Deuteronomistic style into the narrative. Examples of Deuteronomistic style are 8.8 (the Exodus), 8.12 (the people crying out), and 12.14-15 (the review of Israel's history and the command to "heed the voice of the Lord"). First and Second Samuel are a literary masterpiece, but they may also contain genuine history. While they were written hundreds of years after the events they describe, they seem to contain older source material. Some scholars have suggested that an old "Ark Narrative" underlies 4.1-7.1, that a cycle of stories about Saul and his reign is behind chs 8-15, and that chs 16-31 are based on a "History of David's Rise." Still, these documents are theoretical reconstructions, and the exact nature of the sources used by the Deuteronomist(s) remains uncertain. The central character of the Deuteronomistic History is David. The Deuteronomist(s) explained the long duration of the Davidic dynasty theologically as the reward for David's faithfulness to God (see
2Sam 7). David may also have been viewed as the model for the restoration of the monarchy after the crisis of the exile. The pro-Davidic tone of
1Samuel is evident. While Saul falters at every step, David can do no wrong. God abandons Saul but is constantly with David. At some stage in its development the section dealing with David's rise seems to have been designed as an apology or defense of David and his kingship. The charge that David usurped the throne to which he had no hereditary right and did so through multiple assassinations is subtly and effectively addressed in
1Samuel and the beginning of
2Samuel. The reader, who may draw closer to actual history by asking whether Saul was really as bad and David as innocent as their portraits in
1Samuel indicate, is aided in answering such questions by materials presented in the Deuteronomistic History.
1SAMUEL 546