Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,
Parallel translations
- WEB Salmon became the father of Boaz by Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed by Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse.
- KJV And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
- NKJV Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse,
- NASB Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, and Obed fathered Jesse.
- NLT Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Rahab the Canaanite and Ruth the Moabite, both Gentile women, appear in Jesus' ancestry. They show that faith, not ethnicity, brings one into God's people.
Overview
Rahab was the Jericho prostitute who trusted Israel's God (Joshua 2; Hebrews 11:31), and Ruth a Moabitess whose loyalty became proverbial. Their inclusion testifies that God draws people from every nation into the Messiah's family. This anticipates the gospel reaching the Gentiles, a theme Matthew develops to his closing Great Commission.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Heb 11:31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient.
- Ruth 1:16–17But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.
- Jas 2:25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies and sent them off on another route?
- Ruth 1:4who took Moabite women as their wives, one named Orpah and the other named Ruth. And after they had lived in Moab about ten years,
- Josh 6:22–25Meanwhile, Joshua told the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the house of the prostitute and bring out the woman and all who are with her, just as you promised her.”
- Ruth 1:22So Naomi returned from the land of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. And they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
- 1 Chr 2:11–12Nahshon was the father of Salmon, and Salmon was the father of Boaz.
- Ruth 4:21Salmon was the father of Boaz, Boaz was the father of Obed,
- Josh 2:1–22Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
- Luke 3:32the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Pastoral
On the genealogy and the name Immanuel.
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 1:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.