Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to raise up the name of the deceased through his inheritance, so that his name will not disappear from among his brothers or from the gate of his home. You are witnesses today.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, I have purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers, and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses today.”
- KJV 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.
- NKJV Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.”
- NASB Furthermore, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased will not be eliminated from his brothers or from the court of his birth place; you are witnesses today.”
- NLT And with the land I have acquired Ruth, the Moabite widow of Mahlon, to be my wife. This way she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in his hometown. You are all witnesses today.”
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
Boaz announces he has taken Ruth as his wife to preserve the name and inheritance of her dead husband Mahlon. This fulfills the spirit of levirate duty and continues the family line.
Overview
Beyond redeeming the land, Boaz embraces the costly responsibility of raising up an heir to perpetuate the name of the dead, honoring Ruth and her late husband. His selfless commitment to preserve a name that is not his own reflects gracious, redemptive love. This act ultimately serves God's larger plan, for from this union would descend David and, in time, the Messiah.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Deut 25:6The first son she bears will carry on the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.
- Eph 5:25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
- Isa 48:19Your descendants would have been as countless as the sand, and your offspring as numerous as its grains; their name would never be cut off or eliminated from My presence.”
- Josh 7:9When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?”
- Mal 2:14Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
- Gen 29:18–19Since Jacob loved Rachel, he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”
- Ps 34:16But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to wipe out all memory of them from the earth.
- Isa 8:2–3And I will appoint for Myself trustworthy witnesses—Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.”
- Hos 12:12Jacob fled to the land of Aram and Israel worked for a wife—for a wife he tended sheep.
- Prov 19:14Houses and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.
- Prov 31:10–11A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies.
- Ps 109:15May their sins always remain before the LORD, that He may cut off their memory from the earth.
- Zech 13:2And on that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.
- Gen 29:27Finish this week’s celebration, and we will give you the younger one in return for another seven years of work.”
- Prov 18:22He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.
- Hos 3:2So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley.
- Heb 13:4Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
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Christ at the center
Boaz the kinsman-redeemer who buys back the destitute and takes a bride foreshadows Christ, our Redeemer who pays the price to make a people his own; and from Ruth's line comes David, and David's greater Son.
How Ruth 4:10 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
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