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.
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.”
- BSB 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.”
- 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 25:6And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.
- Eph 5:25Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
- Isa 48:19Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.
- Josh 7:9For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?
- Mal 2:14Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
- Gen 29:18–19And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.
- Ps 34:16The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
- Isa 8:2–3And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
- Hos 12:12And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.
- Prov 19:14House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD.
- Prov 31:10–11Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
- Ps 109:15Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
- Zech 13:2And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.
- Gen 29:27Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
- Prov 18:22Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.
- Hos 3:2So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:
- Heb 13:4Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
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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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