Tanach - Ruth Chapter 4
1. Then Boaz went up to the gate, and sat down there; and, behold, the next of kin of whom Boaz had spoken came by; to whom he said, Hey there, such and such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.
2. And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit down here. And they sat down.
3. And he said to the next of kin; Naomi, who has returned from the country of Moab, is selling a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech’s;
4. And I thought I would tell you of it, and say, Buy it in the presence of the inhabitants, and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is none to redeem it besides you; and I come after you. And he said, I will redeem it.
5. Then said Boaz, on the day that you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must buy it also from Ruth the Moabite, the wife of the dead, to restore the name of the dead to his inheritance.
6. And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I harm my own inheritance; take my right of redemption for yourself; for I cannot redeem it.
7. Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging; to confirm a transaction a man took off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbor; and this was the manner of attesting in Israel.
8. Therefore the kinsman said to Boaz, Buy it for yourself. And he took off his shoe.
9. And Boaz said to the elders, and to all the people, You are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Kilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi.
10. And also Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, have I bought to be my wife, to restore the name of the dead to his inheritance, so that the name of the dead shall not be cut off from among his brothers, and from the gate of his place; you are witnesses this day.
11. And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman that has come into your house like Rachel and like Leah, who both built the house of Israel. May you prosper in Ephratah, and be famous in Beth-Lehem;
12. And may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give you of this young woman.
13. So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife; and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.
14. And the women said to Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which has not left you this day without a redeemer, that his name may be famous in Israel!
15. And he shall be to you a restorer of your life, and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has born him.
16. And Naomi took the child, and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse.
17. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, A son has been born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed; he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18. Now these are the generations of Perez; Perez fathered Hezron,
19. And Hezron fathered Ram, and Ram fathered Amminadab,
20. And Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon,
21. And Salmon fathered Boaz, and Boaz fathered Obed,
22. And Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.
Midrash Rabbah - Ruth IV:6
6.1 THEN BOAZ SAID TO HIS SERVANT THAT WAS SET OVER THE REAPERS (II,5). Over how many was he appointed? R. Eliezer, the son of Miriam, said: He was set over forty-two, as we see from the verse, And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel... and he set three score and ten thousand of them to bear burdens, and fourscore thousands to be hewers in the mountains, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people at work (II Chron. II, 16 f.).2 One who adopts this plan is able to go on, and knows what he is about. WHOSE DAMSEL IS THIS? Did he then not recognise her? The meaning is that when he saw how attractive she was, and how modest her attitude, he began to inquire concerning her. All the other women bend down to gather the ears of corn, but she sits and gathers; all the other women hitch up their skirts, and she keeps hers down; all the other women jest with the reapers, while she is reserved; all the other women gather from between the sheaves, while she gathers from that which is already abandoned. In the same way one must understand the verse, And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner,... Whose son as this youth? (I Sam. XVII, 55). Did he then not recognise him? But yesterday he sent to Jesse saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight (ib. XVI, 22), and now he inquires concerning him? The meaning is that when Saul saw the head of the Philistine (Goliath) he began to ask concerning David, Is he a descendant of Perez, a king?3
(1) Printed edd. wrongly number this and the following sections, 9, 10, 11, and 12.
(2) I.e. 3,600 overseers for 150,O00 people (actually 153,600), an average of one overseer for 42.
(3) Perez and Zarah, the sons of Judah (Gen. XXXVII, 29-30). The former means a ‘breach’ and thus refers to a king who makes breaches in the enemy walls. Cf. A.Z. 76b.
Is he a descendant of Zarah, a judge? And Doeg, the Edomite, was there, at that time, and he said to him, ' Even if he is a descendant of Perez, is he not of impure descent? Is he not a descendant of Ruth, the Moabitess? But Abner said to him, ' But has not the new law been made, " Ammonite but not Ammonitess, Moabite but not Moabitess"? ' He answered him, ' But if so, let us also say Edomite but not Edomitess, Egyptian but not Egyptian women? Why were the men spurned, was it not Because they met you not with bread and with water? (Deut. XXIII, 5). The women ought also to have met the women? ' And for the moment Abner forgot the law. Said Saul to him, ' Go and inquire concerning that law which you have forgotten from Samuel and his Court. When he came to Samuel and his Court, he said to him: Whence have you this? Not from Doeg? Doeg is a heretic and will not depart from this world in peace, and yet I cannot let you leave without an answer.2 All glorious is the king's daughter within the palace (Ps. Xl.V, 14).3 It is not for a woman to go out and bring food, but only for a man. And because they hired against thee Balaam (Deut. XXIII, 5). A man hires, but not a woman. AND THE SERVANT THAT WAS SET OVER THE REAPERS ANSWERED AND SAID: IT IS A MOABITISH DAMSEL (II, 6), and yet you say that her conduct is praiseworthy and modest? Her mother-in-law had instructed her well.
(1) Deut. XXIII, 8. The law of Ammon and Moab applies only to the males; of Edom and Egypt to males and females.
(2) Although one should not answel a heretic.
(3) I.e. a woman should remain indoors.
(4) The translation probably gives the general sense (though M.K. and Y.’A. suggest other renderings), but the language of the original is somewhat obscure.