Ruth 4

The Pulpit Commentary - Ruth 4:15

And may he be to thee a restorer of life, and for the support of thine old age: for thy daughter-in-law, who loved thee, hath borne him, and she is better to thee than seven sons. The number seven suggested an idea of fullness, completeness, perfection. The whole inhabitants of the city knew that Ruth's love to her mother-in-law had been indeed transcendent, and also that it had been transcendently returned. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ruth 4:16

And Naomi took the boy, and placed him in her bosom, and she became his foster-mother. She became his nurse in chief. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ruth 4:17

And the women, her neigh-bouts, named the child, saying, A son has been born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David . "Obed," if a participle of the Hebrew verb עָבַד , naturally means serving , or servant . No other derivation, apparently, can at present be assumed (but see Raabe's 'Glossar.'). Josephus gives the participial interpretation as a matter of course, and Jerome too. If the objective correlate of the servitude referred to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ruth 4:18-22

And these are the lineal descendants of Pharez. Pharez begat Hezron, and Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, and Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David. This is the genealogy of King David, and it is therefore an integral part of the genealogy of King David's great descendant, his "Lord" and ours. As such it is incorporated entire in the two tables that are contained respectively in the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ruth 4:18-22

The lineage of David. This book closes with a genealogy. Readers of the Scriptures may sometimes have felt perplexed at the frequency with which genealogical tables occur both in the Old Testament and in the New. There is a sufficient reason for this. I. SCRIPTURE SANCTIONS THE INTEREST HUMAN NATURE FEELS IN GENEALOGY . No one is insensible to his own ancestry, especially if among his progenitors have bee: men of eminence. Interest in ancestry may be carried too far,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ruth 4:1

The gate is the place of concourse, of business, and of justice in Oriental cities (see Judges 19:15 note; Genesis 34:20; Deuteronomy 16:18).Ho, such a one! - Indicating that the name of the kinsman was either unknown or purposely concealed 1 Samuel 21:2; 2 Kings 6:8. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ruth 4:2

Every city was governed by elders (see Deuteronomy 19:12; Judges 8:14). For the number “ten,” compare Exodus 18:25. Probably the presence of, at least, ten elders was necessary to make a lawful public assembly, as among modern Jews ten (a minyon) are necessary to constitute a synagogue. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ruth 4:3

According to the law Leviticus 25:25-28, if any Israelite, through poverty, would sell his possession, the next of kin (the גאל gā'al) had a right to redeem it by paying the value of the number of years remaining until the jubilee (see the marginal reference). This right Boaz advertises the גאל gā'al of, so as to give him the option which the law secured to him of redeeming “our brother Elimelech’s” land, i. e. our kinsman’s, according to the common use of the term brother, for near relation... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ruth 4:4

See the margin; a phrase explained by the act of removing the end of the turban, or the hair, in order to whisper in the ear (see 1 Samuel 9:15 : 2 Samuel 7:27). read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ruth 4:5

Observe the action of the Levirate law. If there had been no one interested but Naomi, she would have sold the land unclogged by any condition, the law of Levirate having no existence in her case. But there was a young widow upon whom the possession of the land would devolve at Naomi’s death, and who already had a right of partnership in it, and the law of Levirate did apply in her case. It was, therefore, the duty of the גאל gā'al to marry her and raise up seed to his brother, i. e. his... read more

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