Ruth 4:1

THE MARRIAGE OF RUTH AND BOAZ AND BIRTH OF OBED

Such is the importance of this chapter that we shall examine it one verse at a time.

"Now Boaz went up to the gate, and sat him down there; and, behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down."

"Boaz went up to the gate." Morris thought that the threshing-floor was at a lower altitude than the city;[1] and it might have been. However, if there was a hill of higher elevation than the city, that would have been a better place to catch the breeze for the winnowing. To us, therefore, it appears that Boaz' going "up to the gate" is a reference to the high authority invested in the elders and magistrates who assembled at the gate in ancient cities. The words "go up to the gate" were used in the same sense that Israel always referred to "going up" to Jerusalem. The city gate, in those times, was the place where the city's business was conducted; it was the equivalent of the modern city hall. The purpose of Boaz' appearance there was to fulfill his promise to Ruth, which he certainly did, promptly and effectively.

"Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down." These are the words with which Boaz greeted that near kinsmen as he came along, probably on the way to his field. We may be sure that Boaz addressed him by name, but the author of the Book of Ruth was either ignorant of his name or simply did not wish to mention it, which is the more likely. Moffatt rendered the expression. "Ho, you"! And, as we might say to a close acquaintance, "Hi, fellow!