Ruth 4:5

"Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance."

"Ruth the Moabitess." These words scared the near kinsman right out of the transaction. It was public opinion in Bethlehem that Chilion and Mahlon had died for marrying Moabitish women, and when the near kinsman found out that buying the land meant also marrying a Moabitess, he dramatically withdrew his offer. Under the situation as thus explained, he would acquire another family, lose the money paid for the land, for that would belong to his son by Ruth (if they married) and would no longer be a part of his inheritance. Additionally, he would be burdened with the support of another family! It is not hard to understand why he made such a hasty exit from the transaction. Thus, Boaz had played the trump card at precisely the right instant, and he would, as a result, be free to marry Ruth, which was doubtless what he intended to do from the very first.