14 And the women said to Naomi, A blessing on the Lord, who has not let you be this day without a near relation, and may his name be great in Israel.
<Of David. When he made a change in his behaviour before Abimelech, who sent him away, and he went.> I will be blessing the Lord at all times; his praise will be ever in my mouth. My soul will say great things of the Lord: the poor in spirit will have knowledge of it and be glad. O give praise to the Lord with me; let us be witnesses together of his great name.
And Salmon became the father of Boaz, and Boaz became the father of Obed; And Obed became the father of Jesse, and Jesse became the father of David.
And there will come a rod out of the broken tree of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will give fruit. And the spirit of the Lord will be resting on him, the spirit of wisdom and good sense, the spirit of wise guiding and strength, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And he will not be guided in his judging by what he sees, or give decisions by the hearing of his ears: But he will do right in the cause of the poor, and give wise decisions for those in the land who are in need; and the rod of his mouth will come down on the cruel, and with the breath of his lips he will put an end to the evil-doer.
And the son of Salmon by Rahab was Boaz; and the son of Boaz by Ruth was Obed; and the son of Obed was Jesse; And the son of Jesse was David the king; and the son of David was Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah; And the son of Solomon was Rehoboam; and the son of Rehoboam was Abijah; and the son of Abijah was Asa; And the son of Asa was Jehoshaphat; and the son of Jehoshaphat was Joram; and the son of Joram was Uzziah; And the son of Uzziah was Jotham; and the son of Jotham was Ahaz; and the son of Ahaz was Hezekiah; And the son of Hezekiah was Manasseh; and the son of Manasseh was Amon; and the son of Amon was Josiah; And the sons of Josiah were Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the taking away to Babylon. And after the taking away to Babylon, Jechoniah had a son Shealtiel; and Shealtiel had Zerubbabel; And Zerubbabel had Abiud; and Abiud had Eliakim; and Eliakim had Azor; And Azor had Zadok; and Zadok had Achim; and Achim had Eliud; And Eliud had Eleazar; and Eleazar had Matthan; and Matthan had Jacob; And the son of Jacob was Joseph the husband of Mary, who gave birth to Jesus, whose name is Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the taking away to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the taking away to Babylon to the coming of Christ, fourteen generations. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this way: when his mother Mary was going to be married to Joseph, before they came together the discovery was made that she was with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph, her husband, being an upright man, and not desiring to make her a public example, had a mind to put her away privately. But when he was giving thought to these things, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, have no fear of taking Mary as your wife; because that which is in her body is of the Holy Spirit.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Ruth 4
Commentary on Ruth 4 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 4
Ru 4:1-5. Boaz Calls into Judgment the Next Kinsman.
1. Then went Boaz up to the gate of the city—a roofed building, unenclosed by walls; the place where, in ancient times, and in many Eastern towns still, all business transactions are made, and where, therefore, the kinsman was most likely to be found. No preliminaries were necessary in summoning one before the public assemblage; no writings and no delay were required. In a short conversation the matter was stated and arranged—probably in the morning as people went out, or at noon when they returned from the field.
2. he took ten men of the elders of the city—as witnesses. In ordinary circumstances, two or three were sufficient to attest a bargain; but in cases of importance, such as matrimony, divorce, conveyancing of property, it was the Jewish practice to have ten (1Ki 21:8).
3. Naomi … selleth a parcel of land—that is, entertains the idea of selling. In her circumstances she was at liberty to part with it (Le 25:25). Both Naomi and Ruth had an interest in the land during their lives; but Naomi alone was mentioned, not only because she directed all the negotiations, but because the introduction of Ruth's name would awaken a suspicion of the necessity of marrying her, before the first proposition was answered.
4. there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee—(See on De 25:5). The redemption of the land of course involved a marriage with Ruth, the widow of the former owner.
Ru 4:6-8. He Refuses the Redemption.
6. The kinsman said, I cannot redeem it …, lest I mar mine own inheritance—This consequence would follow, either, first, from his having a son by Ruth, who, though heir to the property, would not bear his name; his name would be extinguished in that of her former husband; or, secondly, from its having to be subdivided among his other children, which he had probably by a previous marriage. This right, therefore, was renounced and assigned in favor of Boaz, in the way of whose marriage with Ruth the only existing obstacle was now removed.
7, 8. a man plucked off his shoe—Where the kinsman refused to perform his duty to the family of his deceased relation, the widow was directed to pull off the shoe with some attendant circumstances of contemptuous disdain. But, as in this case, there was no refusal, the usual ignominy was spared; and the plucking off the shoe, the only ceremony observed, was a pledge of the transaction being completed.
Ru 4:9-12. He Marries Ruth.
9. Boaz said unto the elders, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was … Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi—Although the widow of Chilion was still living, no regard was paid to her in the disposal of her husband's property. From her remaining in Moab, she was considered to have either been married again, or to have renounced all right to an inheritance with the family of Elimelech.
10. Ruth the Moabitess … have I purchased to be my wife—This connection Boaz not only might form, since Ruth had embraced the true religion, but he was under a legal necessity of forming it.
11. all the people and the elders, said, We are witnesses—A multitude, doubtless from curiosity or interest, were present on the occasion. There was no signing of deeds; yet was the transfer made, and complete security given, by the public manner in which the whole matter was carried on and concluded.
the Lord make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah—This was the usual bridal benediction.
12. let thy house be like the house of Pharez—that is, as honorable and numerous as his. He was the ancestor of the Beth-lehem people, and his family one of the five from which the tribe of Judah sprang.
Ru 4:13-18. She Bears Obed.
17. Obed—means "servant."
18-22. these are the generations of Pharez—that is, his descendants. This appendix shows that the special object contemplated by the inspired author of this little book was to preserve the memory of an interesting domestic episode, and to trace the genealogy of David. There was an interval of three hundred eighty years between Salmon and David. It is evident that whole generations are omitted; the leading personages only are named, and grandfathers are said, in Scripture language, to beget their grandchildren, without specifying the intermediate links.