When a friend told me that the Book of Ruth as “one of the best short stories ever told,” I asked myself: did I miss something? I read it before, of course, and I also recalled Stuart Whitman was in the movie in the 1960s I liked to watch about this story. But “one of the best?”
My degrees are in English, and I’ve read a fair amount of short stories. Ruth was never among the top ones on my list.
So I re-read it, studied it, and like everything I read and re-read realized quickly how much I missed. And while it is a “good” story, it falls short of “one of the best” in my humble opinion. Or does it?
I re-read my friend’s explanation on why he thought it was one of the best, which made me study the book even further. And I’m glad I did, because the bottom-line conclusion I reached was this:
The Book of Ruth should probably have been called the Book of Namoi.
That’s what happens when you re-read things: you bring different experiences with you each time, and find additional meanings. And that is a good thing. You should read Ruth for yourself again or for the first time if you’ve not done so. It’s actually an excellent story – but perhaps not for the reasons my friend believes.
Read the Story First, a Critique Second
Like everything else, I always try to stick within the story AS the story, and in this case, the story of Ruth is a story within a story: The Book of Ruth is part of a larger narrative, the Old Testament.
Nevertheless, it should be able to stand on its own (which it does). But like all literature, there are allusions to other parts within itself that enhance your reading. Parts probably in the larger Old Testament books (i.e., the first line “in the days of the judges” is an allusion to the Book of Judges).
In a similar way, references to Greek mythology or the Bible itself in English or American literature enrich a reading – for example, when Herman Melville starts Moby Dick with the words, “Call me Ishmael” if you don’t know who Ismael is in the bible, you lose whole layers of meaning in Melville’s story about the white whale.
The Book of Ruth is a story in itself involving four concepts as far as I can see: 1) property ownership,2) kinsmanship, 3) personal decisions, and, of course,4) the hand of God. But perhaps more important, it is the story of a woman manipulating a situation to get something. Women as manipulators has of course been done before Naomi and many times since. Rebekah orchestrating Jacob into the first-born spot is one of the more famous. Eve could be said to have manipulated Adam.
There is Nothing Wrong with Manipulation
We use each other all the time, and frankly, the word “manipulation” has gotten a bad connotation. All the definitions relate the word to changing people’s emotions in a certain way, or moving people in a in a clever or unscrupulous way. But you manipulate a fork when you eat. You manipulate a car when you drive. Of course, we manipulate each other, but it’s manipulation in a good or bad way, wouldn’t you agree? “Good” and “Bad” are value judgements. When you pray, you’re trying to manipulate God to see it your way?
Before I provide my own interpretation about this particular manipulation, I wanted to discuss my friend’s take and give some juxtaposition.
Eye of the Beholder
“De gustibus non est disputandum” is Latin for you can’t argue about taste, so I’m not disputing it is a “good” or the “best” short story. But in examining what my friend talked about, I found in my re-reading and re-study what I think is the truth about this book which is different than what my friend saw; that is, Naomi is a manipulator.
Now some people will argue that such manipulation is interrupting “God’s plan.” The problem with that is lack of evidence: there is nothing in this story to suggest God had a plan in motion, nor do we, as human beings, have access to what His plans are even as they unfold. Therefore, as mentioned, I always read the story AS a story in itself. And, I gather evidence from what is written to support the thesis.
My friend noted straight off: “Naomi left the covenant land from famine (did she and husband have a lapse in hope to leave the promised land???) “
There is no mention of a lapse of hope in the story, but it wasn’t just Naomi that left: it was she, her husband and her sons. I always use the King James version of the Bible for reading, which is quoted throughout this analysis (and entirely at the end for your reference). In many cases, we bring to a story what we ourselves have become, rather than striving to take an objective point of view. So consider the text itself to get the discussion going:
{1:1} Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
Even in the next passage, there is no hint that hope is lapsing for their move to Moab.
{1:2} And the name of the man [was] Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
The word the narrator uses in the story is “sojourn” which means a temporary stay. As to why Elimelech decided to move to Moab, the story makes it clear: famine. He wanted to get away from famine (and who wouldn’t).
Now famine is “extreme scarcity of food” (note the word extreme) so I would suggest this “certain man” – and also note that the narrator does not use surnames many times throughout this story, but refers to individuals as “man” or “women” – went to find food with his family rather than starve to death.
In Moab (where the family ends up), which according to what I’ve been able to figure out is about 1800 miles away from where they started in Bethlehem, Elimelech dies. 1800 miles is quite the journey in those days (or any days!).
{1:3} And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.
The narrator never tells us HOW Elimelech died. Many times, when facts are omitted in the narration, it is because they are not important to the understanding of the story. But omission always sparks interpretation.
A Word about Narrators
There are only two types of narrators in any piece of literature: (1st person) inside the story and outside the story (3rd person). The first person is a character inside the story talking to readers; the first narrator is PART of the story. The third person is OUTSIDE the story, and is often referred to as the omniscient narrator because you have to believe what you’re being told or the story makes absolutely no sense.
The Story of Ruth is a third person story, so we have to believe what the narrator says or the story will not make sense. Likewise, we can’t interpret outside of what we’re being told; I mean, of course you can interpret, but respectfully, there should be some evidence to base your speculations on.
For example, did Elimelech die because like my friend said he had a lapse in faith? Because the went against God’s plan? Starvation? A fight with someone? Speculations are interesting, but not relevant unless support by fact: Elimelech Naomi’s husband died. The consequences of his death are more important in this case; that is, Naomi was left with her sons.
So the sons marry and live in Moab for “ten years.” But then they die too, and “the woman” (Naomi) “was left of her sons and her husband.” “Left” here means without. Again, the consequences of the deaths are more important not the deaths themselves.
In other words, Naomi is a woman, alone, except for her daughters-in-laws. Three women, no men. Not a very good equation in those days.
Note, again, the non-use of names. We did know the names of the sons and their wives by now, but the 3rd person narrator decided not to use them here. Nor do we ever know which son married which daughter-in-law. Again, omitted as unimportant to the understanding of the story.
My friend continues and notes: “it is a story of two people, living responsibly under the covenant, one an Israelite man who honors his workers and the poor, one a Moabitess who determines to serve Naomi.”
Actually, the two people my friend refers to are Boaz and Ruth, which happens when Naomi takes Ruth back to Bethlehem where she started from. The word “covenant” isn’t used once in this story of Ruth. My friend went on to explain:
“She’s (Ruth) a foreigner and probably expects to be de-valued in Israel; Boaz is a man of substance who honors covenant law by leaving sections of his field unharvested so poor could glean and survive, makes sure to tell his men not to harass, probably sexually, this foreign woman; it is a story of incredible redemption – Ruth (and by extension Naomi) is rescued from abject poverty – Namoi’s dead husbands fields are re-purchased, she gets an heir from Boaz/Ruth; sure seems like Boaz and Ruth find love – his kindness to her, her love and devotion to him; even the village celebrates the whole crazy story when a son is born to them – and of course this is the genealogy that leads to Jesus!!”
There is no evidence of “honors covenant law” in the story, except that Boaz is described as a “mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech.” Now with that statement we immediately know he is related to Namoi’s husband Elimelech.
Nor is their evidence that Ruth “expects to be de-valued.” When Boaz asks about who she is and finds out from his “servant” that she is the “Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab,” he has a dialogue with her. Ruth has been “cleaning” (gleaning) what is left by the reapers. In fact, it was by luck that she came to that particular field that particular day.
{2:3} And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field [belonging] unto Boaz, who [was] of the kindred of Elimelech.
You can say God is guiding all this, but that’s swinging an interpretation where there is no evidence (i.e., God directed Ruth is no where narrated).
Boaz and Ruth have a dialogue after they meet and hit it off. He says she can keep on doing what she is doing, she can eat with the rest of the workers, and “have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee?”
The question here is actually why Boaz says this. The implication is that if he didn’t say it, the young men would touch her. Which means, of course, that touching of women was going on in these fields. As I said, this is a story about women in the world of men.
Ruth goes home with a bushel of barley and tells Naomi of her encounter.
And Naomi said unto her, The man [is] near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. {2:21} And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest. {2:22} And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, [It is] good, my daughter.
These dialogues throughout Ruth are important to understanding the movement of the characters outside of the 3rd person narration. They are also part of the character’s development. Naomi tells her to stay with that field and Ruth does so.
Naomi the Manipulator
And then, Naomi hatches her plan for Ruth which the narrator makes clear for us:
{3:1} Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? {3:2} And now [is] not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor. {3:3} Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: [but] make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. {3:4} And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. {3:5} And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.
In other words, get close to Boaz. “Anoint thee” and put your raiment on (which is your best clothing). The use of pronouns is always difficult in reading these stories, as in the last line: “And she said unto her, All thou sayest unto me I will do” is probably Ruth telling Naomi she will execute the plan. Which she does.
Boaz comes in (his heart was merry) and Ruth does as Naomi instructed. He wakes up at midnight and see her there. He asks who she is and she tells him, “I [am] Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou [art] a near kinsman.”
Many interpretations say this is a kind of marriage proposal between them, but there is really no way of knowing that for sure. “Spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman” is Ruth telling Boaz it’s ok to take her, she is the “maidservant.” But he doesn’t. Instead, they have a conversation.
He tells her she showed more kindness because she didn’t follow “young men, whether poor or rich.” There is that reference to young men again.
He tells to fear not, that he will “do to thee all that thou requirest” because everyone knows Ruth is virtuous. In other words, Ruth is the one doing the requiring. But there’s an obstacle: Boaz explains to her that while he is a kinsman, there’s another kinsman nearer to Ruth, and that in the morning, he will do what a kinsman should do, taking an oath to that effect:
{3:13} …if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman’s part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, [as] the LORD liveth: lie down until the morning.
In other words, Boaz will bring this to a head by asking of the other kinsman is going to do what a kinsman should do, which will be revealed shortly in the story.
Equally important, nothing happens between them. “{3:14} And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.”
In other words, nothing happened, but he issued the order to keep Ruth’s visit a secret. Boaz, unknowingly or knowingly, is put in motion by Ruth, who was put in motion by Naomi. The root cause of all that happens is, in fact, Naomi.
Boaz gives her more barley, she returns to Naomi who asks what happened, “And she told her all that the man had done to her.” Here again is the lack of surnames by the narrator should be noted. And what did Boaz do to her besides talk? Gives her barley and takes the oath to bring it to ahead.
The rest of the story is Boaz eliminating the closer kinsman by putting Ruth in the offer with the land, and the kinsman saying, “I cannot redeem [it] for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it.” We then get a defining statement that explain the custom.
{4:7} Now this [was the manner] in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave [it] to his neighbour: and this [was] a testimony in Israel. {4:8} Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy [it] for thee. So he drew off his shoe.
Boaz buys everything.
I have bought all that [was] Elimelech’s, and all that [was] Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, of the hand of Naomi. {4:10} Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye [are] witnesses this day.
In other words, it’s a financial transaction.
Boaz marries and “when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son.” This is the first reference to “God’s hand” in the story, who gives Ruth a child.
And then, the finale:
And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed [be] the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. {4:15} And he shall be unto thee a restorer of [thy] life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him. {4:16} And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. {4:17} And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he [is] the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Note the absence of men in the finale. It’s the women who surround Naomi. It’s the women who name the child, and it’s Naomi who “took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.” Nursing is, of course, giving a child breast milk – Namoi’s.
The Role of Kinship through Dialogue
I want to pause a moment and elaborate briefly on an earlier comment about how dialogue develops character in 3rd person narration and its relationship to the kinship theme. The first time we hear Namoi speak is in 1:6 through 1:11, where she speaks with her daughters in law. If we examine that dialogue carefully, you’ll see in it the roots of the interpretation I’m putting on this story.
This is where all the men are dead and she wants to return to her homeland because she heard “the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.” They all set out for Judah, but then Naomi says as the first dialogue beings that becomes the basis of everything else that follows.
She tells her daughters in law to go back to their own mother’s house. “the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.” In other words, you’ll be better off back home with your own kin (kinship theme) than with her. She was the LORD to grant them rest “in the house of her husband.” The kinships theme runs throughout this dialogue: Naomi going to her kin, and telling her daughters in law to go to theirs.
They become emotional. And “they” said to Naomi that they will go back with Naomi. But Naomi tells them to go back. Why go with her. She asks them if there are any more sons “in my womb, that they may be your husbands?” And then, “I am too old to have an husband.”
This is a kinship statement if there ever was because of what she says next: “If I should say, I have hope, [if] I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons; {1:13} Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands?”
In other words, I can’t have any more children, and even if I could, would you wait for them to grow up? She says, “the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.”
Still emotional, Orpah leaves the Ruth “claves” (become very strongly involved with or emotionally attached) unto her. Naomi tells Ruth Orpah went back, and you should do. Then we hear Ruth speak for the first time when she tells Naomi in the famous must quoted speech (“whither thou goest…”).
So the first dialogue is, in a way, the splitting of a direct line kinship with Ruth now with Naomi.
Conclusion
Ruth is a story about women, their role with men, and how they survive and keep the line going. With all the men dead, Naomi has no alternative but to use Ruth to carry on the line. If Ruth didn’t go with Naomi, who knows what the story would be. But she did, and it was her personal decision to do so.
As I said in the beginning, it’s about property ownership (Boaz purchases the land and the people on that land, Naomi and Ruth); it’s about kinsmanship (carrying on the line, Boaz following the lineage and eliminating the competition to gain ownership); personal decisions (Ruth makes the choice to follow Naomi back to Bethlehem after her husband dies, Naomi instructing Ruth how to gain Boaz); and, the hand of God.
But it’s less about the hand of God moving in this unless you believe he is telling Naomi what to do, which there is no evidence to support.
Rather, Naomi is a remarkable woman, who uses manipulation (not really a bad word) with the people around her to regain what she had when she had originally married Elimelech and lost it when they left Judah and he died, along with Naomi’s sons.
Is it a love story? Perhaps. But it is really more a story of survival – how women survive in a world that is dominated by men. The key line comes from the women at the end who tell Naomi that her daughter in law “loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons.” You’ll find many interpretations of this single line, but if you stick to the story, the women are telling Naomi that Ruth’s love is better than having seven sons (men). In other words, it is a statement of the power of women.
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Ruth King James Version for Reference
{1:1} Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. {1:2} And the name of the man [was] Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there. {1:3} And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons. {1:4} And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one [was] Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years. {1:5} And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband. {1:6} Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread. {1:7} Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah. {1:8} And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. {1:9} The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each [of you] in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept. {1:10} And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. {1:11} And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? [are] there yet [any more] sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? {1:12} Turn again, my daughters, go [your way;] for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, [if] I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons; {1:13} Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me. {1:14} And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her. {1:15} And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. {1:16} And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, [or] to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people [shall be] my people, and thy God my God: {1:17} Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, [if ought] but death part thee and me. {1:18} When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. {1:19} So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, [Is] this Naomi? {1:20} And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. {1:21} I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why [then] call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? {1:22} So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest. {2:1} And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name [was] Boaz. {2:2} And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after [him] in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. {2:3} And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field [belonging] unto Boaz, who [was] of the kindred of Elimelech. {2:4} And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD [be] with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee. {2:5} Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel [is] this? {2:6} And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It [is] the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab: {2:7} And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house. {2:8} Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: {2:9} [Let] thine eyes [be] on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of [that] which the young men have drawn. {2:10} Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I [am] a stranger? {2:11} And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and [how] thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. {2:12} The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. {2:13} Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens. {2:14} And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched [corn,] and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left. {2:15} And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not: {2:16} And let fall also [some] of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave [them,] that she may glean [them,] and rebuke her not. {2:17} So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley. {2:18} And she took [it] up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed. {2:19} And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man’s name with whom I wrought to day [is] Boaz. {2:20} And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed [be] he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man [is] near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. {2:21} And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest. {2:22} And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, [It is] good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field. {2:23} So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law. {3:1} Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? {3:2} And now [is] not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor. {3:3} Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: [but] make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. {3:4} And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. {3:5} And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do. {3:6} And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her. {3:7} And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down. {3:8} And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. {3:9} And he said, Who [art] thou? And she answered, I [am] Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou [art] a near kinsman. {3:10} And he said, Blessed [be] thou of the LORD, my daughter: [for] thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich. {3:11} And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou [art] a virtuous woman. {3:12} And now it is true that I [am thy] near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I. {3:13} Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, [that] if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman’s part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, [as] the LORD liveth: lie down until the morning. {3:14} And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor. {3:15} Also he said, Bring the vail that [thou hast] upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six [measures] of barley, and laid [it] on her: and she went into the city. {3:16} And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who [art] thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. {3:17} And she said, These six [measures] of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law. {3:18} Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day. {4:1} Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the 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. {4:2} And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down. {4:3} And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which [was] our brother Elimelech’s: {4:4} And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy [it] before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my not redeem [it, then] tell me, that I may know: for [there is] none to redeem [it] beside thee; and I [am] after thee. And he said, I will redeem [it. ]{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. {4:6} And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem [it] for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it. {4:7} Now this [was the manner] in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave [it] to his neighbour: and this [was] a testimony in Israel. {4:8} Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy [it] for thee. So he drew off his shoe. {4:9} And Boaz said unto the elders, and [unto] all the people, Ye [are] witnesses this day, that I have bought all that [was] Elimelech’s, and all that [was] Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, of the hand of Naomi. {4:10} Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye [are] witnesses this day. {4:11} And all the people that [were] in the gate, and the elders, said, [We are] witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem: {4:12} And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman. {4:13} So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son. {4:14} And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed [be] the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. {4:15} And he shall be unto thee a restorer of [thy] life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him. {4:16} And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. {4:17} And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he [is] the father of Jesse, the father of David. {4:18} Now these [are] the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron, {4:19} And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, {4:20} And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, {4:21} And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, {4:22} And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.