11 And all the people who `are' in the gate say -- also the elders -- `Witnesses! Jehovah make the woman who is coming in unto thy house as Rachel and as Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and do thou virtuously in Ephrathah, and proclaim the Name in Beth-Lehem;
And they journey from Bethel, and there is yet a kibrath of land before entering Ephratha, and Rachel beareth, and is sharply pained in her bearing; and it cometh to pass, in her being sharply pained in her bearing, that the midwife saith to her, `Fear not, for this also `is' a son for thee.' And it cometh to pass in the going out of her soul (for she died), that she calleth his name Ben-Oni; and his father called him Benjamin; and Rachel dieth, and is buried in the way to Ephratha, which `is' Bethlehem, and Jacob setteth up a standing pillar over her grave; which `is' the standing pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.
`Then hath his brother's wife drawn nigh unto him, before the eyes of the elders, and drawn his shoe from off his foot, and spat in his face, and answered and said, Thus it is done to the man who doth not build up the house of his brother;
Lo, an inheritance of Jehovah `are' sons, A reward `is' the fruit of the womb. As arrows in the hand of a mighty one, So `are' the sons of the young men. O the happiness of the man Who hath filled his quiver with them, They are not ashamed, For they speak with enemies in the gate!
Thy wife `is' as a fruitful vine in the sides of thy house, Thy sons as olive plants around thy table. Lo, surely thus is the man blessed who is fearing Jehovah. Jehovah doth bless thee out of Zion, Look, then, on the good of Jerusalem, All the days of thy life, And see the sons of thy sons! Peace on Israel!
And thou, Beth-Lehem Ephratah, Little to be among the chiefs of Judah! From thee to Me he cometh forth -- to be ruler in Israel, And his comings forth `are' of old, From the days of antiquity.
And these `are' the names of the sons of Israel who are coming into Egypt: Jacob and his sons, Jacob's first-born, Reuben. And sons of Reuben: Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi. And sons of Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul son of the Canaanitess. And sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And sons of Judah: Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah, (and Er and Onan die in the land of Canaan.) And sons of Pharez are Hezron and Hamul. And sons of Issachar: Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron. And sons of Zebulun: Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. These `are' sons of Leah whom she bare to Jacob in Padan-Aram, and Dinah his daughter; all the persons of his sons and his daughters `are' thirty and three. And sons of Gad: Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli. And sons of Asher: Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. And sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. These `are' sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and she beareth these to Jacob -- sixteen persons. Sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife: Joseph and Benjamin. And born to Joseph in the land of Egypt (whom Asenath daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On, hath borne to him) `are' Manasseh and Ephraim. And sons of Benjamin: Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. These `are' sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob; all the persons `are' fourteen. And sons of Dan: Hushim. And sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem. These `are' sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter; and she beareth these to Jacob -- all the persons `are' seven. All the persons who are coming to Jacob to Egypt, coming out of his thigh, apart from the wives of Jacob's sons, all the persons `are' sixty and six. And the sons of Joseph who have been born to him in Egypt `are' two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who are coming into Egypt `are' seventy.
And it cometh to pass, after the plague, that Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, and unto Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, saying, `Take up the sum of all the company of the sons of Israel, from a son of twenty years and upward, by the house of their fathers, every one going out to the host in Israel.' And Moses speaketh -- Eleazar the priest also -- with them, in the plains of Moab, by Jordan, `near' Jericho, saying, `From a son of twenty years and upward,' as Jehovah hath commanded Moses and the sons of Israel who are coming out from the land of Egypt. Reuben, first-born of Israel -- sons of Reuben: `of' Hanoch `is' the family of the Hanochite; of Pallu the family of the Palluite; of Hezron the family of the Hezronite; of Carmi the family of the Carmite. These `are' families of the Reubenite, and their numbered ones are three and forty thousand and seven hundred and thirty. And the son of Pallu `is' Eliab; and the sons of Eliab `are' Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram; this `is that' Dathan and Abiram, called ones of the company, who have striven against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, in their striving against Jehovah, and the earth openeth her mouth, and swalloweth them and Korah, in the death of the company, in the fire consuming the two hundred and fifty men, and they become a sign; and the sons of Korah died not. Sons of Simeon by their families: of Nemuel `is' the family of the Nemuelite; of Jamin the family of the Jaminite; of Jachin the family of the Jachinite; of Zerah the family of the Zarhite; of Shaul the family of the Shaulite. These `are' families of the Simeonite, two and twenty thousand and two hundred. Sons of Gad by their families: of Zephon `is' the family of the Zephonite; of Haggi the family of the Haggite; of Shuni the family of the Shunite; of Ozni the family of the Oznite; of Eri the family of the Erite: of Arod the family of the Arodite; of Areli the family of the Arelite. These `are' families of the sons of Gad, by their numbered ones, forty thousand and five hundred. Sons of Judah `are' Er and Onan; and Er dieth -- Onan also -- in the land of Canaan. And sons of Judah, by their families, are: of Shelah the family of the Shelanite; of Pharez the family of the Pharzite; of Zerah the family of the Zarhite; and sons of Pharez are: of Hezron the family of the Hezronite; of Hamul the family of the Hamulite. These `are' families of Judah, by their numbered ones, six and seventy thousand and five hundred. Sons of Issachar by their families; `of' Tola `is' the family of the Tolaite; of Pua the family of the Punite; of Jashub the family of the Jashubite; of Shimron the family of the Shimronite. These `are' families of Issachar, by their numbered ones, four and sixty thousand and three hundred. Sons of Zebulun by their families: of Sered `is' the family of the Sardite; of Elon the family of the Elonite; of Jahleel the family of the Jahleelite. These `are' families of the Zebulunite by their numbered ones, sixty thousand and five hundred. Sons of Joseph by their families `are' Manasseh and Ephraim. Sons of Manasseh: of Machir `is' the family of the Machirite; and Machir hath begotten Gilead; of Gilead `is' the family of the Gileadite. These `are' sons of Gilead: `of' Jeezer `is' the family of the Jeezerite; of Helek the family of the Helekite; and `of' Asriel the family of the Asrielite; and `of' Shechem the family of the Shechemite; and `of' Shemida the family of the Shemidaite; and `of' Hepher the family of the Hepherite. And Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons but daughters, and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad `are' Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. These `are' families of Manasseh, and their numbered ones `are' two and fifty thousand and seven hundred. These `are' sons of Ephraim by their families: of Shuthelah `is' the family of the Shuthelhite; of Becher the family of the Bachrite; of Tahan the family of the Tahanite. And these `are' sons of Shuthelah: of Eran the family of the Eranite. These `are' families of the sons of Ephraim, by their numbered ones, two and thirty thousand and five hundred. These `are' sons of Joseph by their families. Sons of Benjamin by their families: of Bela `is' the family of the Belaite; of Ashbel the family of the Ashbelite; of Ahiram the family of the Ahiramite; of Shupham the family of the Shuphamite; of Hupham the family of the Huphamite. And sons of Bela are Ard and Naaman: `of Ard is' the family of the Ardite: of Naaman the family of the Naamite. These `are' sons of Benjamin by their families, and their numbered ones `are' five and forty thousand and six hundred. These `are' sons of Dan by their families: of Shuham `is' the family of the Shuhamite; these `are' families of Dan by their families; all the families of the Shuhamite, by their numbered ones, `are' four and sixty thousand and four hundred. Sons of Asher by their families: of Jimna `is' the family of the Jimnite; of Jesui the family of the Jesuite; of Beriah the family of the Beriite. Of sons of Beriah: of Heber `is' the family of the Heberite; of Malchiel the family of the Malchielite. And the name of the daughter of Asher `is' Sarah. These `are' families of the sons of Asher, by their numbered ones, three and fifty thousand and four hundred. Sons of Naphtali by their families: of Jahzeel `is' the family of the Jahzeelite; of Guni the family of the Gunite; of Jezer the family of the Jezerite; of Shillem the family of the Shillemite. These `are' families of Naphtali by their families, and their numbered ones `are' five and forty thousand and four hundred. These `are' numbered ones of the sons of Israel, six hundred thousand, and a thousand, seven hundred and thirty. And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, `To these is the land apportioned by inheritance, by the number of names; to the many thou dost increase their inheritance, and to the few thou dost diminish their inheritance; `to' each according to his numbered ones is given his inheritance. `Only by lot is the land apportioned, by the names of the tribes of their fathers they inherit; according to the lot is their inheritance apportioned between many and few.' And these `are' numbered ones of the Levite by their families: of Gershon `is' the family of the Gershonite; of Kohath the family of the Kohathite; of Merari the family of the Merarite. These `are' families of the Levite: the family of the Libnite, the family of the Hebronite, the family of the Mahlite, the family of the Mushite, the family of the Korathite. And Kohath hath begotten Amram, and the name of Amram's wife is Jochebed, daughter of Levi, whom `one' hath born to Levi in Egypt; and she beareth to Amram Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam their sister. And born to Aaron Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar; and Nadab dieth -- Abihu also -- in their bringing near strange fire before Jehovah. And their numbered ones are three and twenty thousand, every male from a son of a month and upwards, for they have not numbered themselves in the midst of the sons of Israel; for an inheritance hath not been given to them in the midst of the sons of Israel. These `are' those numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who have numbered the sons of Israel in the plains of Moab, by Jordan, `near' Jericho; and among these there hath not been a man of those numbered by Moses, and Aaron the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai, for Jehovah said of them, `They do certainly die in the wilderness;' and there hath not been left of them a man save Caleb son of Jephunneh, and Joshua son of Nun.
`Lo, we have heard it in Ephratah, We have found it in the fields of the forest.
Every wise woman hath builded her house, And the foolish with her hands breaketh it down.
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.