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Ruth 4:3

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3 Then he said to the closest relative, "Naomi, who has come back from the land of Moab, has to sell the piece of land 1which belonged to our brother Elimelech.
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Ruth 4:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ruth 4:3

And he said unto the kinsman
That is, Boaz said to the kinsman he called to, and who sat down by him before the ten elders that were present:

Naomi, that is come again out of the land of Moab, selleth a parcel of
land;
meaning, that she was determined upon it, and was about to do it, and would do it quickly, and he had it in commission to propose it to a purchaser:

which was our brother Elimelech's;
not in a strict sense, but being akin to the kinsman and himself, and having been a neighbour of them all, and an inhabitant of the place, he is called their brother; though some Jewish writers F6 say, that he was in a strict sense a brother of Boaz and this kinsman, and that Tob, Elimelech, and Boaz, were brethren, and so Tob was reckoned the nearest kinsman, and had the first right to redeem, because he was the elder brother but this does not seem likely; (See Gill on Ruth 3:13).

FOOTNOTES:

F6 Midrash Ruth, fol. 34. 2.
Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Ruth 4:3 In-Context

1 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz spoke was passing by, so he said, "Turn aside, friend , sit down here." And he turned aside and sat down.
2 He took ten men of the elders of the city and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down.
3 Then he said to the closest relative, "Naomi, who has come back from the land of Moab, has to sell the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech.
4 "So I thought to inform you, saying, 'Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if not, tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am after you.' " And he said, "I will redeem it."
5 Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance."

Cross References 1

  • 1. Leviticus 25:25

Footnotes 1

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