Ruth 4:4

4 And I thought to advertise * thee, saying , Buy it before the inhabitants , and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt 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.

Ruth 4:4 Meaning and Commentary

Ruth 4:4

And I thought to advertise thee
To give him notice of it; or "I said" F7; he said in his heart and mind, purposing to do it; or he said it to Ruth, promising her that he would do it:

saying, buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my
people;
or before those that sat there, even the elders, as witnesses of the purchase:

if thou wilt redeem it, redeem it:
for it was redeemable by a near kinsman according to the law, even when said to another, in ( Leviticus 25:25 ) ,

but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know;
what to do in this affair, whether to redeem it or not:

for there is none to redeem it besides thee, and I am after thee;
he was the first, and Boaz was the next near kinsman, to whom the right of redemption belonged:

and he said, I will redeem it:
he chose to make the purchase, he liked the land, which he probably full well knew, and it might lie near his own, and make a good addition to it; and as the widow was determined, and under a necessity to sell, he might expect to have it at a cheap rate; all which might induce him at once to agree to be the purchaser.


FOOTNOTES:

F7 (ytrma ynaw) "et ego dixi", Pagninus, Montanus

Ruth 4:4 In-Context

2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said , Sit ye down here. And they sat down .
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 And I thought to advertise thee, saying , Buy it before the inhabitants , and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt 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.
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.
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.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. I thought...: Heb. I said, I will reveal in thine ear
The King James Version is in the public domain.