Ruth 4:3

3 And Booz said to the relative, the portion of the field which was our brother Elimelech's which was given to Noemin, now returning out of the land of Moab;

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).

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 Midrash Ruth, fol. 34. 2.

Ruth 4:3 In-Context

1 And Booz went up to the gate, and sat there; and behold, the relative passed by, of whom Booz spoke: and Booz said to him, Turn aside, sit down here, such a one: and he turned aside and sat down.

2 And Booz took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye here; and they sat down.

3 And Booz said to the relative, the portion of the field which was our brother Elimelech's which was given to Noemin, now returning out of the land of Moab;

4 and I said, I will inform thee, saying, Buy it before those that sit, and before the elders of my people: if thou wilt redeem it, redeem it, but if thou wilt not redeem it, tell me, and I shall know; for there is no one beside thee to do the office of a kinsman, and I am after thee: and he said, I am , I will redeem it.

5 And Booz said, In the day of thy buying the field of the hand of Noemin and of Ruth the Moabitess the wife of the deceased, thou must also buy her, so as to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.