Ruth 3:12

12 It is true that I am a close relative and am responsible for you, but there is a man who is a closer relative than I am. ¹

Ruth 3:12 Meaning and Commentary

Ruth 3:12

And now it is true, that I am thy near kinsman
Her husband and he being brothers' sons, so own cousins:

howbeit, there is a kinsman nearer than I,
who was, the Jews say ^F23, the brother of her husband's father, and so his uncle, which was a nearer relation than an own cousin.

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 Midrash Ruth, ut supra. (31. 4. & 34. 2) Jarchi in loc.

Ruth 3:12 In-Context

10 "The Lord bless you," he said. "You are showing even greater family loyalty in what you are doing now than in what you did for your mother-in-law. You might have gone looking for a young man, either rich or poor, but you haven't.

11 Now don't worry, Ruth. I will do everything you ask; as everyone in town knows, you are a fine woman.

12 It is true that I am a close relative and am responsible for you, but there is a man who is a closer relative than I am.

13 Stay here the rest of the night, and in the morning we will find out whether or not he will take responsibility for you. If so, well and good; if not, then I swear by the living Lord that I will take the responsibility. Now lie down and stay here till morning."

14 So she lay there at his feet, but she got up before it was light enough for her to be seen, because Boaz did not want anyone to know that she had been there.

Cross References

• 1. 3.12Ruth 2.20.