Ruth 3:12

12 "Now it is true I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I.

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 Then he said, "May you be blessed of the LORD , my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich.

11 "Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence.

12 "Now it is true I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I.

13 "Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the LORD lives. Lie down until morning."

14 So she lay at his feet until morning and rose before one could recognize another; and he said, "Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor."

Footnotes

• [a] Or "redeemer"
• [b] Or "redeemer"