Ruth 3:12

12 It is true that I am a relative who is to take care of you, but you have a closer relative 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.

---

FOOTNOTES:

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

Ruth 3:12 In-Context

10 Then Boaz said, "The Lord bless you, my daughter. This act of kindness is greater than the kindness you showed to Naomi in the beginning. You didn't look for a young man to marry, either rich or poor.

11 Now, my daughter, don't be afraid. I will do everything you ask, because all the people in our town know you are a good woman.

12 It is true that I am a relative who is to take care of you, but you have a closer relative than I.

13 Stay here tonight, and in the morning we will see if he will take care of you. If he decides to take care of you, that is fine. But if he refuses, I will take care of you myself, as surely as the Lord lives. So stay here until morning."

14 So Ruth stayed near his feet until morning but got up while it was still too dark to recognize anyone. Boaz thought, "People in town must not know that the woman came here to the threshing floor."