Ruth 4 explained: Ruth Marries Boaz, Naomi Gets a Grandson

Business at the town gate (vv. 1-4)

The town gate was where legal matters were settled in public, so Boaz gathers ten elders as witnesses. He offers the closer relative the first right to buy Elimelech's family land, since land was meant to stay within the family.

The catch: Ruth comes too (vv. 5-6)

Whoever took the land was also expected to marry Ruth, so that a son could carry on her dead husband's name and inherit it. The relative backs out, probably because he would pay for land that would pass to a child counted as another man's heir, though scholars are unsure exactly how the customs fit together.

Sealing it with a sandal (vv. 7-8)

Handing over a sandal made the deal final, perhaps as a sign of giving up the right to walk the land as owner. The writer explains it as an old custom, which suggests it was already unfamiliar to the first readers.

Witnesses and a wedding blessing (vv. 9-12)

The crowd blesses Ruth to be like Rachel and Leah, the mothers of Israel's tribes. They also mention Perez, born to Tamar after another case of a widow's family line being carried on, and an ancestor of Bethlehem's families.

Naomi holds a grandson (vv. 13-17)

Naomi, who earlier said she came home empty, now has a child in her arms, and her neighbors praise Ruth as better to her than seven sons. The boy, Obed, whose name means "one who serves," becomes the grandfather of David.

The family line to David (vv. 18-22)

This short list traces Perez's family down to David, likely skipping generations, as ancient family lists often did. It ties a foreign widow's story to Israel's most famous king, and Christians note that Ruth is later named in Jesus' family line in the Gospel of Matthew.

Key verse: Ruth 4:14

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on how much to read Boaz as a picture of Jesus as redeemer, with some treating that as the chapter's main point and others reading it mainly as a human story of loyalty and kindness that leads to David.

Something to think about

What do you think makes the difference between someone who helps when it costs them, like Boaz, and someone who steps back, like the unnamed relative?