Ruth 2:1
in Ruth 2Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a prominent man of noble character from the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz.
KJV
And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.
⋯
This verse in Ruth 2
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
A kinsman - More literally “an acquaintance”; here (and in the feminine, Rth 3:2) denoting the person with whom one is intimately acquainted, one’s near relation. The next kinsman of Rth 2:20, etc. גאל gā'al, is a wholly different word. Boaz - Commonly taken to mean, “strength is in him” (compare 1Ki 7:21).
This site's exposition
a mighty man of wealth
on Ruth 2:1-2
The book names Boaz before Ruth reaches his field, so the reader knows what she does not. The word rendered kinsman here is not the word of verse 20: Albert Barnes reads it as an acquaintance or near relation, while the next kinsman of verse 20 is goel, a wholly different term, so the office the whole book turns on is held back for nineteen verses. The phrase mighty man of wealth is the warrior phrase, the same Hebrew the angel uses of Gideon at Judges 6:12. Ruth proposes the work herself, and the right she claims is Leviticus 19:9-10 and Deuteronomy 24:19, which leave the corners and the dropped ears to the poor and the stranger; she is both.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The Chaldee reads it, mighty in the law. If he was both, it was a most rare and excellent conjunction, to be mighty in wealth and mighty in the scriptures too; those that are so are mighty indeed.
And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A mighty man of wealth - We have already seen that some suppose Boaz to have been one of the judges of Israel; he was no doubt a man of considerable property.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
A kinsman. A relative; he was the son of Elimelech’s brother. Our Rabbis of blessed memory said, “Elimelech, and Salmone. Rus:21. the father of Bo’az, and the anonymous kinsman, 2 Ibid.:1. and the father of Naomi, 3 Therefore Bo’az and Naomi were cousins.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּֽלְנָעֳמִ֞י | ulenoomi | and [belonged] to Naomi | H5281 → | 21 times |
| מוֹדַ֣ע | meyuda' | a relative | H4129 → | |
| לְאִישָׁ֗הּ | leishah | of husband her | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אִ֚ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| גִּבּ֣וֹר | gibor | mighty of | H1368 → | |
| חַ֔יִל | chayil | wealth | H2428 → | 246 times |
| מִמִּשְׁפַּ֖חַת | mimishpachat | from [the] clan of | H4940 → | |
| אֱלִימֶ֑לֶךְ | ʾelimelekh | Elimelech | H458 → | 6 times |
| וּשְׁמ֖וֹ | ushemo | and name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
| בֹּֽעַז׃ | boaz | [was] Boaz | H1162 → | 24 times |
וּֽלְנָעֳמִ֞יand [belonged] to Naomi
ulenoomiH5281 →21 times
מוֹדַ֣עa relative
meyuda'H4129 →
לְאִישָׁ֗הּof husband her
leishahH376 →1663 times
אִ֚ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
גִּבּ֣וֹרmighty of
giborH1368 →
חַ֔יִלwealth
chayilH2428 →246 times
מִמִּשְׁפַּ֖חַתfrom [the] clan of
mimishpachatH4940 →
אֱלִימֶ֑לֶךְElimelech
ʾelimelekhH458 →6 times
וּשְׁמ֖וֹand name his
ushemoH8034 →864 times
בֹּֽעַז׃[was] Boaz
boazH1162 →24 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 1:5Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,
it leads to
- Ruth 1:16–17
But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be…
- Hebrews 11:31
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient.
- James 2:25
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies and sent them off on another route?
- Joshua 6:22–25
Meanwhile, Joshua told the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the house of the prostitute and bring out the woman and all who are with her, just as you promised…
- Ruth 1:22
So Naomi returned from the land of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. And they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
- Ruth 1:16–17
Through
Ruth 3:2Now is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been working, a relative of ours? In fact, tonight he is winnowing barley on the threshing floor.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 25:5–10
When brothers dwell together and one of them dies without a son, the widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother is to take her as his wife and fulfill the duty…
- Deuteronomy 25:5–10
Through
Ruth 3:12Yes, it is true that I am a kinsman-redeemer, but there is a redeemer nearer than I.
it leads to
- Ruth 4:1
Meanwhile, Boaz went to the gate and sat down there. Soon the kinsman-redeemer of whom he had spoken came along, and Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went…
- 1 Thessalonians 4:6
and no one should ever violate or exploit his brother in this regard, because the Lord will avenge all such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned you.
- Ruth 4:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ruth
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.